As the year comes to an end, we take the opportunity to look back at some great achievements FAMILY and its dedicated team made during the past 12 months.
The year began on a high note with our first Stakeholder Dialogue Event in January. This online event brought together 42 participants from across Europe to discuss the views and needs of mental health care professionals on ethical aspects and social consequences of prediction of risk of mental illness. The event was a great success, providing valuable insights that informed the development of the FAMILY survey for healthcare professionals. Read the full event report here.
Next, we launched the FAMILY Spotlight Interview Series. This engaging series features interviews with our FAMILY members, now available on YouTube – be sure to watch and learn more about the amazing people driving this project!
Another highlight was the release of several important publications, including the consortium paper, “Running in the FAMILY: Understanding and Predicting the Intergenerational Transmission of Mental Illness,” published in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (ECAP). Find all our publications, with short summaries of key publications, here.
Engaging the Scientific Community: In April, FAMILY members participated in the EPA Congress in Budapest, contributing to the symposium “Can familial high-risk studies help us prevent mental illness?”. September was equally exciting, with FAMILY hosting an inspiring session at the 21st Biennial Congress of the EPA Section Epidemiology & Social Psychiatry in Lausanne, Switzerland, focusing on “Early Risk and Protective Profiles Assessed before the Onset of Psychopathology among Offspring at High Familial Risk of Severe Mental Illnesses.” Shortly afterward, FAMILY was well-represented at the 37th ECNP Congress in Milan, Italy, with talks, posters, and an exhibition area presence by EUFAMI and concentris.
We are particularly proud of supporting secondments for early career scientists this year. For example, Parisa travelled to Oslo, Norway, and Patricia visited Aarhus, Denmark, collaborating on the Danish High Risk and Resilience Study. These secondments provide young researchers with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience, build their networks, and collaborate on cutting-edge studies in their fields.
In October, which marked Mental Health Awareness Month, we published our first layman’s paper, explaining the FAMILY project and our research goals in an accessible way for the general public. The month also saw our team gather in Riga, Latvia, for the 3rd General Assembly Meeting, where we reviewed project progress and developed new ideas for the upcoming year.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to FAMILY’s successes this year! Your dedication and hard work have made all of this possible.
We are excited to continue this journey together in the coming year. Stay connected and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X for the latest updates, events, and breakthroughs from FAMILY!