Mental Health Research Alliance

The QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR) have formed the Queensland Mental Health Research Alliance.

Officially launched at the beginning of October, the alliance will work towards advancing the understanding of mental disorders and improving outcomes for patients.

Mental illness is a leading cause of health-related disability in Australia, as well as a global health challenge.

QIMR Berghofer Director Professor Frank Gannon said in a statement that the alliance would reinforce existing collaborations as well as drive national and international research in this area. It will also identify where research could have a direct impact on specific mental health disorders, progress clinical research to develop preventive and effective treatments, and nurture the next generation of clinical researchers.

The research portfolios of the three organisations are strongly complementary.

QIMR Berghofer has an outstanding reputation in behavioural genetics, imaging and computations neuroscience, while QBI excels in molecular, cellular and behavioural neuroscience and disease neurogenetics, and QCMHR is a world leader in mental health policy, epidemiology, animal models, genetics and vocational rehabilitation.