Advancing the Science of the Developing Brain

It’s time for our annual celebration of scientific achievement in child and adolescent psychiatry, psychology, and developmental neuroscience! We invite you to join us October 12 at the 2023 On the Shoulders of Giants Scientific Symposium, where we will honor Mary Jane Rotheram-Borus, PhD, the winner of our Sarah Gund Prize for Research and Mentorship in Child Mental Health. Throughout her career, Dr. Rotheram has made many high-impact contributions to prevention and behavior modification science, more recently demonstrating leadership around the use of disruptive technologies to address health disparities.

At this virtual event, you will hear Dr. Rotheram speak about her work and also hear from two of her proteges – UCSF’s Dr. Marguerita Lightfoot and UCSD’s Dr. Chadwick Campbell. The 2023 Rising Scientist winners also will be recognized at the event.

The YMHA pilot program of 160 high school students, in partnership with the state of California, launched in Los Angeles on June 20. For five weeks, the students participated in an intensive learning experience and developed innovative projects. On Saturday, July 22, we hosted the inaugural capstone event in LA, where each group presented their work. Nearly 400 students, family members, mentors, and program staff attended to celebrate this first cohort’s accomplishments!

The academy gives students from traditionally underserved communities, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ teens, an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and experience in mental health science, practice, or communications by working with professionals from organizations doing work in those areas. By providing mentorship and training to high school students in underserved communities, this program aims to inspire and cultivate tomorrow’s mental health leaders. The program is even garnering some press attention of late.

In late July, the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) hosted their 2023 annual meeting in Montreal. The event serves as a pivotal platform for researchers, experts, and enthusiasts to come together and share discoveries and advancements in the field of brain mapping.

The event was nothing short of amazing for the Child Mind Institute. More than twenty Child Mind Institute research team members attended this year’s event. A number of research team members had two, or even three presentations! The Child Mind Institute also hosted a number of events, including a workshop on one of our open data sets.

In mid-July, the Child Mind Institute hosted the 2023 Scientific Research Council (SRC) Summer Retreat. The SRC is a group of leading experts from various fields relating to children’s mental health and learning disorders, co-chaired by Cathy Lord, PhD, and Kathleen Merikangas, PhD. The group is charged with advising the Child Mind Institute’s scientific initiatives. Each summer they come together for a few days to discuss current issues at the fore of children’s mental health and offer guidance to our science team.

The SRC retreat is always inspiring. This year, discussion focused on communicating scientific messages and effectively addressing the current youth mental health crisis. The Child Mind Institute’s scientific and engineering initiatives are scaling rapidly. At the same time, the Child Mind Institute’s work is increasingly global, and we are proud to bring together this impressive group every year for thoughtful and productive conversations.