ACAMH Awards 2023 Results

The ACAMH Awards aim to recognise high quality work in evidence based science, both in publication and practice, in the field of child and adolescent mental health. To be nominated for an ACAMH Award is a prestigious recognition of those who are at the forefront of the advancement of child and adolescent mental health research, and practice.

Listed below are the winners and nominees from the ACAMH awards 2023. Congratulations to all winners and nominees. Do let us know if you’d like to receive details about the ACAMH 2024 Awards including being able to attend the virtual ceremony, please email prabha.choubina@acamh.org

Watch the full ceremony.

Lifetime Contribution Award

Michael Rutter Medal for Lifetime Contribution to Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Winner: Professor Kathy Sylva OBE

Listen to the keynote lecture here.

Educator Award

David Cottrell ‘Education of CAMH Professionals’ Award

Criteria: Someone who has had a significant impact upon the education or training of child and adolescent mental health professionals. This is open to all disciplines, but education or training must relate to children’s mental health.

Winner: Dr. Jennifer Allen, University of Bath

Highly Commended: Dr. Mark Kennedy, King’s College, London

Highly Commended: Miss Nadia Zoppos, Royal Holloway University of London

Shortlist Nominees: Dr. Jennifer Allen, University of Bath, MD Carola Bindt, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppen, Dr. Mark Kennedy, King’s College, London, Dr. Krystal Lewis, National Institutes of Health, and Miss Nadia Zoppos, Royal Holloway University of London.

Digital Innovation Awards

Digital Innovation Award for Best Digital Intervention

Criteria: A clinician who has put evidence base into practice within the information/data/IT/digital fields of child and adolescent mental health. This could be the use of information or technologies in the delivery of care or service design etc.

Winner: Dr. Johnny Downs, King’s College, London

Highly Commended: Mrs Alicia Drummond, Wellbeing Hub

Shortlist Nominees: Mrs Alicia Drummond, Wellbeing Hub, Dr. Johnny Downs, King’s College, London, Dr. Mia Eisenstadt, Fatherli, and Dr. Nathan Hodson, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust.

Digital Innovation Award for Best Research on Digital Impact

Criteria: A researcher who has published the best paper on an information/data/IT/digital topic relating to child and adolescent mental health, which can include online assessment innovations.

Winner: Dr. Bonamy Oliver, University College London

Highly Commended: Dr. Arjun Athreya, Mayo Clinic

Shortlist Nominees: Ms Alice Stephens, King’s College, London, Dr. Arjun Athreya, Mayo Clinic, Dr. Bonamy Oliver, University College London, Dr. Holly Bear, University of Oxford, and Dr. Rebecca Anthony, Cardiff University.

Research Into Practice

Eric Taylor ‘Translational Research Into Practice’ Award

Criteria: An individual with a sustained contribution to translating research into practice over a number of years, whose work involves both research, and either clinical or educational involvement in practice. And/or a researcher or clinician who has published translational science (evidence base into practice) with evidence of impact on clinical service provision. This could involve the establishment of new interventions, or improvement of existing ones, with evidence of impact on clinical service provision.

Winner: Professor Eva Kimonis, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Highly Commended: Dr. Sheri Madigan, University of Calgary

Shortlist Nominees: Mr Dan Johnson, Kibble, Professor Eva Kimonis, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, Dr. Hope Christie, Tooled Up Education, Dr. Isha Metzger, Georgia State University, and Dr. Sheri Madigan, University of Calgary.

Team Award

Lionel Hersov Memorial Award

Criteria: A practice team that has demonstrated the use of evidence base (research, audit or service evaluation) into clinical practice. Or a team that has evaluated the outcome or measures either the clinical impact or demonstrated quality improvement (can be efficiencies of time, money or reduced ‘waste’). The nominations will be accepted from researchers, investigators, clinicians, and educationalists.

Winner: Child and Family Training (CFT)

Highly Commended: The ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Disorders team of Accare

Shortlist Nominees: Adolescent Community Treatment Service (ACTS), CNWL NHS Foundation Trust, CAMHS-MHID Team, Child and Family Training (CFT), The ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Disorders team of Accare, and The Alliance Team.

Trainee Awards

Postgraduate Research Trainee of the Year Award

Criteria: An individual undertaking postgraduate training as a practitioner working with children in relation to mental health from any background (e.g. clinical psychology, educational psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry). This could include teaching, for example, an individual undertaking an MEd who is able to demonstrate a clear commitment to evidence-based clinical practice.

Winner: Dr. Luis Farhat, University of Sao Paulo (USP)

Highly Commended: Dr. Lana Grasser, National Institute of Mental Health

Shortlist Nominees: Dr. Lana Grasser, National Institute of Mental Health, Mr Leon Y. Xiao, IT University Copenhagen, Dr. Luis Farhat, University of Sao Paulo (USP), Dr. Mohamed Adil Shah Khoodoruth, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar, and Dr. Ritvij Satodiya, Emory University.

Research Trainee of the Year Award

Criteria: Trainee or student who is less than two years post PhD who has shown initiative or made a significant contribution to child and adolescent mental health.

Winner: Dr. Genevieve Morneau-Vaillancourt, Kings College London

Highly Commended: Ms Katherine Venturo-Conerly, Havard University

Shortlist Nominees: Ms Astrid Brænden, University of Oslo, Norway, Dr. Genevieve Morneau-Vaillancourt, Kings College London, Ms Katherine Venturo-Conerly, Havard University, Dr. Lin Li, Karolinska Insititute, and Ms Scarlett Smout, University of Sydney

Clinical Trainee of the Year Award

Criteria: An individual undertaking their first qualification as a practitioner working with children in relation to mental health from any background (e.g. nursing, social work, occupational therapy, physio) and who demonstrates a clear commitment to evidence based clinical practice.

Winner: Ms Jessica O’Logbon, University of Cambridge

Highly Commended: Dr. Matteo Catanzano, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

Shortlist Nominees: Miss Emelia Pasternak-Albert, Kings College London, Ms Jessica O’Logbon, University of Cambridge, Dr. Lauren Henry, Neuroscience and Novel Therapeutics, Dr. Matteo Catanzano, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, and Dr. Sewanu Awhangansi, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

Rising Star Award

Kathy Sylva ‘Rising Star’ Award 

Criteria: Open to any person who has made a significant scientific contribution to child and adolescent mental health literature, within 10 years of their first peer reviewed journal publication.

Winner: Dr. Jessie Baldwin, University College London

Highly Commended: Dr. Giorgia Michelini, Queen Mary London

Highly Commended: Dr. Varun Warrier, University of Cambridge

Shortlist Nominees: Dr. Jessie Baldwin, University College London, Dr. Giorgia Michelini, Queen Mary London, Dr. Victor Pereira-Sanchez, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute, New York, USA, Dr. Pablo Vidal-Ribas Belil, Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu – Barcelona, and Dr. Varun Warrier, University of Cambridge

Team Award

NEW FOR 2023 Innovative Research, Training or Practice in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) Award

Criteria: Team based in a country classified by the World Bank as LMICs* in the preceding year, and whose work involve research, clinical or educational activities in that country. The work shows innovation in research, training, or practice/service delivery in child and adolescent mental health.

Winner: Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Nigeria

Highly Commended: Senior Management Team – PRemIum for aDolEscents (PRIDE) India

Shortlist Nominees: Basic Needs Basic Rights – Kenya, Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Nigeria, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Battambang Provincial Referral Hospital, Senior Management Team – PRemIum for aDolEscents (PRIDE) India, and SPARK Research Team, Addis Ababa University; Aga Khan University; Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI); King’s College London.

* Eligible countries; Afghanistan, Angola, Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Rwanda, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Link to World Bank

Best Paper Award

‘Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry’ Best Paper Award

Criteria: The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry best paper award is chosen by the editors of the JCPP. Papers are eligible if they have been published in the journal in 2022. The winning and shortlisted original articles are chosen based on a range of criteria including scope, relevance and study design.

Winner: Original Article ‘Prenatal exposure to air pollution is associated with altered brain structure, function, and metabolism in childhood’, (Vol. 63, Iss. 11). Bradley S. Peterson, Ravi Bansal, Siddhant Sawardekar, Carlo Nati, Eman R. Elgabalawy, Lori A. Hoepner, Wanda Garcia, Xuejun Hao, Amy Margolis, Frederica Perera, Virginia Rauh

Shortlist Nominees: Original Article ‘Mental disorders in preadolescent children at familial high-risk of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder – a four-year follow-up study’, (Vol. 63, Iss. 9). Maja Gregersen, Anne Søndergaard, Julie Marie Brandt, Ditte Ellersgaard, Sinnika Birkehøj Rohd, Carsten Hjorthøj, Jessica Ohland, Mette Falkenberg Krantz, Martin Wilms, Anna Krogh Andreassen, Christina Bruun Knudsen, Lotte Veddum, Aja Greve, Vibeke Bliksted, Ole Mors, Lars Clemmensen, Jens Richardt Møllegaard Jepsen, Merete Nordentoft, Nicoline Hemager, Anne Amalie Elgaard Thorup; Original Article ‘Prenatal exposure to air pollution is associated with altered brain structure, function, and metabolism in childhood’, (Vol. 63, Iss. 11). Bradley S. Peterson, Ravi Bansal, Siddhant Sawardekar, Carlo Nati, Eman R. Elgabalawy, Lori A. Hoepner, Wanda Garcia, Xuejun Hao, Amy Margolis, Frederica Perera, Virginia Rauh; and Open Access ‘Time trends in autism diagnosis over 20 years: a UK population-based cohort study’, (Vol. 63, Iss. 6). Ginny Russell, Sal Stapley, Tamsin Newlove-Delgado, Andrew Salmon, Rhianna White, Fiona Warren, Anita Pearson, Tamsin Ford

‘JCPP Advances’ Best Paper Award

Criteria: The JCPP Advances best paper award is chosen by the editors of the JCPP Advances. Papers are eligible if they have been published in the journal in 2022. The winning and shortlisted original articles are chosen based on a range of criteria including scope, relevance and study design.

Winner: Open Access ‘Adolescent social media user types and their mental health and well-being: Results from a longitudinal survey of 13–14-year-olds in the United Kingdom’, (Vol. 2, Iss. 2). Lizzy Winstone, Becky Mars, Claire M. A. Haworth, Jon Heron, Judi Kidger

Shortlist Nominees: Open Access ‘Adolescent social media user types and their mental health and well-being: Results from a longitudinal survey of 13–14-year-olds in the United Kingdom’, (Vol. 2, Iss. 2). Lizzy Winstone, Becky Mars, Claire M. A. Haworth, Jon Heron, Judi Kidger; Open Access ‘Predictors of mental health difficulties and subjective wellbeing in adolescents: A longitudinal study’, (Vol. 2, Iss. 2). Suzet Tanya Lereya, Praveetha Patalay, Jessica Deighton; and Open Access ‘Preschool development, temperament and genetic liability as early markers of childhood ADHD: A cohort study’, (Vol 2. Iss. 3). Esther Tobarra-Sanchez, Lucy Riglin, Sharifah S. Agha, Evie Stergiakouli, Anita Thapar, Kate Langley.

‘Child and Adolescent Mental Health Journal’ Best Paper Award

Criteria: The Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) journal best paper award is chosen by the editors of the CAMH journal. Papers are eligible if they have been published in the journal in 2022. The winning and shortlisted original articles are chosen based on a range of criteria including scope, relevance and study design.

Winner: Open Access ‘Life problems in children and adolescents who self-harm: findings from the multicentre study of self-harm in England’, (Vol. 27, Iss. 4). Ellen Townsend, Jennifer Ness, Keith Waters, Muzamal Rehman, Navneet Kapur, Caroline Clements, Galit Geulayov, Elizabeth Bale, Deborah Casey, Keith Hawton

Shortlist Nominees: Free Access ‘Climate change-related worry among Australian adolescents: an eight-year longitudinal study’, (Vol. 27, Iss. 1). Emma Sciberras, Julian W. Fernando; Open Access ‘Life problems in children and adolescents who self-harm: findings from the multicentre study of self-harm in England’, (Vol. 27, Iss. 4). Ellen Townsend, Jennifer Ness, Keith Waters, Muzamal Rehman, Navneet Kapur, Caroline Clements, Galit Geulayov, Elizabeth Bale, Deborah Casey, Keith Hawton; and Open Access ‘Parental death by external causes during childhood and risk of psychiatric disorders in bereaved offspring’, (Vol. 27, Iss. 2).  Lisa Victoria Burrell, Lars Mehlum, Ping Qin.