Mental illness is one of the greatest societal challenges of our time. Still healthcare is largely focused on treating symptoms only. RE-MEND is a new Horizon Europe project that wants to turn this around and instead understand what makes mental illness happen and generate new knowledge on the prevention of mental illness. VA (Public & Science) is one of 15 partners involved in this five-year multidisciplinary project, which began in January 2023.
“Our research project aims to better understand how genes and environment play a role in an individual’s psychological well-being. Society needs to become better at prevention rather than treatment. To do that, we need to understand why and when mental illness tends to occur,” says Joëlle Rüegg, the coordinator of RE-MEND and Professor of Environmental Toxicology at Uppsala University.
Four sensitive life periods
There are periods in life that are more sensitive than others. When hormone signalling is particularly active, some individuals are at risk of mental illness. In RE-MEND, researchers will study mental health in relation to four life stages: early life, puberty, the period around childbirth and ageing
Large and complex puzzle
The hypothesis is that these periods lay the foundations for developing or not developing mental illness later in life. Some individuals are more vulnerable and susceptible to mental illness, while others develop resilience. Why is this? To find out, researchers need to piece together a large and complex puzzle. An important part of this involves analysing data from large population-based studies to try to find patterns and biological markers that are linked. To see if there are any correlations, even before an individual becomes ill.
Experimental studies
But there is no population study that covers a whole life cycle. That is why researchers will combine several different studies to analyse all four stages of life. More experimental trials will also be carried out as part of the project.
“The aim is to identify certain core environmental factors. That influence brain development and function, such as stress, chemicals or what you eat. We will then try to translate this into an experimental design,” says Joëlle Rüegg.
Reducing the stigma of mental illness
RE-MEND is a multidisciplinary project also involving chemists, psychologists and researchers in communication studies. “When it comes to mental health, there are so many factors at play, not least how we talk about it in society,” says Joëlle Rüegg. She believes that the stigma surrounding mental illness can be reduced by increasing the understanding that there are underlying biological explanations. But it is important how we communicate about such explanations, which is why communication specialists are also involved in the project.
Increasing citizen engagement and awareness
As part of the consortium, VA (Public & Science) will be involved in various aspects of citizen and stakeholder engagement, including focus groups to evaluate communication materials and explore citizens’ understanding of the project results; stakeholder workshops and webinars; as well as the development of a citizen science initiative to collect research data and increase public awareness and mental health literacy.
“VA is excited to be part of this collaborative project and helping to ensure that the results of RE-MEND are translated into real societal impact,” said Gustav Bohlin, who is leading the project at VA.
