Welcome to the stakeholder dialogue on Stigma, hosted by the FAMILY, Re-MEND and R2D2-MH projects, 10 June 2025 at 15:00- 18:00 CET (online).
Are you interested in questions around mental health and stigma? What does stigma around mental health look like today? What does research say, what are people experiencing, and how can we respond? Together we will explore the impact of stigma in both research and real-world settings. Designed with researchers in mind but open to all, it will feature thought-provoking talks from leading academics alongside conversations with people who bring lived experience to the dialogue.
What to expect from this meeting:
Please see the agenda with speakers here.
Registration via this link.
Euractive organises a hybrid conference in Brussels 8 April 2025.
Over the past years, with an acceleration of global and regional crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health problems among people aged between 15 and 24 have only been exacerbated, and even doubled, as the figures show. Feelings of depression, anxiety and loneliness are much more common in young people than in adults.
According to OECD data, the economic burden of mental wellbeing among youth can rise to up to 4% of EU GDP annually, equivalent to over €600 billion per year, owing primarily to reduced productivity, healthcare costs, and social welfare expenditure.
Join the Euractiv Hybrid Conference to discuss how the EU could foster a more supportive environment for youth mental health.
Questions to be addressed include:
The RE-MEND project organised its second Annual Meeting in Sweden, Umeå, 4-5 February 2025. The meeting provided a good overview of the project progress and advancement of the various tasks. In addition to the work package presentations, several flash presentations gave insightful learnings and showcased first results of the project, engaging also early-career researchers in more in-depth discussions. The project updates and plans on management and dissemination activities were also presented and discussed. The breakout sessions during the first day dived into the alignment and future plans of the work.
The meeting demonstrated the validity of project’s highly integrated and multidisciplinary approach and this was also highlighted in the positive comments and feedback from the advisory board.
The next annual meeting will be held in Portugal in 2026.
The RE-MEND project has made significant progress in several key areas. The epidemiological cohort analyses on associations of mental health states and environmental factors as well as molecular biomarkers have been conducted.
Analyses in the SELMA (Swedish Environmental Longitudinal, Mother and child, Asthma and allergy) study have shown that prenatal exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, i.e. chemicals that disturb hormonal signalling, is associated with behavioural difficulties in 7 years old children, suggesting a role for these chemicals and the hormonal pathways they affect in shaping children’s behaviour.
Results from the BASIC (Biology, Affect, Stress, Imaging and Cognition) study in Sweden have shown that the levels of the hormone allopregnanolone during pregnancy is linked to depressive symptoms just before or after giving birth. Furthermore, in this cohort, first molecular signatures were identified that are changed in the context of depressive symptoms during and after pregnancy. These were mainly linked to immune system functions.
Furthermore, for the experimental studies as well as for biomarker and drug discovery, methods have been adjusted and further developed for the samples and data available in RE-MEND, and a new partner joined the consortium, enabling to extend the search for biomarkers.
A secondary analysis of perceived causes of depression in Germany and the USA comparing genetic, social, and individual responsibility attributions regarding the onset of depression has led to the conclusion that in both countries, social responsibility attributions, i.e. that the social environment is mainly responsible for the onset of depression, is highest.
Another key milestone achieved by the project has been the launch of the “RE-MEND citizen science project for better mental health literacy”. The project is an investigation of everyday experiences of living in the vicinity of mental illness and engages in particular senior citizens.
The project monitoring meeting was held 6 November with the project partners, external evaluation experts and the project officer from HaDEA. The meeting kicked-off with presentation on all the main topics of the project, highlighting the progress achieved from the beginning of the project and key results achieved so far. It was noted that this is the first reporting period of the project which most of it was dedicated to establishing the project infrastructure and collecting data. Despite the early phase of the project several key results have been achieved.
The external evaluators highlighted that the project is a true comprehensive multidisciplinary endeavor to elucidate mechanisms, markers, risks and protective factors underlining resilience vs. vulnerability for developing mental illness and its effects in different stages of life. The project is very well designed and managed.
The project aims to fulfil its objectives by using longitudinal cohorts/studies that have collected a wide breadth of data and by carrying out various experimental studies. In addition, the project aims at developing new biological markers for mental illness (e.g. depression) as well as identify targets for the development of new drugs or repurposing of existing medications.
So far, most of the tasks are advancing well and several manuscripts are already in preparation or submitted for publication on results already obtained. The project has also put significant focus on mental health literacy and knowledge transfer with tasks and activities to better understand the needs in order to tackle stigmatisation of mental health illness and develop tools and methods to better communicate and educate the public, and work with stakeholders at the EU level.
The conclusions from the meeting were that the project has achieved most of its objectives and milestones for the period, with relatively minor deviations. Some minor delays in an epidemiology cohort have impacted the availability of data which has consequently impacted the experimental studies. The project intends to catch-up these delays in the coming period to ensure that all expected outcomes will be successfully reached during the project.
The mental health of senior citizens is frequently overlooked, despite this age group having the highest proportion of individuals using antidepressants. Discussions are often shaped by preconceived notions, while the voices of older adults are less often heard. To capture a range of perspectives, the EU RE-MEND project hosted three science cafés across Sweden in the autumn, focusing on the mental health of older adults.
At the heart of a science café is dialogue and exchange between researchers and the public. Researchers have the opportunity to present their work and receive feedback, while the public can learn about ongoing research and shape researchers' perspectives on what research is needed.
In addition to these three events, RE-MEND has also held focus group discussions with mental health experts. The insights gathered from these discussions will be used to shape the next stages of the project.
RE-MEND will be presented at the upcoming Brain Innovation Days, set to take place in Brussels on 13-14 November 2024 and organised by European Brain Council (EBC) in collaboration with HaDEA, European Health and Digital Executive Agency. Prof. Joëlle Rüegg, Coordinator of RE-MEND will give an overview of the project and its main achievements so far.
Under the overarching theme "Navigating the Brain Across a Lifetime", the programme will include a wide array of sessions, including plenary sessions, inspiring Brain Talks, Poster and Innovation Showcase, matchmaking and networking activities, Pitch Competition, breakout sessions, panels, and other inspiring sessions formats.
For more information about the event, please visit the event’s website here.
September 2024 emerges as the perfect time to start disseminating the first results of the RE-MEND project, with events taking place in Brussels and Vienna.
Prof. Joëlle Rüegg, Coordinator of RE-MEND, from Uppsala University will present the RE-MEND project at the “From Lipidomics to Mind” event organized by the EpiLipidNET COST Action 12 September 2024 in Brussels. The event will also include engagement in discussions with Members of the European Parliament as well as dialogue with various stakeholders.
Angelika Augustine from Bielefeld University will present RE-MEND’s work on communication research in the DGP conference 17 September 2024 in Vienna. The German-speaking conference is targeted to psychologists and her presentation title is: “Nature and Nurture: The effect of gene-environment frames on stigmatization of depression.”
For more information about the conference, see here.
The project progress meeting was organised in Belfast, hosted by the University of Ulster. The meeting brought together the project partners and Steering Group to discuss the main results and activities but also any challenges to align the work and future plans.
The meeting provided a good overview of the project progress and advancement of the various tasks. Also updates and plans on management and dissemination activities were presented and discussed. The working groups drilled into the future plans and details of the work which were shared and further discussed among the participants.
It was concluded that many activities are ongoing and the project is proceeding well with some minor delays.
The RE-MEND Hop-on project with the integration of the Widening partner, University of Aveiro, aims to bring into the RE-MEND project new “Omics” layer, (Epi)Lipidomics, allowing a larger coverage of the different molecular levels and metabolic pathways that play a role in the individual resilience to mental health.
The Hop-on partner’s expertise in (Epi)Lipidomics and the addition of state-of-the-art technologies will lead to a deeper understanding on the entire biochemical processes and biological mechanisms that underly the disease process of mental illness and will increase the opportunity to identify a panel of clinically relevant biomarkers.
The Lipidomics Lab at University of Aveiro pioneered the (Epi)Lipidomics analysis in Portugal is one of the few research centres that perform (Epi)Lipidomics in Europe. As the Widening partner into RE-MEND, University of Aveiro will contribute to looking in detail to the lipid disorders in anxiety and depression and by enhancing the multiple layers of biological information, this will contribute to resolving the complexity of mental illness.
The Hop-on facility allows research institutions from Widening countries to join already ongoing R&I actions under Horizon Europe after a successful evaluation of the proposal. As RE-MEND already has a widening partner, the project is unable to consider further hop-on applications.
The RE-MEND project organised its first Annual Meeting in Italy, Pozzuoli, 25-26 January 2024. The meeting gave an overview of the project progress and advancement of the various tasks. In addition, a poster exhibition provided a great opportunity to showcase first results and engage in discussions with early-career researchers. Also updates and plans on management and dissemination activities were presented and discussed. The breakout sessions drilled into the challenges, future plans and details of the work which were shared and further discussed in the plenary on the last day of the meeting.
The first results generated within the project have demonstrated the validity of project’s integrated approach and high level of ambition, as these were highlighted also in the comments of the advisory board. It was summarised that overall, the project is progressing well and is largely on track in terms of its tasks and timeline.
The next annual meeting will be held in Sweden in 2025.
To mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2023, the European Commission held a high-level conference in Brussels, hosted by Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. The event brought together hundreds of representatives from the EU institutions, national governments, international organisations and other participants to raise awareness of the new approach, hear from experts and those with lived experience, and to exchange on good practices on the following topics:
RE-MEND welcomes the Communication from the Commission on a comprehensive approach to mental health. The mental health strategy adds a pillar to the European Health Union and aims to ensure a new cross-sectoral approach to mental health issues. The EU action on mental health will focus on three guiding principles: 1) adequate and effective prevention, 2) access to high quality and affordable mental healthcare and treatment, and 3) reintegration into society after recovery.
RE-MEND appreciates that the Communication emphasises mental health as an integral part of health and recognises the multifaceted risk factors of mental-ill health. The planned actions will cover a broad range of policies and include efforts, e.g., in the areas of promoting good mental health through prevention and early detection, investing in capacity building, protecting children and the young and addressing vulnerable groups.
Read more about the EU action on mental health here.
The Project kick-off meeting was held 25-26 January 2023 in beautiful Sigtuna, Sweden. The meeting brought together all the Consortium members, 16 participating organisations, and paved a way for common understanding and interlinkages between the different work packages around which the project is organised. The work focused on the information and workflows between the different tasks as well as management aspects to facilitate coordination. The meeting was a success for planning of the work and kick-staring the in-depth discussions. It also provided a great opportunity to get to know all the members of the interdisciplinary and international consortium.
The RE-MEND flyer is now available, summarising the integrated approach that RE-MEND takes on mental health.