A new prize to celebrate global mental health research

Mental health conditions like anxiety, depression and psychosis shape how millions of us think, feel and live, yet mental health research has too often remained invisible, underfunded and disconnected from everyday care.

A recent editorial in Nature makes that problem clear. Despite the scale of need, governments typically spend only a small fraction of health budgets on mental health services, and many countries face severe shortages of trained professionals. Research funding tells a similar story. After growing steadily for several years, global investment in mental health research has fallen back to where it was almost a decade ago in real terms. This means fewer new ideas being tested, fewer interventions being developed, and slower progress for people who urgently need better support.

There are some signs of momentum. In the UK, Europe and Australia, investment in mental health research has been increasing, thanks in part to funders like MQ. But funding alone is not enough. Too often, important research fails to reach the people whose lives it could improve. Outside specialist circles, mental health science can still feel fragmented, niche or misunderstood.

That is why the launch of a new international prize for mental health research matters.

"We are at a remarkable point in mental health science, with breakthroughs emerging across many different areas, yet too few people see the scale of innovation already happening. This prize is exciting because it celebrates research with real potential to improve lives, while placing lived experience and global collaboration at the heart of progress."

Dr Parisa Mansoori - MQ's Head of Research 

A prize designed to spotlight impact

Wellcome, in partnership with Nature, has announced the Wellcome Prize for Mental Health Science with Nature. The prize will award US$1 million to a winning team whose work shows clear, measurable improvements in mental health outcomes. Three further finalists will each receive US$250,000. The winner will be announced next year.

What makes this prize different is its focus. It is not about polished, late stage products or headline grabbing technologies. Instead, it aims to recognise early stage, evidence based interventions that already demonstrate real benefit and have the potential to be adopted more widely.

Eligible entries could include new treatments, digital tools, school or workplace programmes, policy changes or community led models of care. What matters most is not the category, but the outcome. The judges are looking for clear evidence that people’s lives are improving as a result.

Why visibility matters

Mental health has a long history of stigma and neglect. As the Nature editorial notes, many past approaches to mental illness were shaped more by social control than by care or compassion. People with serious mental health conditions were often feared, excluded or subjected to harmful practices, leaving a legacy that still affects attitudes and investment today.

Prizes cannot fix these deep rooted problems on their own. But they can help change the story we tell about mental health research. By drawing public attention to credible, high quality science, a prize of this scale sends a powerful message. Mental health research is rigorous. It is innovative. And it can lead to real, meaningful change.

This moment is especially important because the field is full of creativity. Researchers are exploring everything from digital therapies and real time monitoring to new psychological approaches and non invasive brain stimulation. Crucially, much of this work is happening in everyday settings like schools, workplaces and communities, not just clinics and laboratories.

At MQ, we see every day how transformative mental health research can be when it is properly supported and connected to the real world. Greater visibility helps ensure that promising ideas are recognised, funded and translated into better outcomes for people living with mental illness.