It is our pleasure to announce the shortlist of nominees for the 2026 ACAMH Awards.
Congratulations to all those selected. Being nominated for an ACAMH Award is a significant achievement, recognising individuals who are leading the way in advancing child and adolescent mental health research and practice.
The standard of this year’s nominations has been exceptionally high. A panel of experts in child and adolescent mental health reviewed the longlist to determine the shortlist.
The Awards will be presented at a FREE to attend virtual ceremony on 5 November 2026.
Congratulations once again to all 2026 nominees.
Educator Award – David Cottrell ‘Education of CAMH Professionals’
David Cottrell ‘Education of CAMH Professionals’
Nomination 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- Dr. Arnon Bentovim, Child and Family Training UK
- Professor Amanda E. Guyer, University of California, Davis
- Dr. Mariana Pereira, Anna Freud Centre / University College London
- Dr. Karen Street, ALSG: Advanced Life Support Group
Research Into Practice Award – Eric Taylor ‘Translational Research into Practice’
Eric Taylor ‘Translational Research into Practice’
Nomination 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- Dr. Anne-Marie Burn, University of Cambridge
- Professor Tony Charman, King’s College London
- Dr. Erik Pettersson, Karolinska Institutet
- Dr. Heather Taussig, University of Denver, Kempe Center, & University of Colorado School of Medicine
- Dr. Mark D. Weist, University of South Carolina
Rising Star Award – Kathy Sylva ‘Rising Star’ Award
Kathy Sylva ‘Rising Star’ Award
Nomination Criteria: Please note that this award cannot be self-nominated. 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- Dr. Alessio Bellato, University of Southampton, University of Nottingham Malaysia
- Dr. David Bürgin, University Psychiatric Hospitals Basel
- Dr. Divyangana Rakesh, King’s College London
- Dr. Blandine French, University of Nottingham
Digital Innovation Award – Digital Intervention
Digital Intervention
Nomination 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- Dr. Melissa Aji, Black Dog Institute
- Professor Sven Bölte, KIND, Karolinska Institutet
- Professor Cathy Creswell, University of Oxford
- Dr. Brynjar Halldorsson, Reykjavik University, Reykjavik, Iceland / University of Oxford
- Dr. Jane McGrath, ADMiRE ADHD Pathway HSE Linn Dara Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and Trinity College Dublin
Trainee Award – Postgraduate Clinical Trainee of the Year
Postgraduate Clinical Trainee of the Year
Nomination Criteria: For candidates currently in a clinical training working towards a professional qualification (rather than academic qualification) in mental health (e.g. medical students, trainee psychiatrists, trainee psychologists, trainee occupational therapists, trainee speech and language therapists etc.)
Shortlist nominees:
- Dr. Clara Faria, University of Cambridge
- Ms. Rachel Francois-Walcott, University of Surrey
- Dr. Benjamin Geers, University of Exeter, Devon Partnership Trust
Trainee Award – Masters Student of the Year
Masters Student of the Year
Nomination Criteria: For candidates currently enrolled in an MsC/MA/Mphil course of study as of the date of announcement of invitation for nominations. (This category can be self-nominated)
Shortlist nominees:
- Ms. Sarah Daniels, University of Cambridge
- Mrs. Nora Evbaguehita Igbinovia, Edge Hill University
- Ms. Abby Lomas, University of Birmingham and Bee N Spired
Trainee Award – PhD Student of the Year
PhD Student of the Year
Nomination Criteria: For candidates enrolled in a PhD programme as of the date of announcement of invitation for nominations. (This category can be self-nominated)
Shortlist nominees:
- Mr. Brian Ching, King’s College London
- Ms. Eugenia Giampetruzzi, Stanford University
- Ms. Constantina Psyllou, Accare Child Study Center, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands
- Ms. Lottie Shipp, University of Oxford
- Ms. Xinhe Zhang, University of Cambridge
Trainee Award – Postdoctoral Researcher of the Year
Postdoctoral Researcher of the Year
Nomination Criteria: For candidates awarded a PhD in the previous 3 years, but not yet in a tenured academic post.
Shortlist nominees:
- Dr. Laura Bechtiger, Interdisciplinary Center for Psychopathology and Emotion Regulation, Department of Psychiatry, University Medical Center Groningen
- Dr. Chloe Chessell, University of Oxford
- Dr. Elaine Clarke, Rutgers University
- Dr. An-Katrien Hulsbosch, Human Developmental Neurobiology unit, OIST Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
- Dr. Emma Caitlin Sullivan, University of Melbourne
Team Award – Lionel Hersov Memorial Award
Lionel Hersov Memorial Award
Nomination 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- AnDY Research Clinics, University of Oxford
- CAMHS ACUITY, Leicestershire Partnership Trust
- NIHR MindTech HealthTech Research Centre, University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
- Tabla Psychology, Tabla Psychology
- Therapeutic Hub, Therapeutic Hub, London Borough of Sutton
Team Awards – Innovative Research, Training or Practice in Lower-Middle Income Countries
Innovative Research, Training or Practice in Lower-Middle Income Countries
Nomination 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- Aanandit Hridaya, Aanandit Hridaya
- Magic Bus India Foundation – Adolescent Programmes, Magic Bus India Foundation
- Positive Pathways Initiatives, Positive Pathways Initiatives
- Youth Association for Development (YAD) Management, Staff, project staff, group and team, Youth Association for Development (YAD) Pakistan
*Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Eswatini, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao, Lebanon, Lesotho, Mauritania, Micronesia, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) Best Paper Award
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (JCPP) Best Paper Award
Nomination 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 2024. The winning and shortlisted original articles are chosen based on a range of criteria including scope, relevance and study design.
Shortlist nominees:
- (Original Article) Emotional burden in school as a source of mental health problems associated with ADHD and/or autism: Development and validation of a new co-produced self-report measure, (Vol. 66, Iss. 10), Steve Lukito, Susie Chandler, Myrofora Kakoulidou, Kirsty Griffiths, Anna Wyatt, Eloise Funnell, Georgia Pavlopoulou, Sylvan Baker, Daniel Stahl, Edmund Sonuga-Barke, on behalf of the RE-STAR team
- (Original Article) Exploring mechanisms behind the increasing gender gap in adolescent psychological symptoms, 2002–2022: the role of national-level gender equality, (Vol. 66, Iss. 5), Margreet E. de Looze, Alina Cosma, Frank J. Elgar, Karen Schrijvers, Jo Inchley, Sophie D. Walsh, Gonneke W. J. M. Stevens
- (Original Article) Nature and nurture in fussy eating from toddlerhood to early adolescence: findings from the Gemini twin cohort, (Vol. 66, Iss. 2), Zeynep Nas, Moritz Herle, Alice R. Kininmonth, Andrea D. Smith, Rachel Bryant-Waugh, Alison Fildes, Clare H. Llewellyn
- (Original Article) The clinical and cost effectiveness of a STAndardised DIagnostic Assessment for children and adolescents with emotional difficulties: the STADIA multi-centre randomised controlled trial, (Vol. 66, Iss. 6), Kapil Sayal, Laura Wyatt, Christopher Partlett, Colleen Ewart, Anupam Bhardwaj, Bernadka Dubicka, Tamsin Marshall, Julia Gledhill, Alexandra Lang, Kirsty Sprange, Louise Thomson, Sebastian Moody, Grace Holt, Helen Bould, Clare Upton, Matthew Keane, Edward Cox, Marilyn James, Alan Montgomery
- (Original Article) Toward a consensus on dyslexia: findings from a Delphi study, (Vol. 66, Iss. 7), Julia M. Carroll, Caroline Holden, Philip Kirby, Paul A. Thompson, Margaret J. Snowling, the Dyslexia Delphi Panel
Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Journal Best Paper Award
Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) Journal Best Paper Award
Nomination 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- (Review Article) How can nature connectedness and behaviours for learning be deliberately developed in children, adolescents and young adults? A systematic literature review, (Vol. 30, Iss. 2), Nicole M. Harris, Brettany Hartwell, Louisa Thomas, Marcus Grace
- (Original Article) Longitudinal effects of green, blue, and gray spaces on early adolescent mental health in the United States, (Vol. 30, Iss. 2), Shannon Shaughnessy, Daniel Messinger, Spencer C. Evans
- (Original Article) The protective role of community cohesion across rural and urban contexts: implications for youth mental health, (Vol. 30, Iss. 2), Alexis Brieant, Keith B. Burt
- (Review Article) Review: Efficacy of preventative interventions for children and adolescents at clinical high risk of psychosis – a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies, (Vol. 30, Iss. 1), Grace Frearson, Javier de Otazu Olivares, Ana Catalan, Claudia Aymerich, Gonzalo Salazar de Pablo
- (Review Article) Scoping review: potential harm from school-based group mental health interventions, (Vol. 30, Iss. 3), Carolina Guzman-Holst, Rowan Streckfuss Davis, Jack L. Andrews, Lucy Foulkes
JCPP Advances Best Paper Award
JCPP Advances Best Paper Award
Nomination 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.
Shortlist nominees:
- (Original Article) Beyond the income-achievement gap: The role of individual, family, and environmental factors in cognitive resilience among low-income youth, (Vol. 5, Iss. 3), Divyangana Rakesh, Ekaterina Sadikova, Katie A. McLaughlin
- (Original Article) Chronotype and depression in adolescence: Results from a UK birth cohort study, (Vol. 5, Iss. 1), Dimitris I. Tsomokos, Elizabeth Halstead, Eirini Flouri
- (Original Article) Social anxiety symptoms and their relationship with suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A prospective study, (Vol. 5, Iss. 1), Kenny Chiu, Argyris Stringaris, Eleanor Leigh
- (Original Article) The process of co-design for a new anxiety intervention for autistic children, (Vol. 5, Iss. 2), Tasha Cullingham, Una Rennard, Cathy Creswell, Damian Milton, Karen Leneh Buckle, Lucie Godber, Kate Gordon, Michael Larkin, Jonathan Green
- (Original Article) Trajectories of mental health across the primary to secondary school transition, (Vol. 5, Iss. 1), Caitlyn Donaldson, Jemma Hawkins, Frances Rice, Graham Moore
Terms and Conditions
- Multiple nominations for the same person for the same Award do not carry more weight; only the first submission is considered.
- All information provided in the Nomination Form is treated as confidential and for the purpose of Awards only. The data submitted will be visible only to relevant ACAMH staff for processing, and the Awards judging panel.
- The verdict of the Awards judging panel is final.
- Judges reserve the right to withhold the presentation of awards if entries do not meet the required standard.
If you would like to receive details about the ACAMH 2026 Awards, or have any queries, please email awards@acamh.org