IAMHRF Member News Roundup: Second Quarter of 2026 

Highlights from across the Alliance

From new prizes and clinical trials strategies to fresh investment in youth mental health and open data infrastructure, the months since our last roundup have seen IAMHRF members pushing forward on several fronts at once. Here are some highlights from our members over the past few months. 

Wellcome launches the world’s largest prize for mental health science

Wellcome has launched the Wellcome Prize for Mental Health Science with Nature, the largest prize of its kind for the field. It opened for applications on 14 May 2026, with a deadline of 18 September 2026. The overall winner will receive USD 1 million, and three finalist teams USD 250,000 each, alongside visibility and practical support to move their interventions towards adoption and policy integration. Submissions must be scientifically rigorous, informed by lived experience, and show clear potential to improve outcomes at scale for anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Finalists will be announced in May 2027 and we can’t wait to see the list!

Grand Challenges Canada secures a renewed CAD 200 million from the Government of Canada 

The Government of Canada has announced a renewed CAD 200 million, five-year institutional investment in Grand Challenges Canada (GCC), keeping catalytic capital flowing to innovators working in global health and development. The funding spans youth mental health alongside primary care, climate and health, and early childhood development. 

The Health Research Board injects new momentum into Ireland’s clinical trials ecosystem 

The Health Research Board (HRB) is underlining its commitment to strengthening Ireland’s clinical trials infrastructure as part of a wider drive to improve health outcomes through research and evidence. At the heart of its recently launched five-year strategy, Bringing Research to Life, is a focus on advancing clinical trials so more patients can access a broader range of healthcare interventions.

The Graham Boeckh Foundation makes the case for coordinated investment in child and youth thriving

A new discussion paper, Building the Conditions for Child and Youth Thriving in Canada, argues that the country has a unique opportunity to build a more coordinated approach to upstream prevention and child and youth thriving. Commissioned by the Graham Boeckh Foundation and supported by a collaborative of philanthropic partners, the paper explores how Canada can strengthen the conditions that enable children and young people to flourish.

Wellcome’s Mental Health Data Prize: Africa delivers a new open-access data repository

Wellcome’s Mental Health Data Prize Africa has enabled the creation of the Africa Mental Health Data Repository, a new open-access platform bringing together datasets on anxiety, depression and psychosis from across the continent into a single, centralised resource. This is a concrete step towards the kind of shared, openly governed research infrastructure the field has long been missing. 

CIHR opens two new opportunities in youth mental health 

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has two upcoming funding opportunities in the youth mental health space: a Team Grant supporting a national platform for evidence-based programmes and practices, and an Operating Grant focused on evaluation and implementation science in the same area.