On April 30, the Quebec Mental Health Alliance (Alliance) brought together all its members and partners in person for the first time. It was a day rich in discussion, learning and collaboration, centred on a common goal: to accelerate the advancement of knowledge and its translation into tangible outcomes.
A unifying event for mental health stakeholders
At the heart of the discussions were the Alliance’s three strategic priorities:
- Data utilization
- Shared data collection
- The development of innovative interventions
The day served to highlight inspiring projects, foster the sharing of expertise and identify new avenues for collaboration across Quebec.
Spotlight on the next generation of researchers
Many participants took part in the event through poster presentations.
From among all these excellent presentations, we are delighted to announce the winners:
🏆 1st prize : Fahed E. (Maxime Montembeault‘s team)
🥈 2nd prize : Jiaxuan D. (Geneviève Sauvé and Katie Lavigne‘s teams)
🥉 3rd prize : Enzo Cipriani (Robert-Paul Juster‘s team)
Congratulations to these three for the quality of your work and presentations, which stood out for their scientific rigour, clarity and ability to spark interest and discussion.
Thank you to all the poster presenters who contributed to advancing knowledge in mental health.
In the photo : The three winners accompanied by Naguib Mechawar, director of the Alliance’s
Knowledge Transfer Division.
A central role for patient partners
Two patient partners from the Alliance, Novembre Mercier and Jillian Mills, spoke at the Alliance’s event, giving a presentation entitled:
Outreach and training on the involvement of patient partners and peer supporters in research
They also delivered a cross-disciplinary training session the day before the event, entitled:
Co-creating research: types of involvement and mutually beneficial relationships
This training session, held on April 29, 2026, aimed to explore the various roles that patient research partners can play and to develop collaborative relationships. It also featured contributions from other speakers:
- Tosh Watson
- Max Dufaut
- Katie Dahl
A big thank you to everyone who came forward to share their experiences and perspectives!
Acknowledgements
The Quebec Mental Health Alliance Day would not have been such a success without…
- The vital participation of patient partners and peer supporters, whose contributions continue to enrich research and innovation practices.
- The students and researchers who presented their work, contributing to the vitality and future of mental health research.
- The Fonds de recherche du Québec, the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), the Quebec Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy (MEIE) and Janssen Inc. for their support through the Innovation-Québec-Janssen Partnership, which enables the Alliance to carry out its activities.
- Johnson & Johnson for their financial contribution to the organisation of the event.
- Everyone present for contributing to the success of the day.
Together, the Alliance’s members continue to build a strong, collaborative ecosystem to support better serves mental health.
The Quebec Mental Health Alliance
What is it? Who is it?
The Quebec Mental Health Alliance unites key players in mental health research in Quebec through a shared goal of better assessing mental health issues through objective indicators of the condition and to develop new, innovative interventions.
For the first time, the Alliance brings together Quebec’s three university mental health institutes and their respective research centres: the Douglas Research Centre, the CERVO Brain Research Centre and the IUSMM Research Centre.
The Alliance’s vision
The Alliance’s primary objective is to bring together key players specialising in mental health and neuroscience in order to facilitate the sharing of expertise and knowledge. It offers a unique opportunity to carry out joint, systematic and relevant data collection for both research and clinical practice. The key strategy lies in the development and validation of measurement tools that will help to bridge the gap between neuroscience and mental health.
The Alliance therefore aims to structure and coordinate mental health research initiatives
to maximise their impact.
