The power of international networks in ADHD research and clinical impact

One of the most important aspects that helped get my research going was the connections I’d made with other colleagues in the field. (I was trying here to avoid using the term ‘networking’, as it can sound such a cliché, but this is unavoidably what we are talking about.) So when I was asked to consider putting myself forward as a candidate for the next Co-Chair of ‘EUNETHYDIS’, the European Network for ADHD, there was really only one possible answer. Maybe it’s my turn to give back?

EUNETHYDIS – the European Network for ADHD

Professor Sven Bölte (from Karolinska Institutet) and I have now been heading EUNETHYDIS for nearly a year. We work with a fantastic group of colleagues in the Steering Committee, and further colleagues contribute as members of the annual meeting programme committee. Among our priorities has been to continue developing opportunities for early career researchers – a long-term focus of the network – and to increase public engagement.

Our recent annual meeting in Cagliari, Sardinia, on 7-10 October 2024, was an opportunity to put the ideas into practice. In addition to the main meeting, attended by 116 participants from 17 countries, we held, for the first time, two community events for local teachers and clinicians (psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals). These ‘local footprint’ activities provided the attendees – several hundred in total – with summaries of latest findings on ADHD, with a focus on clinical and educational implications. Each year we aim to target the community events to the needs of the specific location where the meeting is held, as the situation regarding ADHD research and clinical and educational challenges vary widely between different European countries.

This year, we held the meeting in Cagliari in honour of our late EUNETHYDIS colleague Professor Alessandro Zuddas. The poster prizes were also named in his honour, with Dr Steve Lukito from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) one of the two winners. Our local host Dr Sara Carucci had invited several Italian colleagues to provide further insight into an Italian perspective to ADHD research and clinical practice. Local media came also to interview Dr Carucci and Professor Samuele Cortese about the meeting and EUNETHYDIS.

Early career researchers (ECRs) broke the ice first with an informal dinner amongst themselves. Beyond delicious Italian food, there were lots of opportunities for participation: some ECRs gave talks, many others presented posters, and took part in mentoring, special interest groups and an ECR-specific session (with thanks to our Steering Committee ECR Lead, Dr Friederike Blume!).

The close links between our research and our network activities

While the work for a network such a EUNETHYDIS is on top of our ‘day’ job, it would be a mistaken view – only occasionally encountered – that our ‘day’ job at the IoPPN does not benefit from such work. Research is collaborative: we need to hear about the latest research by others, share our own findings, and get to know our international colleagues such that trust can build from which joint collaborations and grants emerge. To this we add the mentoring and support for ECRs, and public engagement – and the case is closed: this is a positive contribution and, following the law of give and take, it is at times the time for us each to give.

The contribution of IoPPN academics to EUNETHYDIS has a long history. The network was originally set up in the 1980s by Professor Joseph Sergeant from the Netherlands and IoPPN’s Emeritus Professor Eric Taylor. Current IoPPN members include Professor Taylor, Emeritus Professor Philip Asherson, Professor Emily Simonoff, Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke, Professor Katya Rubia and Dr Grainne McLoughlin. Several of us IoPPN members contribute also to the European ADHD Guidelines Group (EAGG), which is linked to EUNETHYDIS and chaired currently by Professors Samuele Cortese and Jan Buitelaar. In between the initial long reign by Professor Sergeant as the Chair and the current set-up, Professor Tobias Banaschewski (Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim) led the network inspirationally for many years for which, as well as for his other major contributions to the ADHD field, he deservedly received the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Cagliari meeting.

The joy of modern technology: join us for our webinars

What about the joy of modern technology? Long gone are the frozen connections of Covid times – now Teams is to be trusted (most of the time). We welcome you to join us for the EUNETHYDIS webinars that are now open to everyone. The next one takes place on Tuesday 12 November, 10:30 – 11:30 GMT. Dr Johan Isaksson from Uppsala University will present a discussion on the topic of psychological interventions for children and adolescents with ADHD. Click here to register. See you there!