A research team led by Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou, as part of the wider RESTAR research programme, has been awarded the 2025 Lionel Hersov Memorial Award from the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH). Georgia is senior author of the awarded paper, Director of UCL's GRRAND Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology (CEHP), part of the UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences (PALS).
The national award recognises outstanding innovation and impact in child and adolescent mental health research, celebrating the team’s pioneering RE-STAR programme for deepening the participation of neurodivergent young people in research.
Redefining participation in neurodiversity research
Funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the RE-STAR team has reimagined how research involving neurodivergent communities is designed and delivered. Their award-winning paper, Deepening the participation of neurodivergent youth in qualitative mental health research (JCPP Advances, 2024), is already among the journal’s top 100 most-read articles on ResearchGate.
Traditionally, neurodivergent young people have been involved as advisors or reviewers. The RE-STAR model moves beyond this, embedding them as co-researchers and equal partners throughout the research process. Using creative, neurodiversity-affirming methods such as poetry, visual vignettes, and drawing, the team co-designed and co-delivered a six-phase qualitative study that set a new standard for inclusion.
Innovation through inclusion
The RE-STAR approach is grounded in power-sharing, relational ethics, and co-intentionality, showing that inclusive research is both ethically right and scientifically enriching. Pairing youth co-researchers with academic interviewers enhanced comfort and trust among participants, leading to more authentic and nuanced insights.
Lasting impact
The RE-STAR framework is now being shared with NHS and education partners to inform inclusive practice and policy, while inspiring other youth-led projects across the UK.
Dr Pavlopoulou said: “This award is a testament to what can be achieved when neurodivergent young people are valued as equal partners in research. Inclusion is not only ethically right but scientifically enriching.”
Dr Kakoulidou added: “The RE-STAR approach challenges how research is done – it’s about power-sharing, creativity, and care, building evidence that truly reflects the lives and strengths of neurodivergent people.”
About RE-STAR
The RE-STAR Programme, funded by the MRC, brings together researchers from UCL, King’s College London, Anna Freud, and Cardiff University, alongside neurodivergent communities, to co-design and evaluate approaches that improve mental health outcomes for neurodivergent people. (Chief Investigator: Prof Edmund Sonuga-Barke)