Health
Eating Disorders Centre Lived Experience expert appointed to national mental health advisory panel
12 Apr, 2022
Ms Shannon Calvert, Lived Experience Co-Production Co-Lead of the Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Centre (AEDRTC), has been appointed to the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission expert advisory panel to guide the nation’s future roadmap in mental health. The $125 million Mission supports Australia’s best researchers to save and improve lives within the Federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon. Greg Hunt announced the expert panel which will provide advice on research priorities and investment to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental health in Australia. Professor Maree Teesson AC, Director of the Matilda Centre, will chair the panel. Part of the University of Sydney’s rich research ecosystem, the Matilda Centre will contribute multidisciplinary expertise on mental health and comorbidities to the AEDRTC’s research and translation activities. Professor Jennifer Hudson, Black Dog Institute's Director of Research and AEDRTC's National Technical Advisory member, was also appointed to the panel.
The new national expert advisory panel will review the existing roadmap and develop an implementation plan to improve mental health and well-being of all Australians, including issues facing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, children and young people, and people with eating disorders.
“Shannon’s lived experience expertise is so incredibly valuable. We are proud to have her as Co-Lead of the Centre’s Lived Experience workstream. This is a really important appointment and a great acknowledgment of the value of Shannon’s significant contribution to the mental health space.” — Peta Marks, National Programs Manager, InsideOut Institute and Chief Operating Officer, Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Centre
With an estimate of 1 million Australians affected by an eating disorder, Ms Calvert stressed the importance of lived experience and collaborative consultation with a diversity of community members in a recent InsideOut Podcast episode on the importance of co-design in eating disorders research – highlighting how co-design incorporates a diversity of voices from the outset to ensure that research responds to priorities, fills knowledge gaps and changes people’s lives.
The Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Centre, led by InsideOut Institute with a national consortium, will lead the country’s vision towards the goal of improving outcomes for Australians living with an eating disorder and their loved ones.