Director’s Innovation Speaker Series: Youth Suicidal Behaviors: Where Do We Go From Here
Date and time
December 16, 2024
2:00 to 3:00 pm Eastern Time
Location
Virtual and in-person at the Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Blvd., Rockville, MD 20852
Overview
During this fireside chat, Shelli Avenevoli, Ph.D., acting director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), and Arielle H. Sheftall, Ph.D. will provide an overview of the state of youth suicide and suicidal behaviors and the way forward for research, prevention and intervention. This discussion will explore current trends, risk factors, and protective strategies in youth mental health, as well as advances in research that may shape future efforts to reduce suicide rates among youth in the USA.
About Dr. Sheftall
Arielle H. Sheftall, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry in Rochester, New York. She is an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Psychology at the University of Rochester and the Director of Academic Affairs for the Diversity, Inclusion, Culture, and Equity (DICE) Board of the Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Sheftall’s research focuses on developmental mechanisms in early and middle childhood that confer vulnerability to future suicidal behavior. Its objective is to establish early intervention objectives to reduce the incidence of a first suicide attempt.
Additionally, Dr. Sheftall studies the racial disparities present in suicidal behavior among youth. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus Emergency Task Force that developed the Sound alarm report and continues to examine the risk factors, practices, and policy recommendations needed to decrease suicidal behaviors in Black youth.
She is also a subject matter expert for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), focusing on mental health promotion and suicide prevention for Black people. . Dr. Sheftall has received funding from NIMH and AFSP.
About the Director’s Innovation Speaker Series
NIMH established the Director’s Innovation Speaker Series to encourage broad, interdisciplinary thinking in the development of scientific initiatives and programs and to push for theoretical advances in science rather than the continuation of incremental thinking. Innovation speakers are encouraged to describe their work from the perspective of breaking existing boundaries and developing successful new ideas, as well as working outside their primary area of expertise in ways that have moved their fields forward. We encourage debates about the meaning of innovation, creativity, advances and paradigm shifts.
Sponsored by
Division of extramural activities
Record
This event is free, but you must register to attend .
Contact
InnovationSpeakers@mail.nih.gov
More information
Closed captioning and a sign language interpreter will be provided for this event.
