Established in 2021 within Tsinghua University’s Vanke School of Public Health, the Youth Mental Health Lab advances innovative research on the mental health of children and adolescents. The Lab unites specialists in clinical and applied psychology, psychiatry, cognitive neuroscience, public health, computer science, biomedical engineering and the social sciences, fostering deep interdisciplinary collaboration.

Its work centres on three complementary research streams:

1. Population-based cohort studies – tracking prevalence, risk factors and developmental trajectories of youth mental-health problems.

2. Physiological and neuro-brain mechanisms – mapping physiological signals and neural circuits linked to mood disorders and self-harm, identifying biomarkers and testing neuromodulation interventions.

3. Prevention and intervention research – implementing and evaluating evidence-based programmes in clinical and school settings while accelerating digital-health innovations that expand access to effective care.

​