James Scott

Professor James Scott is a Conjoint Professor in Child and Youth Psychiatry at the Child Health Research Centre within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Queensland. He leads the Child and Youth Research Group at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and the Youth Mental Health Research Group at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research. Clinically, he serves as a Child and Youth Psychiatrist with the Metro North Mental Health Service, where he is the Director of the Early Psychosis Service.

Professor Scott's research focuses on developing preventative strategies and cost-effective real-world interventions for mental illness in children and youth. His work spans multiple domains including epidemiology of adolescent mental health, clinical trials for early intervention, bullying research, and psychiatric neuro-immunology. He has led major national and international studies including the Australian Child Maltreatment Study and the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys across multiple countries.

His recent publications (2025) demonstrate a strong focus on global adolescent mental health, with particular attention to child maltreatment, bullying, and mental disorders across diverse cultural contexts including Australia, Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam. His research spans epidemiological studies, clinical trials, and methodological innovations in mental health research across multiple continents.

Professor Scott has received significant recognition for his research:

• National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellowship (2016-2020) for research into prevention and intervention strategies to improve adolescent mental health
• Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' Senior Research Award (2018)

Professor Scott is actively involved in research supervision, currently mentoring seven PhD students as Principal Advisor and two as Associate Advisor. His current funding includes major projects such as 'Pharmacogenetics to improve drug tolerability in child psychiatry' (2026-2029) and 'Services for a National Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Wellbeing Study' (2024-2027). He has previously led significant projects including the Australian Child Maltreatment Study and the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys across multiple countries.

Professor Scott leads the Child and Youth Research Group at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and the Youth Mental Health Research Group at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research. He also serves as the elected chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Section for Youth Mental Health and is an editor of the Journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.