The R2D2-MH Project

R2D2-MH is a 5-year project that aims to understand risk and resilience factors associated with mental health and in the context of developmental diversity. Through co-creation, R2D2-MH aims to deliver solutions tailored to the needs of the stakeholders, thus contributing to the improvement of healthcare management and well-being of individuals and their family. The international and interdisciplinary consortium, coordinated by Prof. Thomas Bourgeron at Institut Pasteur, brings together 26 partners with complementary expertise, from neurosciences and computational biology to social sciences, humanities and communication, as well as 2 international associations representing individuals with neurodevelopmental diversities.

The importance of resilience in mental health and neurodevelopmental diversities

Neurodevelopmental diversities (NDDs) include autism, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), intellectual disabilities (ID) and have a high prevalence of up to 15% of the population. It is well known that neurodivergent people have an increased risk of mental health conditions, although the exact mechanisms are not well understood. So far, researchers have focused on risk factors, omitting the role of resilience in the way individuals positively adapt to adversity even in the presence of risk factors, like genetic mutations or preterm birth. R2D2-MH proposes a double paradigm shift, not only by integrating resilience factors to its research approach and tools, but also by redefining wellbeing and functioning in a neurodevelopmental diversity approach.

%

of the population live with neurodevelopmental diversities

Prof. Thomas Bourgeron

Prof. Thomas Bourgeron,
coordinator of the R2D2-MH project

Institut Pasteur

“[…] Resilience plays a major role in mental health as it provides a strengths-based focus on how people can adapt in response to adversity and have better outcomes. […]. The novelty of our approach is to identify both risk and resilience factors and to investigate the influences on mental health outcomes collectively with all stakeholders to redefine wellbeing and functioning at an individual level. I am convinced that R2D2-MH will prepare the ground for personalised approaches of neurodevelopmental disorders and reduce the stigma.”

What does the R2D2-MH project aim to deliver ?

R2D2-MH will provide the first multiscale dataset of individuals, combining data on genetic risk-factors, brain architecture and identify biological mechanisms of resilience associated with diverse outcomes in individuals with neurodevelopmental diversities. This will lead to the co-development of the first generation of predictive models for NDDs, including not only risks but also protective/resilience factors, building on the input of the co-creation groups (co-development).

Co-creation

The strength of R2D2-MH lies in the involvement, in the implementation of the project, from start to end, of young and adults individuals living with neurodevelopmental diversities, their families, as well as scientists, healthcare givers and industry partners. This is called co-creation and will allow to concretely address the needs of the end-users and develop tools with real-life purposes.

Co-creation is also about involving you in the development of the website. If you would like to suggest improvement for accessibility, design, or content, we would like to hear from you!

Three-Persons

The R2D2-MH consortium

Kick-off meeting R2D2 in Paris, 26/10/2022

Latest News

Latest R2D2-MH Tweets