University hospital of Montpellier
France
History
The Network was established within ECNP as a Europe-wide collaboration of expert child and adolescent psychiatry centres to coordinate research and clinical trials in paediatric psychopharmacology. It has been active at least since 2016, expanding to 40+ centres and formal governance (chair/co-chair, steering committee, external ethical/safety board). It engages with EMA/Enpr-EMA and runs regular meetings, training and joint projects with allied initiatives.
As chair and co-chair, we’re proud that our Network connects leading European centres to deliver rigorous trials, pragmatic guidance and real-world impact for young patients. Our next chapter will deepen collaboration with regulators and partners, accelerate innovative trial designs, and mentor the next generation through our Early Career members—so evidence translates faster to safer, more effective treatments.
Goals
1
Map unmet needs in paediatric psychopharmacology across disorders.
2
Design and run multi-centre clinical trials and collaborative studies.
3
Produce and implement evidence-based prescribing and clinical guidelines.
4
Train clinicians/researchers; deliver webinars and mentorship.
5
Advise regulators; align with EMA/Enpr-EMA priorities.
6
Build partnerships (e.g., c4c) and pursue EU funding.
Core members
| Member name | Institution | City | Country |
| Immaculada Baeza Pertegaz | FCRB-IDIBAPS-CIBERSAM | Barcelona | Spain |
| Tobias Banaschewski | Heidelberg University | Mannheim | Germany |
| Hilgo Buining | Amsterdam UMC | Amsterdam | The Netherlands |
| Sara Carucci | Università degli Studi di Cagliari | Cagliari | Italy |
| David Cohen | Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital | Paris | France |
| Christoph U. Correll | Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin | Berlin | Germany |
| Samuele Cortese | University of Southampton | Southampton | United Kingdom |
| Edna Grünblatt | University of Zürich | Zürich | Switzerland |
| Pieter Hoekstra | University Medical Center Groningen | Groningen | The Netherlands |
| Carmen Moreno | Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon | Madrid | Spain |
| Maria Nobile | IRCCS Istituto Scientifico 'E.Medea' | Bosisio Parini | Italy |
| Antonio Persico | University of Messina | Messina | Italy |
| Diane Quakil-Purper | Hôpital Saint Eloi | Montpellier | France |
| Veit Roessner | Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital | Dresden | Germany |
| Dejan Stevanovic | Clinic for Neurology and Psychiatry for Children and Youth | Belgrade | Serbia |
Associate members
| Member name | Institution | City | Country |
| Alan Apter | Schneider Children's Medical Center Of Israel | Petah Tikva | Israel |
| Celso Arango | Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon | Madrid | Spain |
| Jan Buitelaar | Radboud University Nijmegen | Nijmegen | The Netherlands |
| Josefina Castro-Fornieles | Hospital Clínic de Barcelona | Barcelona | Spain |
| David Coghill | University of Melbourne | Melbourne | Australia |
| Anthony James | University of Oxford | Oxford | United Kingdom |
| Pia Jeppesen | Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre (CAMHC) | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| Peter Nagy | Vadaskert Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Hospital | Budapest | Hungary |
| Anne Katrine Pagsberg | Child and Adolescent Mental Health Centre (CAMHC) | Copenhagen | Denmark |
| Mara Parellada | Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañon | Madrid | Spain |
| Gonzalo Salazar de Pablo | King´s College London | London | United Kingdom |
| Paramala Santosh | Centre of Interventional Paediatric Psychopharmacology | London | United Kingdom |
| Emily Simonoff | King's College London | London | United Kingdom |
| Argyris Stringaris | NIMH | Bethesda | USA |
| Benedetto Vitiello | University of Torino | Torino | Italy |
| Susanne Walitza | University of Zürich | Zürich | Switzerland |
| Abraham Weizman | Geha Mental Health Center | Petah Tikva | Israel |
| Tamar Wohlfarth | CBG-MEB | Utrecht | The Netherlands |
| Ian Chi Kei Wong | University of Hong Kong - Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine | Hong Kong | Hong Kong |
Early Career Academy members
| Member name | Institution | City | Country |
| Naomi Ciano Albanese | Istituto Superiore di Sanità | Rome | Italy |
| Asilay Seker | Institute of Psychiatry- Psychology & Neuroscience | London | United Kingdom |
Publications
-
2024Cortese et al.
Psychopharmacology in children and adolescents: unmet needs and opportunities
Lancet Psychiatry -
2023Cortese et al.
The future of child and adolescent clinical psychopharmacology: A systematic review of phase 2, 3, or 4 randomized controlled trials of pharmacologic agents without regulatory approval or for unapproved indications.
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews -
2015Persico et al.
Unmet needs in paediatric psychopharmacology: present scenario and future perspectives
European Neuropsychopharmacology
Research projects
MATRICS
An FP7-funded project (“Multidisciplinary Approaches to Translational Research in Conduct Syndromes”) that identified neural, genetic and molecular factors in aggression/antisocial behaviour in children to support paediatric CNS trial design.
Grant agreement no. 602144
ADDUCE
A large European pharmacovigilance study on the long-term safety of methylphenidate in children/adolescents with ADHD (growth, neurological, cardiovascular, psychiatric outcomes).
Grant agreement no. 260576
EMTICS
A FP7-funded longitudinal multi-centre European study of children with/at risk of tic disorders, examining genetic, immune, environmental factors and longitudinal course.
Grant agreement no. 278367
STOP
FP7-funded project developing a web-based tool to assess and monitor suicidality and treatment-related suicidal behaviours in children/adolescents receiving psychoactive medication.
Grant agreement no. 261411
NEWROFEED
H2020 (or advanced EU) project to develop a personalized medical device for ADHD diagnosis and treatment based on EEG biomarkers and neurofeedback training.
Grant agreement no. 684809
MILESTONE
An FP7-funded EU-wide longitudinal and cluster-RCT study (2014-2019) examining the transition from child & adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) to adult mental health services (AMHS), validating transition‐measures, mapping service organisation, and developing clinical/policy guidelines.
Grant agreement no. 602442
BootStRaP
A five-year Horizon Europe research initiative analysing how internet use among adolescents (12-16 yrs) impacts mental health, developing a smartphone-based screening/intervention app and a policy toolkit on digital human rights and risk prevention.
Grant agreement no. 101080238
Events
ECNP School on Child & Adolescent Neuropsychopharmacology
27 March-1 April 2022, Venice, Italy
The ECNP School of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychopharmacology has been established to encourage and spread excellence in clinical neuropsychopharmacology among child and adolescent psychiatrists.
ECNP–c4c Multi-Stakeholder Meeting on Paediatric Irritability
18–19 March 2024, Nice, France
Held alongside the ECNP New Frontiers Meeting this meeting brought together academia, regulators, industry and patient groups to advance clinical research and guidance on paediatric irritability.
ECNP Standalone meeting
13 October 2025, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Annual meeting