Child and Adolescent Neuropsychopharmacology Network

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.

Diane Ouakil-Purper, France, and Gil Zalsman, Israel

Goals

Map unmet needs in paediatric psychopharmacology across disorders.

Design and run multi-centre clinical trials and collaborative studies.

Produce and implement evidence-based prescribing and clinical guidelines.

Train clinicians/researchers; deliver webinars and mentorship.

Advise regulators; align with EMA/Enpr-EMA priorities.

Build partnerships (e.g., c4c) and pursue EU funding.

Diane Ouakil-Purper

University hospital of Montpellier
France

Chair

Gil Zalsman

Geha Mental Health Center
Israel

Co-chair

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

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

The ECNP School of Child and Adolescent Neuropsychopharmacology has been established to encourage and spread excellence in clinical neuropsychopharmacology among child and adolescent psychiatrists.

27 March-1 April 2022, Venice, Italy

ECNP–c4c Multi-Stakeholder Meeting on Paediatric Irritability

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.

18–19 March 2024, Nice, France

ECNP Standalone meeting

Annual meeting

13 October 2025, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Meetings

Knowledge Hub

Research

Awards

Early Career

News

About

Child and Adolescent Neuropsychopharmacology Network

History

Goals

Publications

Psychopharmacology in children and adolescents: unmet needs and opportunities

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.

Unmet needs in paediatric psychopharmacology: present scenario and future perspectives

Research projects

Events