Location: Hyderabad, India Status: Undergraduate student in Social Sciences, majoring in Cognition, Brain and Behavior, Minerva Schools at KGI Why do you think mental health in academia is important?  Mental Health in Academia is important to me because I have seen its effects personally and in my classmates. Academia is important and if its’ researchers are doing well, we will …

Location: Groningen, the Netherlands Status: PhD student in marine ecology and evolution Why do you think mental health in academia is important? Academia is a very demanding and challenging environment, but it shouldn’t be toxic. There is a lot of abuse and unnecessary stress currently built into the academic system. But it doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t) be that way. …

Location: San Diego, CA, USA Status: Education Consultant, University of California San Diego Why do you think mental health in academia is important? Academia stands as a gateway to both professional advancement and the legitimization of knowledge. As academia welcomes new perspectives and peoples it must also update its systems to support their continued well being.

Location: Berlin, Germany Status: PhD researcher in developmental biology Why do you think mental health in academia is important? As academia becomes more diverse, it would be meaningful to take steps to make it an inclusive and kinder space. By investing in the mental health of scientists, we are supporting them to reach their potential and goals without harming their health …

Location: Berlin, Germany Status: PhD fellow in Medical Neurosciences at Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin Why do you think mental health in academia is important?  Mental health is a state of being where each person can be their best self and contribute to their community. Nurturing mental health in academia will help people thrive and at the same time excel science.

Location: Jena, Germany Status: PhD student in plant microbiology Why do you think mental health in academia is important? Academic culture is very challenging and demanding and the work environment is not necessarily supporting people in doing science – if you do not fit in or function well enough the system lets you down. I have seen enough great scientists …

Location: Berlin, Germany Status: Einstein PhD fellow in Systems Neurosciences at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin Why do you think mental health in academia is important?  Academia values diligence. Almost all scientists experience the fear of not working hard enough and won’t survive the toxic environment. The cost is way too high: we eliminate, instead of stand for, some of the …

Location: Oakland, CA, USA Status: PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology, currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in Psychiatric Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Why do you think mental health in academia is important? Science is hard enough on its own. People shouldn’t have to suffer to do what they love.

Location: Washington, DC, USA Status: Principal Legislative Analyst, University of California Federal Government Relations Office Why do you think mental health in academia is important? I think we have to think about scientists as not only being the individuals advancing the research enterprise, but also the fact that they are human beings. We need to focus on making sure that …