Dear IASR Members:
First, I would like to wish you a happy and productive 2026! It is a privilege to serve as President of this remarkable organization at a pivotal moment for our field. Suicide continues to pose a serious global public health challenge, but it is also an area where rigorous, innovative, and collaborative research has the power to deepen understanding, inform practice, and drive meaningful change in suicide prevention efforts worldwide. Advancing this work requires multidisciplinary and cross-border research partnerships, especially those that create space for diverse perspectives to actively shape our questions, methods, and impact.
The Academy, which brings together researchers with public health, clinical, biological, psychological, social, advocacy, and lived experience backgrounds from across cultures and systems, is uniquely positioned to shape this work in suicide prevention research on a global scale. I invite each of you to engage actively with the Academy by sharing your expertise, suggesting and participating in our initiatives, and helping to collectively advance suicide prevention science, practice, and policy in ways that save lives.
Second, I want to sincerely thank you for your new or continued membership in the Academy. Your time and resources are precious, and, on behalf of the Board, we are deeply grateful that you have chosen to invest them in this community. As President, my commitment is simple and unwavering: to listen, engage, and work with you collaboratively to ensure that the Academy provides opportunities for mentorship, professional development, and networking for all its members. For example, we will be reaching out to you in the coming two months with a brief survey to better understand the needs of our members. This will allow the Board to identify ways to address them.
Third, I want to say thanks to the members who ran for office and those who took the time to vote. I am pleased to announce that Drs. Vladimir Carli and Sakina Rizvi were elected to office as the President-elect and Secretary for the Academy. On behalf of the Board, I extend my sincere congratulations to you both! Your willingness to serve in these leadership roles reflects both your commitment to the Academy and the confidence members have placed in you. Dr. Carli spent the last 6 years as Treasurer for the Academy and will bring this historical knowledge to his role as president-elect. On the other hand, as secretary Dr. Rizvi will bring fresh perspectives, new energy, and valuable expertise to help guide the Board’s work and advance our shared mission.
Fourth, I would like to inform the membership of two open positions on the Board: Member-at-Large, Membership and Member-at-Large, Mentorship. If you are interested in helping to strengthen and diversify the membership of the Academy, enhance membership engagement, and help to develop and implement mentorship and career development opportunities for our early career member, please consider self-nomination for either of these positions. You can find more information on these Board positions and the nomination process by clicking on the links below:
Member-at-large, Mentorship
Member-at-large, Membership
Next, I would like to remind you of the Academy’s partnership with the International Association of Suicide Prevention in offering joint Zoom-based suicide prevention webinars that are open globally. We are currently planning the next webinar that will take place on March 19, 2026, 7:00-8:30 am Eastern Time (New York Time). This is being coordinated by our immediate past-President, Dr. Holly Wilcox. If you are interested in giving a 20-minute presentation, please let her know at hwilcox1@jhmi.edu.
Last, the 21st European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behavior (ESSSB) conference will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, August 26-29, 2026. The deadline for oral and poster abstracts is January 26, 2026. Please consider submitting your research! The lineup of speakers indicates that this will be an amazing informative conference!
Before ending, I would like to thank our immediate past-President, Dr. Holly Wilcox for her hard work over the past 3 years in advancing the mission of the Academy. Thanks to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention for its partnership in our very successful Suicide Summit in Boston, Massachusetts and to Parthenon Management for the wonderful work they did! We look forward to the next Suicide Summit in Montreal, Canada in November 7-10, 2027. Mark your calendar!
Again, I look forward to working with the Board to advance the mission of the Academy!
Sincerely,
Diana E. Clarke, PhD President, IASR