A University of the Sunshine Coast researcher has received a prestigious grant of more than half a million dollars to find new ways of encouraging young people who self-harm to seek assistance.

Dr Jolene Cox, a Research Fellow with UniSC’s Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science, said her project was motivated by a passion to support youth mental health and wellbeing.

She will receive $530,000 under the Australian Government’s Discovery Early Career Researcher Award scheme for 2026, announced yesterday. 

Dr Cox said self-harm among young people was a public health concern exacerbated by low help-seeking rates.

“Help-seeking in this population remains poorly understood,” she said.

“This three-year project aims to build a deep understanding of help-seeking for self-harm in young people. We expect the outcomes to include a new model of help-seeking.”

The project builds on her current research program focused on mental health, harmful behaviours, and complex systems modelling.

The Australian Research Council awarded $102.7 million to support 200 new DECRA projects, aimed at strengthening Australia’s research capability and global competitiveness.