A major study has produced a series of international expert recommendations on how to better implement suicide prevention strategies, marking a critical step forward in the global fight to reduce suicide rates.
Dr Sadhvi Krishnamoorthy
Led by Griffith University’s Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP) and involving 62 experts across 27 countries, the research focused on bridging the gap between research and real-world practice.
The result was a set of 82 expert-endorsed recommendations for designing, delivering and evaluating suicide prevention interventions around the world.
Lead researcher, Dr Sadhvi Krishnamoorthy, said despite the wide availability of suicide prevention programs, many were not achieving their full intention.
“We know suicide prevention is incredibly complex, but we also know that simply having good programs is not enough,” she said.
“It is important to understand what works, for whom, why and in what contexts, and that is where these new recommendations can make a real difference.”
The recommendations were split into six key pillars:
Suicide prevention research priorities
Practical considerations in informing and promoting effective implementation
Approach to intervention design and delivery
Lived experience engagement
Dissemination
Professor Kairi Kolves
The way forward
Suicide remains a leading cause of death globally, with the United Nations aiming to reduce suicide rates by one-third by 2030.
Co-researcher Professor Kairi Kõlves from AISRAP emphasised the need to go beyond identifying problems in suicide prevention, to improving focus on how they are responded to.
“These recommendations could help shape future suicide prevention policies and programs, especially in areas where resources are limited or where past efforts have fallen short,” she said.
“They have the potential to influence suicide prevention practices and save lives not only in Australia but around the world.”
Launching on Monday 14 April, the podcast will explore cases where the person convicted and incarcerated did not in fact commit the crime.
While it’s impossible to be sure, estimates suggest around 0.05 per cent of people in prisons are innocent, which could equate to a few hundred people across Australia, or potentially tens of thousands in the United States.
The series has weaved together first-hand accounts from exonerees, lawyers and researchers to explore the legal, scientific and human complexities behind wrongful convictions, with topics including coerced juvenile confessions, emerging forensic science, and the systemic injustices faced by First Nations peoples.
With episode one introducing listeners to the Griffith University Innocence Project’s own journey and mission, episode two jumps straight into the gripping story of Jane Dorotik, an American woman wrongly imprisoned for 20 years after being convicted of her husband’s murder, only to be exonerated by DNA and new evidence.
Director of the Griffith University Innocence Project, Dr Robyn Blewer
Listeners will also hear from solicitor Rhanee Rego, who worked tirelessly on proving Kathleen Folbigg’s innocence after she was falsely found guilty of murdering her four young children, leading to a successful exoneration in 2024.
Project Director Robyn Blewer said she was hoping to shine a light on the impact of wrongful convictions.
“In Australia, we can’t talk publicly about the cases we work on, but this podcast has allowed us to talk openly about historical cases, or overseas cases that closely reflect some of ours,” she said.
“For example, Hugh Burton’s case resembles a case where one of our applicants confessed to a crime when he was a juvenile.
“Hugh Burton spent 19 years in jail in the USA for murdering his mother, after he was coerced into confessing at just 16 years old.
“While he received about $11 million in compensation after being exonerated, he said even with all that, there is nothing anyone can do to fix him, because of what he’s been through.
“It brought me to tears thinking about people we know in similar situations, what they’ve had to endure, how they’ve had to live with this stigma, and that they really haven’t had a life.”
Dr Blewer hopes the podcast will not only help educate people but foster greater public engagement and empathy for people who have lived through the unimaginable.
“Our goal is to spark curiosity and build a community that cares about justice,” she said.
The Griffith University Innocence Project podcast is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Griffith University’s Blurred Minds Academy have released an evidence-informed module to address the dangers of a new addictive and illegal product being marketed to young people.
Nicotine pouches started appearing in Australia soon after vapes were banned, and were quickly positioned online as distinct from vapes and cigarettes, with some social media users touting the pouches as the ‘vape killer’.
Placed between the user’s gum and lip, the nicotine pouches release a fast-acting synthetic nicotine into the bloodstream.
Research Fellow at Social Marketing at Griffith, Dr James Durl.
Research Fellow at Social Marketing at Griffith Dr James Durl said the products are marketed with bright colours and ‘fun’ flavours to fool young people into thinking the product is harmless.
“Nicotine pouches are highly addictive and unpredictable,” Dr Durl said.
“Product marketing online is awash with false messaging, and it is so important young people are exposed to the reality.
“Every few years, tobacco companies try to make new nicotine products look harmless and safe, using the same or similar tactics previously used to sell other products such as vapes and cigarettes.
“Unfortunately, nicotine pouches are falsely marketed as a safe way to quit vaping or cigarettes, but in reality they are small white packets loaded with chemicals, artificial flavours and nicotine.
“These same companies sold vapes as an aid to quit cigarettes and are now pushing nicotine pouches to quit vapes.”
Delivering the most up-to-date evidence on nicotine pouches, the Blurred Minds Academy team have debunked many false claims, and provided the following facts to help young people make informed decisions:
Influencers marketing the product to young audiences have made unfounded claims the product is a ‘study aid’ or ‘increases your workout’
The claim nicotine pouches are ‘Tobacco-free’ does not mean the product is safe for consumption and the assertion is a sneaky way around tobacco warning label laws
Nicotine pouches are banned federally, and it is illegal to buy, supply or import them anywhere in Australia
Nicotine pouches are not approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (ATGA) and though the physiological effects are still yet to be discovered, users may experience nausea, vomiting, headaches, burning sensations in the mouth and seizures
Some claim nicotine pouches are a safer alternative to cigarettes, but they deliver nicotine faster and hit the brain harder, making addiction just as likely
Product marketing hides the ugly truth about nicotine pouches and does not disclose the product can cause painful mouth sores, bleeding gums, and permanent tooth damage
Health claims ignore the brutal effects on the heart and as a stimulant, every pouch spikes the user’s heart rate and blood pressure and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes
Young brains are at risk of exposure because nicotine can permanently damage memory, focus, and learning ability, and changes that may not show up until it’s too late.
The Blurred Minds Academy uses gamification to educate and transform student perspectives on vaping, alcohol and drugs, and the program is available to all Queensland state and non-state schools.
This year, a total of 105 business studentsare participating in Griffith Business School’s (GBS) Student Leadership Program. Open to both Undergraduate and Postgraduate students, this two-year experience is designed to shape their future careers and expand their impact beyond the classroom.
The program’s standout event, the Leadership Development Camp, took place recently at PGL Kindilan, Redland Bay. This intensive two-day experience set the tone for the year ahead, encouraging students to step outside their comfort zones through teamwork challenges, leadership simulations, and problem-solving tasks that build confidence and foster collaboration. It provides a space for students to reflect on their values, push their boundaries, and grow as individuals and future leaders.
Student Development Coordinator, Ms Joanne Fairclough said,
Our focus is on equipping students with practical skills and meaningful experiences that prepare them for future success. The camp gives them a chance to engage in challenges, grow their confidence, and uncover their strengths as emerging leaders.
More than just a leadership program, the initiative offers students a platform to engage with the community, develop meaningful connections, and gain the kind of experience that today’s employers are actively seeking. Through volunteering, mentorship, and representing GBS at key events, participants sharpen their professional edge while learning to lead with empathy and purpose.
“We aim for our students to graduate with more than just academic knowledge, we want them to develop the mindset and experience needed to lead with impact in diverse and challenging environments.”
Student Development Coordinator, Joanne Fairclough
In addition to leadership development, GBS students are also making a difference through social impact projects like the Little Spark Project. Last year, student leaders collaborated with FareShare Australia to prepare over 6,000 meals for vulnerable Australians. This year, they’ll contribute to Habitat for Humanity, an organisation supporting those experiencing hardship through housing and welfare services.
With a strong focus on values-driven leadership, GBS continues to invest in student experiences that encourage ambition, self-awareness, and positive action on campus and beyond.
Griffith University researchers have found weaker neck strength is a risk factor for concussion and higher head impacts in rugby league, rugby union and soccer athletes.
Dr Felix Leung using a portable setup to test for neck strength.
Researchers published a series of papers on the topic of concussion and worked closely with adolescent athletes from St Laurence’s College and elite athletes from Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Club, finding neck strength was an important factor.
Clinical and research physiotherapist at Griffith’s School of Health Sciences and Social Work Dr Felix Leung said players with weaker neck strength had an increased risk of sustaining a concussion during the season.
“Strength training of these muscles should be incorporated into athlete training schedules to contribute to concussion prevention,” Dr Leung said.
“If players have stronger neck muscles, they are able to brace themselves to absorb and dissipate the impact of collision forces.
Dr Felix Leung instructing St Laurence’s College Rugby First athletes in neck resistance strengthening exercises.
“The research findings provide clinical impact for coaches and healthcare practitioners who will be able to use the clinical strength cut-offs to identify the players at greater risk of sustaining a concussion.
“The equipment used to test neck strength is portable, easy-to-use and can be set up in any gym.”
Players with weaker neck extension strength at preseason testing were more likely to sustain a concussion during the season.
One study followed 43 adolescent rugby league and rugby union athletes and found one in four players sustained a concussion during the season.
Researchers established an optimal point where adolescent players with less than 32kg or 37 newtons per kilogram (normalised to their body weight) of neck extension strength were more likely to sustain a concussion.
School of Health Sciences and Social Work Professor Julie Hides said high impact sports such as rugby league and rugby union have a high incidence of concussion and most of these injuries occurred while tackling or being tackled.
Professor Julie Hides and Dr Felix Leung from the School of Health Sciences and Social Work.
“Griffith’s team of researchers advocate for young and old to stay active and involved in sports,” Professor Hides said.
“We want players to continue to participate in sport, and we’re constantly looking at ways to minimise the risks and improve the management of concussion in sports.”
Results from a second study on skilled soccer players aged between 15 – 18 years showed neck strength training may be beneficial to decrease head impacts during soccer ball heading.
The research on adolescent soccer players suggested testing of isometric muscle strength of the cervical spine lateral flexors may be useful and may reflect the role of muscles that were important when heading the ball in soccer, especially for those with increased range of motion.
New student accommodation buildings have been opened at Chinchilla Hospital, enhancing the rural placement experience for Griffith University medical students.
The initiative also aims to boost the town’s essential healthcare services by attracting and retaining medical professionals, providing high-quality training and accommodation for the next generation or rural doctors.
Head of Griffith’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, Professor Julian Archer, said the project reflected Griffith’s commitment to immersing students in the local community.
Professor Julian Archer
“This facility will allow students to live and learn in the very environment where we hope they will choose to make a lasting impact,” he said.
“Our final-year medical students are incredibly fortunate to spend time in this community, gaining invaluable rural healthcare experience in an immersive learning environment, with onsite living close to the hospital and patients, shaping their future careers.”
The opportunity to live by the Chinchilla Hospital will also help students see how important healthcare in rural areas is, with Medical Services Southern Assistant Director Dr James Ware saying doctors who train in the country often return to provide their services to the wonderful communities they become a part of.
“I can attest from firsthand experience, having been trained in rural medicine and worked in the country for many years, that a love of rural medicine grew,” he said.
“It’s just fantastic having medical students training in local areas, rural areas, because we know that’s how we’re going to get them back.”
Funded by the Queensland Government’s Resources Community Infrastructure Fund in association with Rural Medical Education Australia and the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service, the three purpose-built homes were constructed by a local builder.
Seafaring hunter-gatherers were accessing remote, small islands such as Malta thousands of years before the arrival of the first farmers, a new international study has found.
Published in Nature, the research team – led by Professor Eleanor Scerri of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (MPI-GEA) and the University of Malta – found hunter-gatherers were crossing at least 100km of open water to reach the Mediterranean island of Malta 8,500 years ago, a thousand years before the arrival of agricultural practises.
This report documented the oldest long-distance seafaring in the Mediterranean, before the invention of boats with sails – an astonishing feat for hunter-gatherers likely using simple dugout canoes.
Dr Mathew Stewart.
At the cave site of Latnija in the northern Mellieħa region of Malta, the research team found the traces of humans in the form of their stone tools, hearths, and cooked food waste.
Small, remote islands were long thought to have been the last frontiers of pristine natural systems.
Humans were not thought to have been able to reach or inhabit these environments prior to the dawn of agriculture, and the technological shift that accompanied this transition.
“Even on the longest day of the year, these seafarers would have had over several hours of darkness in open water,” said Professor Nicholas Vella of the University of Malta, co-investigator of the study.
“At the site we recovered a diverse array of animals, including hundreds of remains of deer, birds, tortoises, and foxes,” Dr Stewart said.
Taxonomic and isotopic analyses of the faunal remains.
“Some of these wild animals were long thought to have gone extinct by this point in time,” added Professor Scerri.
“They were hunting and cooking red deer alongside tortoises and birds, including some that were extremely large and extinct today.”
In addition to this, the team of researchers found clear evidence for the exploitation of marine resources.
“We found remains of seal, various fish, including grouper, and thousands of edible marine gastropods, crabs and sea urchins, all indisputably cooked,” said Dr James Blinkhorn of the University of Liverpool and MPI-GEA, one of the study’s corresponding authors.
“The incorporation of a diverse range of terrestrial and, especially, marine fauna into the diet likely enabled these hunter-gatherers to sustain themselves on an island as small as Malta,” added Dr Stewart.
These discoveries also raised questions about the extinction of endemic animals on Malta and other small and remote Mediterranean islands, and whether distant Mesolithic communities may have been linked through seafaring.
“The results add a thousand years to Maltese prehistory and force a re-evaluation of the seafaring abilities of Europe’s last hunter-gatherers, as well as their connections and ecosystem impacts,” Professor Scerri said.
In the largest study of its kind to date, a team of international researchers has investigated how pharmaceutical pollution affects the behaviour and migration of Atlantic salmon.
The study, led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, revealed that commonly detected environmental levels of clobazam – a medication often prescribed for sleep disorders – increased the river-to-sea migration success of juvenile salmon in the wild.
Dr Marcus Michelangeli in the field. Credit: Michael Bertram
The researchers also discovered that clobazam shortened the time it took for juvenile salmon to navigate through two hydropower dams along their migration route – obstacles that typically hinder successful migration.
Dr Marcus Michelangeli from Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, who was a key contributor to the study published in Science, emphasised the increasing threat of pharmaceutical pollution to wildlife and ecosystems worldwide.
“Pharmaceutical pollutants are an emerging global issue, with over 900 different substances having now been detected in waterways around the world,” Dr Michelangeli said.
“Of particular concern are psychoactive substances like antidepressants and pain medications, which can significantly interfere with wildlife brain function and behaviour.
Dr Michelangeli noted that the study’s real-world focus sets it apart from previous research.
“Most previous studies examining the effects of pharmaceutical pollutants on wildlife have been conducted under controlled laboratory conditions, which don’t fully capture the complexities of natural environments,” he said.
“This study is unique because it investigates the effects of these contaminants on wildlife directly in the field, allowing us to better understand how exposure impacts wildlife behaviour and migration in a natural context.
“While the increased migration success in salmon exposed to clobazam might seem like a beneficial effect, it is important to realise that any change to the natural behaviour and ecology of a species is expected to have broader negative consequences both for that species and the surrounding wildlife community.”
Dr Marcus Michelangeli
The research team employed innovative slow-release pharmaceutical implants and animal-tracking transmitters to monitor how exposure to clobazam and the opioid painkiller tramadol – another common pharmaceutical pollutant – affected the behaviour and migration of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Sweden’s River Dal as they migrated to the Baltic Sea.
A follow-up laboratory experiment also found that clobazam altered shoaling behaviour, indicating that the observed migration changes in the wild may result from drug-induced shifts in social dynamics and risk-taking behaviour.
Dr Michelangeli explained that predicting the full extent of these impacts remains challenging
“When you consider realistic exposure scenarios where entire ecosystems are exposed – encompassing multiple species and a diversity of contaminants – the potential consequences become even more complex,” he said.
Tracking juvenile Atlantic salmon shoaling behaviour. Credit: Marcus Michelangeli
While the recent decline of Atlantic salmon is primarily attributed to overfishing, habitat loss, and fragmentation – leading to their endangered status – the study highlights how pharmaceutical pollution could also influence key life-history events in migratory fish.
Dr Michelangeli pointed out that many pharmaceuticals persist in the environment due to poor biodegradability and insufficient wastewater treatment. However, there is hope.
“Advanced wastewater treatment methods are becoming more effective at reducing pharmaceutical contamination, and there is promising potential in green chemistry approaches,” he said.
“By designing drugs that break down more rapidly or become less harmful after use, we can significantly mitigate the environmental impact of pharmaceutical pollution in the future.”
A new study published in Naturereveals the modern arid desert between Africa and Saudi Arabia was once regularly lush and green with rivers and lakes over a period of 8 million years, allowing for the occupation and movements of both animals and hominins.
The findings, led by an international team of researchers supported by the Saudi Heritage Commission, Ministry of Culture, shed new light on this hitherto unrecognised but important crossroad for biogeographic exchange between Africa and Eurasia.
The Saharo-Arabian Desert is one of the largest biogeographic barriers on Earth, limiting the dispersal of early humans and animals between Africa and Eurasia.
Recent research suggested the desert had been in place since at least 11 million years ago.
But Professor Michael Petraglia, Director of Griffith University’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution and co-author on the new study, said fossil evidence from the Late Miocene (marked by an increase in global temperatures) and Pleistocene (which contained multiple ice ages) suggested the episodic presence within the Saharo-Arabian Desert interior of water-dependent animals.
Animals such as crocodiles, equids, hippopotamids, proboscideans, were likely sustained by rivers and lakes that were largely absent from today’s arid landscape.
“These wetter conditions likely facilitated these mammalian dispersals between Africa and Eurasia, with Arabia acting as a key crossroads for continental-scale biogeographic exchanges.”
Professor Michael Petraglia
Dr Monika Markowska of Northumbria University, UK, and Dr Hubert Vonhof of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Germany, conducted new work on cave speleothems (mineral deposits such as stalagtites and stalagmites) that led to the realisation that there were numerous humid phases in Arabia during the last 8 million years.
Dr Markowska, who was lead author on the study, explained that little was known about Arabia’s palaeoclimate before this time, noting: “The findings highlighted that precipitation during humid intervals decreased and became more variable over time, as the monsoon’s influence weakened, coinciding with enhanced Northern Hemisphere polar ice cover during the Pleistocene.”
Dr Faisal al-Jibrin, lead Saudi archaeologist of the Heritage Commission, said: “Arabia has traditionally been overlooked in Africa-Eurasia dispersals, but studies like ours increasingly reveal it central place in mammalian and hominin migrations.”
Harnessing stress effectively can help boost an individual’s productivity or motivation levels, with a new Griffith University study allaying fears the technique could negatively affect feelings of empathy or willingness to support others.
Dr Jacob Keech is an expert in stress management and has been researching stress mindset — the way people perceive and believe stress affects them — since 2014, with the aim of improving people’s wellbeing and performance when faced with stress.
While stress has long been viewed in a negative light, recent research has suggested reframing it as a potential motivator can lead to better outcomes, including improved problem-solving skills and personal growth.
With this in mind, Dr Keech developed a stress mindset intervention — a 15-minute, online program where participants are first educated about the positive and negative aspects of stress, then taken through a series of imagery-based exercises where they visualise the positive consequences of stress in their own lives.
Dr Jacob Keech
“Stress mindset interventions have shown promise in helping individuals manage their own stress more effectively,” Dr Keech said.
“There are likely to be benefits of viewing stress in a more balanced way, considering both the positives and the negatives, as opposed to strictly negative.”
Since starting his research however, questions have been raised as to whether there could be negative consequences to viewing stress as a productivity booster, in particular regard to managers putting undue pressure on their staff.
“The idea that fostering a more positive stress mindset could lead people to downplay the struggles of others or be less supportive is an important concern,” Dr Keech said.
“Our findings suggest this is not the case though.”
Participants who underwent the stress mindset intervention were asked to evaluate the distress levels of a close friend and a colleague in hypothetical scenarios and indicate their likelihood of providing support.
The results showed participants in the intervention group were equally receptive to others’ stress and just as likely to offer assistance.
“While it may be beneficial to embrace stress as a motivational tool for personal growth, we must always be cautious not to overload others with stress, especially in managerial roles,” Dr Keech said.
“Our study showed we can promote a healthier mindset towards stress without creating negative consequences for the social or emotional wellbeing of those around us.”
The results of the study were recently published in the International Journal of Stress Management, contributing to the growing evidence supporting the use of stress mindset interventions to improve individual wellbeing and performance, while alleviating concerns of negative impacts on interpersonal relationships.
