Dr Penelope Strauss (centre-front) with members of the team that will develop Trans Pathways 2 (clockwise from front left: Kirsty Hird, A/Prof Yael Perry, Dr Helen Morgan, Julia Bak, Shakara Liddelow-Hunt, Dr Blake Cavve)
Trans Pathways is set to receive an update in the leadup to the ten-year anniversary of the release of this seminal study from The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Trans Pathways 2 will address current knowledge gaps, updating and expanding on existing evidence on trans young people’s mental health and support needs, after Dr Penelope Strauss was today announced as the winner of the 2025 Embrace Big Idea award.
This award is worth up to $150,000 for a project that meets one of Embrace’s three research priorities in infant, child and adolescent mental health.
The 2016 national online survey – still currently the largest study on the mental health of trans young people aged 14-25 in Australia – generated wide-ranging community and clinical practice and policy impact within Australia and overseas, drawing attention to the mental health needs and barriers to service experienced by trans young people.
Ten years on, those findings are still regularly cited in standards of care.
“Since this study, we have seen many service providers realise the need to learn more about this population, to better support all young people and many services and individuals have sought to improve their knowledge, and care, of trans populations,” Dr Strauss said.
But much has changed in the sociopolitical landscape for trans young people since our initial study, thus updated data is needed. We anticipate Trans Pathways 2 will have similar reach to the initial research, if not more considering the current academic climates in other countries has disappointingly stifled research with trans populations.
Design has already begun on the new survey, with data expected to be collected in 2026 and published the following year.
Dr Strauss, whose team will include PhD students up to senior researchers providing valuable perspectives and insights, said she was “thrilled” to lead the next iteration of the project, “with such a wonderful team bringing a wide-ranging skillset”.
Past winners of the Embrace Big Idea awards include Dr Blake Cavve’s project aiming to understand and support the mental health of Australians with complex gender-affirmation experiences (2024), and Dr Alix Woolard’s 2023 mental health intervention for young people who have received a diagnosis of type one diabetes.
Embrace is supported by its principal partner, Rio Tinto, and Channel 7 Telethon Trust.