Runsen Chen

Dr. Runsen Chen is an Associate Professor at the Vanke School of Public Health, Tsinghua University. He received his DPhil in Psychiatry from the University of Oxford. His research focuses on the epidemiology and neurobiology of self-harm and suicide, with an emphasis on developing innovative approaches to risk identification, prevention, and intervention. His research adopts a multimodal research framework integrating genomics, neuroimaging, peripheral biomarkers, behavioral assessments, and digital phenotyping to investigate how genetic vulnerability, neurodevelopmental alterations, behavioral patterns, and environmental stressors interact to shape risk and resilience related to self-harm and suicidal outcomes. Building on this framework, he develops multimodal risk stratification systems and translates them into real-world clinical and school-based settings, aiming to design tiered early-warning and intervention strategies for the general population, high-risk individuals, and clinical patients. He currently leads several large-scale randomized controlled trials, including the China Life Gatekeeper Suicide Prevention Intervention Study, universal school-based prevention trials targeting non-suicidal self-injury, and integrated interventions spanning families, schools, communities, and healthcare systems to prevent adolescent suicide. His work has been published in leading journals, including Nature Mental Health, Nature Health, Nature Reviews Psychology, The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, PLOS Medicine, Molecular Psychiatry, and The British Journal of Psychiatry. His research is supported by funding from the National Health Commission of China, the Ministry of Education of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, UNICEF, the Beijing Natural Science Foundation, and the Capital Health Development Research Program. He currently serves on the editorial boards of BMC Medicine, Child Abuse & Neglect, Social Science & Medicine, and Bipolar Disorders.

1. Qu D, Liu B, Zhang X, Cai Cheng, Chen D, Liu D, Wen X, Wu Z, Sun S, Saxena S, An J*, Chen R*. School based suicide prevention using the gatekeeper programme: a cluster-randomized trial, Nature Health, 2026, in press 2. Luo X, Zhang Q, Qu D, Zu Y, Wang S, Jin Y, Liu B, Xu Y, Li N, Tian X, Huang X, Shirazi, A, Zheng R*, Chen R*. Universal school-based transdiagnostic interventions to improve mental health and well-being among Chinese adolescents: A cluster randomised controlled trial, Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 2026, in press 3. Wen X, Sun S, Lin D, Yue W*, Chen R*. A social-ecological approach on social contagion of self-harm, Nature Reviews Psychology, 2025 4. Wen X, Sun Y, Wang S, Yue W*, Chen R*. Genetic and neurobiological mechanisms underlying transition in self-injury thoughts and behaviors during adolescence. British Journal of Psychiatry, 2025 5. Qu D, Xu Zhang, He Y, Mao Y*, Chen R*. Genetic approach uncovering the causal pathways linking childhood maltreatment to suicide attempt. Molecular Psychiatry, 2025 6. Zhang C, Qu D, Chong D, Lei C, Shen Y, Cui X, He Y, Li Y, Ou J*, Chen R*. Brief digital psychological intervention to prevent relapse of non-suicidal self-injury behavior in adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2025 7. Wen X, Qu D, Liu D, Shu Y, Zhao S, Wu G, Cui Z*, Zhang X*, Chen R*. Brain structural and functional signatures of multi-generational family history of suicidal behaviors in preadolescent children. Molecular Psychiatry, 2023 8. Wen X, Qu D, Wang Y, Cui Z*, Zhang X*, Chen R*. The transition trajectories of self-Injurious thoughts and behaviors among children from biopsychosocial perspective: a population-based cohort study. Nature Mental Health, 2023 9. Lei C, Qu D, Liu K, Chen R*. Using ecological momentary assessment and machine learning for suicidal ideation prediction. JAMA Network Open, 2023 10. Han M, Wang Y, Zhang Y, Wang Y, Ou J*, Chen R*. A multi-component digital intervention to promote help-seeking for mental health problems and suicide in sexual and gender diverse young adults: A randomized controlled trial. PLOS Medicine, 2023