Associate Professor Jo Robinson
Jo Robinson is an Associate Professor at Orygen, where she leads the suicide prevention research unit, which is regarded as the leading centre of youth suicide research in the world.
A/Prof Robinson’s work focuses on the development, and rigorous testing, of novel interventions that specifically target at risk youth across settings, on evidence synthesis, and on the translation of research evidence into practice and policy. Her work has a strong focus on the potential of social media platforms in suicide prevention. This includes the development of the #chatsafe guidelines, the first evidence-based best practice guidelines for safe peer-peer communication about suicide online, which are now available in 12 countries around the world.
Examples of other current projects include the development of a multi-faceted and systematic approach to youth suicide prevention across north-west Melbourne, the establishment of a self-harm surveillance system in emergency departments across Victoria, and a large-scale school-based study.
A/Prof Robinson also has a keen interest in policy development and evaluation and has led the development of two major policy reports and is regularly called upon to provide advice to both state and federal government. She is a member of the Self-injury Advisory Group for Facebook and was an advisory board member for the Oprah Winfrey production The Me You Can’t See.
She is also an Associate Editor of a leading suicide prevention journal – Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour and Vice President of the International Association of Suicide Prevention.
