Schizophrenia research in 2026: report from the annual meeting of the Schizophrenia International Research Society
Abstract
Abstract SIRS 2026, held under the theme “Schizophrenia Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence,” brought together researchers, clinicians, and persons with lived experience to take stock of a field whose tools for measuring, predicting, and intervening in psychosis have expanded rapidly. Themes spanned artificial intelligence, automated speech analysis, retinal imaging, computational modelling, and novel psychosocial and pharmacological targets, with evidence that, individually, warrants cautious but serious attention and that, collectively, points toward a more mechanistically grounded psychiatry. A recurring call across the meeting was for rigorous external validation, equitable implementation, and sustained scrutiny of underlying assumptions, including whether existing diagnostic categories and treatment targets remain adequate. Some areas remained underworked relative to their importance, including translating basic neuroscience advances into questions relevant to patients and families, and the structural determinants of illness onset and treatment access. Perhaps the most significant development at SIRS 2026 was not any single scientific finding but the broadening of whose voices and experiences are treated as evidence worth taking seriously in this era of AI, a shift whose consolidation remains a question for the field as much as for any individual programme of work.
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Authors: Lena K. Palaniyappan, Boutheina Abassi, Fatme Abboud, Mohammed Alarabi, Maite Aramburu, Berat Arslan, Catherine V. Barnes-Scheufler, Annkathrin Böke, Linda Bryant, Patricio Carvajal-Paredes, Santiago Castiello de Obeso, Anson Kai Chun Chau, Lawrence Kin-hei Chung, Franciska de Beer, Giuseppe De Simone, Pedro Henrique Destro, Mona Dlikan, Chaimaa El Mouslih, Zhiqian Fang, Ramon Reis, Abigail L Gee, Yohannes Gebreegziabhere Haile, Fernando Gonzales-Aste, Sean Halstead, Rui He, Héctor Hernández-Ruiz, Federica Iannotta, Samantha Johnstone, Merel Koster, Merridee J. Lefner, Camila Marcelino Loureiro, Xuemei Ma, Alessandra Martinelli, Gisela Mezquida, Mylène Moyal, Jennifer Murphy, Zui C. Narita, Soyolsaikhan Odkhuu, Pavo Orepić, Rafaella Ormond, María Ortuño, Kristoffer J. Panganiban, In‐Kyung Park, Mathilde Parisi, G. Pezzullo, Finn Rabe, Upasana Ravinder, Qian Ren, Elif Sarisik, Pierfrancesco Sarti, Àlex G. Segura, Pedro Henrique Minotto Serafim, Seo Ho Song, Erik Vélez-Pérez, Burcu Verim, Alban Voppel, Yuji Yamada
Institutions: The University of Queensland, Queensland Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, University of Hong Kong, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, King Saud University, Western University, Universidade de São Paulo, Harvard University, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Toronto, University of Cologne, University Hospital Cologne, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Inserm, Debre Berhan University, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Yale University, Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, University of Zurich, University Hospital Zurich, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Universitat de Barcelona, Goethe University Frankfurt, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Consorci Institut D'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi I Sunyer, McGill University, Tunis El Manar University, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca, Seoul National University, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, University of Naples Federico II, University Hospital Frankfurt, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, King's College London, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, New Generation University College, Dokuz Eylül University, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Ponce Health Sciences University, Jeonbuk National University, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Institut de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences de Paris, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, Amsterdam UMC Location University of Amsterdam, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Hôpital Razi de La Manouba, Faculté de médecine de Tunis, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Fundació de Recerca Clínic Barcelona-Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik Zürich, National Center Hospital of Neurology and Psychiatry