What is the Parent-Infant Research Institute (PIRI)?

About Us

PIRI Structure

The Parent-Infant Research Institute (PIRI) is governed by an independent Board and supported by a dedicated team of clinical, academic, and research staff. Together, they are committed to improving the mental health and wellbeing of parents and infants through integrated research and clinical practice.

PIRI operates across two closely connected arms that ensure research evidence is rapidly translated into real-world benefit for families, health professionals, and service systems.

1. Research Program PIRI’s research program brings together leading experts in parent–infant mental health. This work generates the evidence that underpins all PIRI programs, treatments, and public health initiatives.

2. Clinical Unit (Infant Clinic) The Infant Clinic delivers evidence-based assessment, treatment, and support for women and their families. It also provides consultation and guidance to health professionals and community agencies working in parent–infant mental health.

Together, these arms enable PIRI to deliver innovative clinical services, professional development, and public health initiatives informed by rigorous research.

Clinical and Research Expertise

PIRI staff include experienced clinicians and researchers with expertise across infant, child, and adult psychology, research methodology, randomised controlled trials, and creative therapies including dance therapy. The Institute is recognised for developing innovative clinical programs and has an extensive publication record in child development, mother–infant relationships, and perinatal depression and anxiety.

Profiles of PIRI’s Research and Infant Clinic team members can be viewed here.

Supporting Health Professionals and Parents

PIRI provides training, resources, and practical guidance for health professionals through the Information for Health Professionals section.

Parents, family members, and carers seeking support or program information can visit the For Parents section.

Areas of Specialty

• Supporting mental health during the transition to parenthood
• Antenatal and postnatal depression and anxiety
• Mother–infant relationships
• Infant development
• Supporting fathers
• Reducing the impacts of premature birth
• Screening and identification of perinatal depression and anxiety
• Development and evaluation of interventions
• Online treatment programs for perinatal depression and anxiety
• Translation of research into practice

All PIRI programs and interventions are developed and delivered by specialist clinical and academic teams. For an overview of PIRI’s research activity, click here.

For updates and recent achievements, visit PIRI Newsletters.

PIRI’s Mission

Our Mission

1. To ensure all PIRI activities are informed by high-quality research and evidence.
2. To develop and deliver excellent early years services that are accessible, effective, and supported by suitably trained health professionals.
3. To make a unique national contribution to early intervention in infant and family health, and to be a leading centre for research into parent–infant mental health and relationships.

Our Purpose

PIRI is committed to supporting parents and their babies from pregnancy to two years of age, including families experiencing vulnerability, to achieve the best possible start to life. We do this by operating as a Centre of Excellence whose work is designed to strengthen emotional wellbeing and optimise early development.

Central to this purpose is valuing and protecting early parent–infant relationships, understanding barriers to optimal infant brain development, improving parental mental health, and intervening early when difficulties arise.

For PIRI’s full Mission Statement, click here.

Our Objectives

PIRI’s core activity is the conduct of basic and applied research. Knowledge translation occurs through the development of parent–infant interventions, public health initiatives, and the education and training of health professionals through online and face-to-face delivery.

How We Deliver Our Mission

Research

• Build knowledge and understanding of parent and infant mental health in the perinatal period, with a strong focus on parent–infant relationships.
• Conduct leading national and international research in prematurity, antenatal and postnatal depression, and interventions that optimise child development and family wellbeing from pregnancy to two years.

Practice

• Develop, evaluate, and systematically deliver evidence-based parent–infant interventions across Australia.
• Support equitable access to high-quality early intervention services, including through a model clinical treatment centre.
• Deliver public health initiatives to maximise reach across universal and vulnerable populations.

Training

• Provide high-quality training for health professionals to support the delivery of evidence-based early intervention services.

Dissemination and Advocacy

• Promote and disseminate research findings nationally and internationally through publications, conferences, media, and public engagement.
• Advocate for the translation of research into policy, including the development of effective national early years strategies.

People and Partnerships

• Attract and retain talented researchers and clinicians and support ongoing professional development.
• Maintain a multidisciplinary team of academics and clinicians, supported by the Board and Austin Life Sciences.
• Collaborate with leading researchers, academic institutions, and agencies nationally and internationally.

PIRI’s Track Record

PIRI is an international leader in perinatal depression research, with active collaborations across Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It is Australia’s largest treatment research centre for antenatal and postnatal depression and has a strong track record of translating research into practice through the development of innovative parent–infant interventions, professional training, and research in prematurity.

Over more than two decades, PIRI has developed, evaluated, and implemented a suite of evidence-based programs addressing parental mental health and parent–infant difficulties.

Programs Developed

PIRI has developed multiple evidence-based programs through rigorous randomised controlled trials. These programs are designed to address perinatal mental health difficulties and strengthen parent–infant relationships.

Programs include the Getting Ahead of Postnatal Depression Program, the only Australian psychological CBT treatment for postnatal depression evaluated in a randomised controlled trial. This program has achieved international recognition and has been translated into Italian and French.

Other programs include Towards Parenthood and the MumMoodBooster online postnatal depression treatment program, now used nationally and internationally.

PIRI has also led cutting-edge research in prematurity, including studies examining the impact of parent-sensitivity training (the PremieStart intervention) on infant brain development, supported by successive NHMRC grants.

Publications

PIRI has an extensive publication record in postnatal depression screening and treatment that has attracted international recognition. This includes co-authorship of a recent Lancet article on perinatal mental health.

Collaborations

Collaboration has been central to PIRI’s impact. Since 2001, PIRI has worked closely with beyondblue, initially serving as Victorian Principal Researchers for the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program. This included screening more than 10,000 women in Victoria and Tasmania.

PIRI played a key role in the implementation of the Federal Government’s Perinatal Depression Initiative, supporting universal screening for antenatal and postnatal depression and anxiety across Australia. The Institute continues to collaborate with beyondblue on workforce training and resource development, including online screening education.

PIRI has also led large-scale screening initiatives through collaboration with more than 500 Maternal and Child Health Centres across Australia.

Through its training programs, PIRI builds capacity in the perinatal workforce to identify and manage antenatal and postnatal depression. This includes extensive training delivered to Maternal and Child Health Nurses in the Northern Eastern and Hume regions and statewide training delivered through government tender.

Led by PIRI, the Perinatal Depression eConsortium (PDeC) brings together partners including Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA), Monash University, Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, and Queensland University of Technology. Through PDeC, evidence-based online resources and apps have been evaluated and made available via MumSpace.

PIRI Families

The first years of life are a time of rapid brain development, when infants are entirely dependent on their parents and caregivers. Early experiences during this period play a powerful role in shaping brain structure and the connections that influence a child’s emotional, cognitive, and behavioural development across the lifespan.

PIRI Families reflects our commitment to working alongside parents during this critical time. Through evidence-based programs, research-informed resources, and accessible supports, PIRI partners with families to strengthen early relationships, support parental mental health, and promote healthy development for babies from pregnancy through the first two years of life.