This research direction focuses on the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of depression and related mental health problems, within a bio-psycho-social framework. It aims to systematically examine how risk factors across biological (with an emphasis on neurodevelopment and brain function), psychological, and social levels contribute to depressive vulnerability, symptom expression, and illness trajectories, as well as how these factors interact to give rise to the marked heterogeneity of depression.

By integrating longitudinal study designs, fine-grained symptom assessments, and neuroimaging and behavioural data, this line of research seeks to characterise key developmental pathways from risk states to clinical manifestations of depression. Ultimately, it aims to provide a robust conceptual and empirical basis for early risk identification, early diagnosis, and the development of personalised and precision-oriented clinical interventions for depression.