We are delighted to announce the launch of the UKRI-funded cross-disciplinary Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health network, led by Sonia Johnson and Alexandra Pitman. This day will be combined with the dissemination event for a study which is an important foundation for the Network's plans: the Community Navigator study funded by the NIHR School for Social Care Research. The study has involved co-production of an intervention to reduce loneliness among people with severe and long term depression and anxiety, and a feasibility trial of this approach. The aim of the network is to stimulate cross-disciplinary collaboration to achieve a better understanding of the mental health impacts of loneliness and social isolation, and how these can be alleviated. On this launch day, there will be short presentations from members of the network and affiliates, representing a range of disciplinary perspectives, including psychology, cognitive neuroscience, sociology, the arts, geography, public mental health, architecture, digital design and human-computer interaction. These will describe some of the foundations on which the work of the Network will build. There will be time for discussions on the day, and we will also continue the discussion on line subsequent to the event. We aim to make the event as interactive as possible, with opportunity for discussion and networking throughout the day. The day will be attended by a mixture of researchers and relevant practitioners, and we hope it will begin dialogues and joint working that will bear fruit over the three and a half years of the network and beyond.

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