Prof Diane Purper-Ouakil is a Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University Hospital of Montpellier, France. In 2011, she became Head of the Child and Adolescent Unit in the Saint Eloi Hospital in Montpellier. This unit has facilities for both inpatient and outpatient care for young patients and specializes in caring for children and adolescents with ADHD and eating disorders. Prof Purper-Ouakil is also the Vice President of the Faculty of Psychiatry and is involved in the ongoing reform of the training curriculum for medical studies. She is also a member of the professional college of psychiatrists.

Prof Purper-Ouakil aims to develop evidence-based psychological, neurophysiological and pharmacological treatments, especially for children and adolescents with challenging and enduring behavioural and emotional symptoms. She is involved in collaborative treatment studies and in assessing parent programmes, which are an important feature of comprehensive treatment plans for young people with complex needs.