UF1MH141129

BEHAVIORAL PHENOSCREENING: REMOTE ASSESSMENT OF CHILD MENTAL HEALTH (REACH) - SUMMARY EXTERNALIZING PROBLEMS, CHARACTERIZED BY DISRUPTIVE CONDUCT, AGGRESSION, HYPERACTIVITY, ATTENTIONAL PROBLEMS, AND THE INABILITY TO ADEQUATELY ADAPT TO NEW SITUATIONS, ARE LEADING CONTRIBUTORS TO HEALTH BURDEN AMONGST CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS GLOBALLY. A RECENT MENTAL HEALTH SURVEILLANCE AMONG CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES INDICATES ONE IN 11 CHILDREN HAVE AN ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) DIAGNOSIS. DESPITE THE EXTRAORDINARILY IMPROVED OUTCOMES ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND TARGETED INTERVENTION, EXTERNALIZING DISORDERS SUCH AS ADHD AND OPPOSITIONAL DEFIANCE DISORDER (ODD) ARE USUALLY ONLY DIAGNOSED AFTER SYMPTOMS HAVE CLEARLY EMERGED AND ARE CAUSING SIGNIFICANT IMPAIRMENTS IN DAILY FUNCTIONING. THIS CRITICAL NEED FOR EARLY- LIFE PREDICTION OF EXTERNALIZING DISORDERS CAN NOW BE ADDRESSED, THANKS TO EXPLOSIVE ADVANCES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) AND WIDESPREAD ACCESSIBILITY OF REMOTE TECHNOLOGY. THERE IS UNTAPPED OPPORTUNITY TO BRING SIMPLE, SCALABLE AND ACCESSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO FAMILIES TO IMPROVE DETECTION AND INTERVENTION OF EARLY EMERGING EXTERNALIZING DISORDERS. OUR PROPOSAL IS RESPONSIVE TO THE INDIVIDUALLY MEASURED PHENOTYPES TO ADVANCE COMPUTATIONAL TRANSLATION IN MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE, WITH THE KEY OBJECTIVE OF USING COMPUTER VISION AND MACHINE LEARNING BASED APPROACHES TO FACILITATE EARLY IDENTIFICATION OF EXTERNALIZING DISORDERS. TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE PROPOSE SYNERGISTIC AIMS: AIM 1: IDENTIFY MATERNAL-INFANT HEALTH AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH PREDICTORS OF EXTERNALIZING DISORDERS (ADHD, ODD, AND CONDUCT DISORDER (CD)) BY EMPLOYING A SUITE OF MACHINE LEARNING MODELS TO LEVERAGE AN EXPANSIVE NATION-WIDE, REPRESENTATIVE COHORT OF >9M CHILDREN WITH BIRTHING PARENT LINKAGE (EPIC COSMOS). AIM 2: ISOLATE A PARSIMONIOUS SET OF INFANT AND TODDLER BEHAVIORS, DERIVED VIA COMPUTER VISION MICROCODING, BY LEVERAGING THE EXPANSIVE HEALTHY BRAIN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (HBCD) STUDY TO INTEGRATE VIDEO, BEHAVIORAL, COGNITIVE, AND SURVEY DATA FROM 3,100 INFANTS 9–15 MONTHS OF AGE TO PREDICT ANTECEDENTS OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AT 2 YEARS OF AGE; FURTHER, EVALUATE IF SPECIFIC PATTERNS OF INFANT AFFECT, AROUSAL, AND ATTENTION, AS MEASURED BY MICROCODING, WILL SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE THE PREDICTION OF EXTERNALIZING PROBLEMS AT AGE 2 COMPARED TO MODELS USING CAREGIVER REPORTS AND EHR DATA. AIM 3: DEVELOP AND VALIDATE A SCALABLE, REMOTE INFANT PHENOSCREENING TO CHARACTERIZE INDIVIDUAL PREDICTION MODELS OF EXTERNALIZING BEHAVIORS. WE WILL COMBINE AND EXTEND FINDINGS FROM SA1 AND SA2 TO DEVELOP A FULLY REMOTE, LOW- COST, BRIEF PARENT-ADMINISTERED SMARTPHONE/WEB-BASED SCREENING ASSESSMENT OF INFANT BEHAVIOR IN A NEW, NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE COHORT OF 1,500 TODDLERS AT 9–15 MONTHS OF AGE. THE INNOVATION OF THIS PROJECT IS THREE- FOLD: (I) IDENTIFICATION OF MATERNAL AND INFANT HEALTH PREDICTORS OF EXTERNALIZING DISORDERS USING LARGE-SCALE, MULTI- LEVEL DATA, (II) ADDRESSING STRUCTURAL INEQUITIES IN HEALTHCARE ACCESS AND TIME TO DIAGNOSIS THROUGH EVALUATION OF A HIGHLY SCALABLE PORTAL FOR MULTI-TRAIT ASSESSMENT AT INFANT AGE 12 MONTHS, AND (III) USE OF AI TO AUTOMATICALLY QUANTIFY INFANT BEHAVIORS PREDICTIVE OF FUTURE EXTERNALIZING OUTCOMES. THE TRANSLATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS WORK WILL BE ADVANCING LOW COST, ACCESSIBLE, SCALABLE AND ACCURATE POPULATION SCREENING IN INFANCY; DEVELOPMENT OF MORE PRECISE INTERVENTIONAL TARGETS; AND ALLEVIATING SOCIOECONOMIC DISPARITIES IN DIAGNOSIS AND INTERVENTION.

New York University

THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH) IS TO TRANSFORM THE UNDERSTANDING AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESSES THROUGH BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, PAVING THE WAY FOR PREVENTION, RECOVERY, AND CURE. IN MAY 2020, NIMH RELEASED ITS NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR RESEARCH. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN BUILDS ON THE SUCCESSES OF PREVIOUS NIMH STRATEGIC PLANS BY PROVIDING A FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION, AND ADDRESSING NEW CHALLENGES IN MENTAL HEALTH. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN OUTLINES FOUR HIGH-LEVEL GOALS: GOAL 1: DEFINE THE BRAIN MECHANISMS UNDERLYING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS GOAL 2: EXAMINE MENTAL ILLNESS TRAJECTORIES ACROSS THE LIFESPAN GOAL 3: STRIVE FOR PREVENTION AND CURES GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT OF NIMH-SUPPORTED RESEARCH THESE FOUR GOALS FORM A BROAD ROADMAP FOR THE INSTITUTE'S RESEARCH PRIORITIES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, BEGINNING WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, AND EXTENDING THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES THAT IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES. THE INSTITUTE'S OVERALL FUNDING STRATEGY IS TO SUPPORT A BROAD SPECTRUM OF INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED RESEARCH IN FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE, WITH INCREASING USE OF INSTITUTE-SOLICITED INITIATIVES FOR APPLIED RESEARCH WHERE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT IS A SHORT-TERM MEASURE OF SUCCESS. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN ALSO ADDRESSES A NUMBER OF CROSS-CUTTING THEMES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO ALL RESEARCH SUPPORTED BY NIMH, THESE THEMES HIGHLIGHT AREAS WHERE NIMH-FUNDED SCIENCE MAY HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT, BRIDGE GAPS, AND OFFER NOVEL APPROACHES TO ACCELERATE ADVANCES IN MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH. FOR EXAMPLE, NIMH VALUES A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH AGENDA THAT TAKES AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH THAT ENSURES RESEARCH INTERESTS ARE VARIED, MAINTAIN DIVERSE PARTICIPATION AND PARTNERSHIPS, AND ACHIEVE RESEARCH GOALS ACROSS MULTIPLE TIMEFRAMES. THIS INCLUDES DIVERSE METHODOLOGIES, TOOLS, AND MODELS, RESEARCH ADDRESSING COMPLEX BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, AND APPLIED QUESTIONS, RESEARCH INCLUDING BOTH SEXES AND, AS APPROPRIATE, GENETIC BACKGROUND, AND, PARTICIPANTS FROM DIVERSE RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS, AND ACROSS GENDER IDENTITIES, GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, NEUROTYPE, AND AGE OFFERING THE BEST POSSIBLE REPRESENTATION, FOR THE BROADEST NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY ULTIMATELY BENEFIT FROM THESE SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES. TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS OUTLINED IN THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, NIMH WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT AIMS: TO CHARACTERIZE THE GENOMIC, MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND CIRCUIT COMPONENTS CONTRIBUTING TO BRAIN ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION, TO IDENTIFY THE DEVELOPMENTAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND REGULATORY MECHANISMS RELEVANT TO COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, AND SOCIAL DOMAINS, ACROSS UNITS OF ANALYSIS, AND, TO GENERATE AND VALIDATE NOVEL TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, AND MEASURES TO QUANTIFY CHANGES IN THE ACTIVITY OF MOLECULES, CELLS, CIRCUITS, AND CONNECTOMES. TO DISCOVER GENE VARIANTS AND OTHER GENOMIC ELEMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESSES IN DIVERSE POPULATIONS, TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEX ETIOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESSES USING MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGIC APPROACHES THAT INCORPORATE INDIVIDUAL GENETIC INFORMATION IN LARGE COHORTS, TO ELUCIDATE HOW HUMAN GENETIC VARIATION AFFECTS THE COORDINATION OF MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL NETWORKS SUPPORTING HIGHER-ORDER FUNCTIONS AND EMERGENT PROPERTIES OF NEUROBIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, AND, TO DEVELOP NOVEL TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF LARGE-SCALE GENETIC, MULTI-OMIC DATA AS IT APPLIES TO MENTAL HEALTH. TO UTILIZE CONNECTOMIC APPROACHES TO IDENTIFY BRAIN NETWORKS AND CIRCUIT COMPONENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO VARIOUS ASPECTS OF MENTAL FUNCTION AND DYSFUNCTION, TO DETERMINE THROUGH BRAIN-WIDE ANALYSIS HOW CHANGES IN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF MOLECULES, CELLS, AND CIRCUITS CONTRIBUTE TO MENTAL ILLNESSES, TO DEVELOP MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND CIRCUIT-LEVEL BIOMARKERS OF IMPAIRED NEURAL FUNCTION IN HUMANS, AND, TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING NEW IMAGING, COMPUTATIONAL, PHARMACOLOGICAL, AND GENETIC TOOLS TO INTERROGATE AND MODULATE CIRCUIT ACTIVITY AND STRUCTURE ALTERED IN MENTAL ILLNESSES. TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTING TO THE TRAJECTORIES OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR, AND, TO CHARACTERIZE THE EMERGENCE AND PROGRESSION OF MENTAL ILLNESSES, AND IDENTIFYING SENSITIVE PERIODS FOR OPTIMAL INTERVENTION. TO DETERMINE EARLY RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS, AND RELATED MECHANISMS, TO SERVE AS NOVEL INTERVENTION GROUPS, AND, TO DEVELOP RELIABLE AND ROBUST BIOMARKERS AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS TO PREDICT ILLNESS ONSET, COURSE, AND ACROSS DIVERSE POPULATIONS. TO DEVELOP NOVEL INTERVENTIONS USING A MECHANISM-INFORMED, EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS APPROACH, AND, TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT MEASUREMENT STRATEGIES TO FACILITATE MECHANISM-BASED INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING. TO INVESTIGATE PERSONALIZED INTERVENTION STRATEGIES ACROSS DISEASE PROGRESSION AND DEVELOPMENT, AND, TO DEVELOP AND REFINE COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES AND RESEARCH DESIGNS THAT CAN BE USED TO INFORM AND TEST PERSONALIZED INTERVENTIONS. TO DEVELOP AND TEST APPROACHES FOR ADAPTING, COMBINING, AND SEQUENCING INTERVENTIONS TO ACHIEVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON THE LIVES AND FUNCTIONING OF PERSONS SEEKING CARE, TO CONDUCT EFFICIENT PRAGMATIC TRIALS THAT EMPLOY NEW TOOLS TO RAPIDLY IDENTIFY, ENGAGE, ASSESS, AND FOLLOW PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONTEXT OF ROUTINE CARE, AND, TO ENHANCE THE PRACTICAL RELEVANCE OF EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH VIA DEPLOYMENT-FOCUSED, HYBRID, EFFECTIVENESS-IMPLEMENTATION STUDIES. TO EMPLOY ASSESSMENT PLATFORMS WITHIN HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS TO ACCURATELY ASSESS THE DISTRIBUTION AND DETERMINANTS OF MENTAL ILLNESSES AND TO INFORM STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVED SERVICES, TO OPTIMIZE REAL-WORLD DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS TO IDENTIFY STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING ACCESS, QUALITY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND CONTINUITY OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, AND, TO COMPARE ALTERNATIVE FINANCING MODELS TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES AND SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES. TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING, SUSTAINING, AND CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES, TO BUILD MODELS TO SCALE-UP EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR USE IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRIMARY CARE, SPECIALTY CARE AND OTHER SETTINGS, AND, TO DEVELOP DECISION-SUPPORT TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRIMARY CARE, SPECIALTY CARE, AND OTHER SETTINGS. TO ADAPT, VALIDATE, AND SCALE-UP PROGRAMS CURRENTLY IN USE THAT IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS THAT PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF MENTAL ILLNESS, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE SYSTEMS-LEVEL STRATEGIES USING TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER APPROACHES, TO IDENTIFY, SUPPORT, AND MONITOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EVIDENCE-BASED CARE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF ILLNESS, AND, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE DECISION-MAKING MODELS THAT BRIDGE MENTAL HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND OTHER CARE SETTINGS TO INTEGRATE THE APPROPRIATE CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES AND COMORBID MEDICAL CONDITIONS.

93.242 - Mental Health Research Grants

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [HHS - NIH]

New York United States

State-Wide

Individually Measured Phenotypes to Advance Computational Translation in Mental Health (IMPACT-MH) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-MH-25-195)