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Research Initiatives

New and Emerging Children’s Mental Health Research

Advancing Texas mental health priorities through research and career development

Children and families across Texas face growing mental health challenges while access to care remains uneven. Research supported through the New and Emerging Mental Health Research (NECMHR) Grant helps inform programs like CPAN, PeriPAN, and TCHATT— ensuring new knowledge reaches children and families.

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What is NECMHR?

NECMHR funds research and career development opportunities for early-career investigators and trainees at TCMHCC institutions across Texas. The program supports projects aligned with state mental health priorities and helps build research capacity in child, adolescent, and perinatal behavioral health.

The grant is provided every two years, contingent on legislative funding.

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What NECMHR Does

NECMHR strengthens child, adolescent, and perinatal mental health research in Texas by:

  • Funding research focused on child, adolescent, and perinatal mental health.
  • Supporting early-career investigators.
  • Building research capacity across Texas health-related institutions.
  • Advancing solutions that can be applied in real-world settings.

This work strengthens the pipeline from research to practice — helping new knowledge reach clinicians, communities, and families.

Funding Applications Now Available

 

  • September 30, 2026

    Pre-Applications Due

  • February 1, 2027

    Full Applications Due

  • September 2027

    Next Cycle of Grant Awards Begin

Notice of Funding Opportunity

View Notice

Grant Application - coming soon

Pre-Application Portal is here. Full application to follow.

View Application

Impact

NECMHR-funded projects help build evidence in areas that shape prevention, treatment, access, and mental and behavioral care delivery across Texas, including:

Depression and suicide prevention

Trauma and early childhood experiences

Access to care and service delivery

Innovative treatment approaches

Who Can Participate in NECMHR?

NECMHR supports researchers, clinicians, trainees, and research teams affiliated with one of the Consortium’s health-related institutions (HRIs). Applicants who are not directly part of an HRI must partner with an eligible HRI to serve as the host institution.

Eligible participants for this grant funding may include:

  • Post-doctoral fellows and trainees

  • Early-career clinicians and researchers
  • Residents and fellows
  • Investigators and research teams
  • Researchers from other departments or academic units working with an eligible HRI

Types of NECMHR Grants

  • Post-Doctoral Fellow and Trainee Grants:

    Support supervised research training for post-doctoral fellows and early-career trainees in child, adolescent, or perinatal mental health research.

  • Research Career Development Grants:

    Support early-career clinicians and researchers as they build toward independent clinician-scientist careers.

  • Research Project Grants:

    Support defined research projects aligned with child, adolescent, or perinatal mental health priorities.

Explore Funded Research

Past grant cycles awarded approximately $8.4 million per cycle and as of 09-01-2026. View funded investigators and projects:

FY2026/2027 Awarded Principal Investigators FY2025/2026 Awarded Principal Investigators

TCMHCC