The University of Texas System

New and Emerging Children’s Mental Health Researchers Initiative

Pre-Application Instructions
Notice of Funding Opportunity (updated 4/16/2024)

The New and Emerging Children’s Mental Health Research (NECMHR) initiative is designed to foster, encourage, and mentor junior researchers and trainees at TCMHCC institutions so that they can become successful mental health researchers. Furthermore, the research funded by NECMHR will identify and validate new knowledge, tools, and practices that will improve child and adolescent mental health prevention and treatment services in Texas. 

This initiative focuses on advancing the knowledge and evidence base in the prevention and treatment of childhood mental illness. Once promising and evidence-informed practices are identified, findings will be disseminated to inform providers, policy makers, advocates, and families about specific types of treatment approaches that can minimize the symptoms of childhood mental illness, promote recovery, and help all Texas children thrive.  There will be 3-types of grant opportunities:

1- Research Career Development

Provides post-doctoral, residency, and fellowship to early career clinicians/researchers with individual and institutional research training opportunities in child, adolescent, or perinatal behavioral health research.  The purpose of this grant is to prepare junior clinicians with little to moderate research training for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the State and to become an independent clinician-scientist. This program provides support and protected time for an intensive, supervised research career development experience in the field of child, adolescent, and perinatal behavioral health research, including translational research. This grant has a maximum funds of $150,000 per year for a total of $300,000 for the biennium per awardee. 

2- Post-doctoral Fellow and Trainee

Provides post-doctoral fellowship and fellowship to early career clinicians/researchers with children, adolescent or perinatal mental health research training opportunities. This grant provides support and protected time for an intensive, supervised career development experience in child, adolescent and perinatal behavioral health research leading to research independence. This grant can also be used for individuals who propose to train in a new field or for individuals who have had a hiatus in their research. This grant had a maximum amount of $75,000 per year for a total of $150,000 for the biennium. 

3- Research Project

Supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed child, adolescent, or perinatal mental health project to be performed by the investigator(s) in an area representing the investigator(s)’s specific interest and competencies while aligning with TCMHCC’s listed and HHSC priorities.  This grant had a maximum amount of $250,000 per year for a total of $500,000 for the biennium. 

Key Dates:

For more information, refer to the attached NOFO (updated 4/16/2024).