Twenty-Two Research Proposals Accepted for Funding by the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium
The New and Emerging Children’s Mental Health Research initiative will fund 22 research proposals to improve child and adolescent mental health prevention and treatment services and encourage junior researchers in Texas.
AUSTIN, Texas – August 8, 2025 – Twenty-two research proposals focused on improving children’s mental health in Texas and encouraging the development of junior researchers have been awarded almost $8.5 million in funding through the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC). These grants are part of the New and Emerging Children’s Mental Health Research (NECMHR) initiative. The awardees, their project titles, and funding levels are listed below.
“We are incredibly excited about each of these research projects and the potential impacts they will have on improving our state’s mental health system,” said Dr. David Lakey, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer with The University of Texas System. “We are grateful for the funding from the state legislature and the ability to provide this opportunity to junior researchers just starting their scientific careers in the state of Texas.
Fifty-seven proposals from 9 of the TCMHCC participating health-related institutions across Texas were received. Each application was subject to intense individual and group reviews by 13 reviewers, including out-of-state scientific reviewers and three Texas-based experts in the Texas mental health system. Awardees will begin work on their two-year projects on September 1, 2025.
“We worked diligently to ensure the process mirrored that of the best grant programs in Texas and that these proposals align with the needs of the state as identified by our Texas mental health agencies in terms of improving children’s mental health systems and services,” said Dr. Lakey.
Prioritization was given to applicants who have never been a NIH R-01 grant principal investigator and are at the rank of associate professor or below.
| Awardee | Project Title | Amount Awarded | Institution | Type of Grant |
| Funlola Are, PhD | Using a Primary Care- Based Stepped-Care Model of Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Reduce Trauma Symptoms and Negative Mental Health Sequelae | $472,008 | The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston | Research Project |
| Emine Ayvaci, MD | Nudging Parental Action with A Randomized Controlled Trial of Text Messaging Intervention for Suicide Prevention | $283,991 | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center | Research Career Development |
| Deborah Cohen, PhD, MSW | Comparative Outcomes of a Cognitive Remediation Intervention in Adolescents and Young Adults at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis Versus Those in a First Episode Psychosis Program | $470,331 | The University of Texas at Austin | Research Project |
| Samuel Cooper, PhD | Predicting Real-World Symptoms and Behaviors with Neurobehavioral Fear Generalization Measures in Trauma-Exposed Adolescents | $474,771 | The University of Texas at Austin | Research Project |
| Cody Dodd, PhD | Supporting Caregivers: A Web App to Deliver TF-CBT Principles to Families | $475,000 | The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston | Research Project |
| Christi Esquivel, PhD, Med, CHES | Caregiver Outcomes and Needs to Navigate and Engage in Children’s [Mental Health] Treatment | $142,500 | Texas A&M Health Science Center | Post-doctoral Fellow and Trainee |
| Whitney Garney, PhD, MPH, MA | Improving usability of telebehavioral care for adolescents and caregiver dyads | $475,000 | Texas A&M Health Science Center | Research Project |
| Amy Garrett, PhD | Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as Treatment for Persistent PTSD in Texas Youth | $474,898 | The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio | Research Project |
| Cynthia Garza, PsyD | Evaluating Texas Community Health Workers’ (TX-CHW) Readiness for Youth Mental Healthcare | $475,000 | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | Research Project |
| Noni Gaylord-Harden, PhD | Examination of Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Rural Black Youth | $474,698 | Texas A&M Health Science Center | Research Project |
| Nisha Jagannathan, PhD | A Machine Learning Approach to Characterizing Executive, Emotional, and Social Functioning in Autism and Internalizing Disorders | $260,084 | Baylor College of Medicine | Research Career Development |
| Lynn Jennings, PhD, LPC-S, LSOTP-S | Enhancing Rural Behavioral Health Response for Child and Adolescent Survivors of Familial Sex Trafficking in West Texas | $467,555 | Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center | Research Project |
| John Leri, PhD | Targeted Enhancement of Therapeutic Memory Analogs among Postpartum Women with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder | $284,998 | The University of Texas at Austin | Research Career Development |
| Karabi Nandy, PhD | A Data-Driven Approach to Early Mental Health Screening in Offspring of Parents with Bipolar Disorder | $474,367 | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center | Research Project |
| Michelle Patriquin, PhD, ABPP | Inpatient youth outcomes: Improving aggression and safety via sleep | $474,607 | The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston | Research Project |
| Caitlin Pinciotti, PhD | Risk Factors and Trajectory of Mental Contamination Among Emerging Adult Survivors of Sexual Victimization: Piloting the RIsk after uNwanted Sexual Experiences (RINSE) Study | $283,963 | Baylor College of Medicine | Research Career Development |
| Jennifer Ramirez, PhD | Implementation of Mothers and Babies Intervention for Perinatal Depression within the Perinatal Psychiatry Access Network (PeriPAN) | $263,329 | Baylor College of Medicine | Research Career Development |
| Kelly Sopchak, PhD | Understanding Participation and Treatment Outcomes in TCHATT | $473,571 | The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio | Research Project |
| Leslie Taylor, PhD, LP | Increasing treatment access in trauma exposed children: Developing an adapted Step One intervention | $280,833 | The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston | Research Career Development |
| Kevin Wagner, PhD | Investigating real-time antecedents of approach and avoidance behaviors in anxious youth | $279,550 | Baylor College of Medicine | Research Career Development |
| Andrew Wiese, PhD | Stepped care versus standard cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents with anxiety | $474,974 | Baylor College of Medicine | Research Project |
| Rocksheng Zhong, MD, MHS | Biopsychosocial Outcomes in Texas Juvenile Justice | $237,500 | The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston | Research Project |
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ABOUT NECMHR
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.