Jennifer Gibson, Author at Foundation of Hope

3 05, 2024

Identifying Modifiable Risk Factors Associated with Suicidality in Adolescents Following Acute Psychiatric Hospitalization | Hodgins | $78,000

Identifying Modifiable Risk Factors Associated with Suicidality in Adolescents Following Acute Psychiatric Hospitalization 2024 Award: $78,000 Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among adolescents, and some of the most vulnerable adolescents are those requiring acute mental health care. The rate of suicide in the 3 months following a psychiatric hospitalization is up to 100 times that of the general population, but despite this heightened risk, little is known about the ways in which modifiable factors of hospitalization impact suicidal thoughts and behaviors following discharge from the hospital. The present study will leverage the creation of UNC Youth Behavioral Health, a psychiatric facility for adolescents, to examine the ways in which underlying risk factors, course of hospitalization, and patient perceptions of hospitalization impact clinical outcomes in the three months following discharge among individuals who initially presented with suicidal [...]

2 05, 2024

Efficacy of Rapid Postpartum Treatment

Efficacy of Rapid Postpartum Treatment Leslie Morrow, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Distinguished Professor Professor, UNC Department of Pharmacology Researchers at the UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders are studying the effectiveness of the neurosteroid brexanolone, a rapid treatment for postpartum depression (PPD), a debilitating mental illness impacting at least 10-15% of women who give birth. Brexanolone is the first FDA-approved pharmacotherapy specifically developed and approved to treat PPD and relieve suffering within days. Ongoing studies surrounding its effectiveness may provide a better understanding of postpartum depression itself.

2 05, 2024

Schizophrenia Advances in Neural Circuitry

Schizophrenia Advances in Neural Circuitry Hiroyuki Kato, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Associate Professor Associate Professor, UNC Neuroscience Center Schizophrenic patients can suffer from hallucinations, delusions, disordered thinking, and auditory hallucination, or “hearing voices.” Funded by the Foundation of Hope, Dr. Kato and his research team identified critical frontal cortex mechanisms and neural circuitry that cause hypersensitivity to auditory cues. This discovery will likely identify important new therapeutic targets for a variety of neuropsychiatric illnesses, including schizophrenia and autism.

2 05, 2024

Combatting Substance Use with Therapeutics

Combatting Substance Use with Therapeutics Joyce Besheer, Ph.D. UNC Department of Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry Professor, UNC Bowles Alcohol Center Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a devastating disease, and Dr. Besheer’s FOH-funded research portfolio has examined how stress, trauma, and other environmental and behavioral pathologies can influence alcohol drinking behavior and relapse. This research into substance use disorder is timely and relevant to identify novel targets for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, which affects 1 in 7 Americans, often in conjunction with other mental illnesses.

2 05, 2024

First Postpartum Depression Phone App

First Postpartum Depression Phone App Samantha Meltzer-Brody, M.D., M.P.H. UNC Department of Psychiatry Distinguished Professor and Chair Director, UNC Center for Women’s Mood Disorders A 2015 FOH-funded study helped develop the first mobile app for women’s mood disorders with Apple ResearchKit. Dr. Meltzer-Brody and her team at the Center for Women's Mood Disorders studied the biological basis of postpartum depression (PPD) by creating a large genetic database. The app collected data from women who also provided saliva samples by mail. This innovative digital research data collection put “mom genes” to work to determine common genetic traits that inform accessible treatments for PPD.

24 01, 2024

Banks

Banks Kaleb and Banks were sitting on the back of the bus, heading to a wrestling tournament. It was so early that it was still dark outside. They were making jokes about being off weight and looking forward to the day. “I thought those days would never end. Kaleb Wright was one of my best friends and committed suicide.” When Banks was a sophomore in high school, he became friends with Kaleb, the senior superstar on the wrestling team. Kaleb was a role model for many students, always present and supportive, making jokes, and serving as a leader. But underneath the joyful, outgoing persona, Kaleb was a deeply struggling teenager. Even as one of his closest friends and teammates, Banks had no idea the grim reality of how much pain Kaleb was in – nor [...]

5 07, 2023

Lily

Lily My dad, Jon Williams, didn’t have a bad bone in his body. He cherished time spent with family, he felt pride serving his community as a UNC physician, and he was always mindful of the simple things in life for which he felt incredibly grateful. My dad was selfless, wicked-smart, loving, and hilarious, and he could brighten any room with his unbeatable smile and contagious laughter. The peace he felt from listening to music, eating good food, playing cards, and going for “joy rides” in the car always inspired me, for he could find joy in the simplest of things. Despite his love of this life alongside family and friends, my dad lost his battle with depression in the fall of 2020. He sought help in every way that he could (through therapy, audio [...]

15 05, 2023

White Matter Connectome and Behavior Relationships in Early Childhood | Hong | $27,044

White Matter Connectome and Behavior Relationships in Early Childhood 2023 Award: $27,044 Despite increasing research on the association between brain structure and cognition/behavior in adults, their relationship in early childhood remains largely unknown. We propose a new method to study how the brain’s networks relate to behavior in early childhood: connectome-based predictive modeling. Our prediction model will enable the early identification of children at high risk of developing psychiatric disorders. Need/Problem: There is strong evidence that white matter connectome computed from diffusion MRI is associated with cognition or behavior in adults and older children. However, little is known about their relationship in early childhood. Grant Summary: We will investigate how the brain’s networks relate to behavior. We will use the white matter connectome, which shows how different brain area connect to each other. We will develop a novel deep [...]

15 05, 2023

Uncovering Midlife Dementia Risks from Altered Structural and Functional Coupling Mechanisms | Wu | $47,761

Uncovering Midlife Dementia Risks from Altered Structural and Functional Coupling Mechanisms 2023 Award: $47,761 Dementia is a syndrome of cognitive and functional decline, commonly occurring in later life as a result of neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular processes beginning earlier in the life course. Mounting evidence shows that genetic, demographic, and lifespan environmental exposures closely interact to determine vulnerability to dementia. In this context, we aim to discover the smoking gun of dementia risks and understand the neurobiological mechanism of how these dementia risk factors affect brain structures and functions over time. Need/Problem: Mounting evidence shows that genetic, demographic, and lifespan environmental exposures closely interact to determine vulnerability to dementia. Since pre-symptomatic or early symptomatic interventions may ultimately constitute the best long-term therapeutic strategy, a life-course approach is critical to disentangle the nature and timing of dementia risks that contribute to [...]

15 05, 2023

A Machine Learning Approach to Classify Medical Records by Psychiatric Diagnosis | Nash | $35,784

A Machine Learning Approach to Classify Medical Records by Psychiatric Diagnosis 2023 Award: $35,784 The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) has been accompanied by the enticing promise of using “big data” to improve patient care and clinical research. Many “big data” models rely on discrete data points, while in the field of mental health, our outcomes and diagnostic criteria are typically found in unstructured clinical narratives. In this study, we will train and evaluate machine learning classification models of psychiatric diagnoses using software capable of mining structured and unstructured data in the EHR, by incorporating unstructured clinical data using natural language processing. Need/Problem: The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is accompanied by the enticing promise of using “big data” to improve patient care through large-scale research studies, population health and quality improvement initiatives, and improved [...]

jgibson@walkforhope.com

About Jennifer Gibson