Jennifer Gibson, Author at Foundation of Hope

3 05, 2024

Increasing Access to Evidence-Based Therapy for Perinatal Women: A Novel App-Based Approach | Schiller | $64,840

Increasing Access to Evidence-Based Therapy for Perinatal Women: A Novel App-Based Approach 2024 Award: $64,840 Perinatal depression affects 1.4M Americans each year and is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality, yet only 7% of those with perinatal depression are diagnosed and treated effectively. Barriers to high-quality, evidence-based care are too high. We have created an new, internet-based behavior therapy app to overcome barriers to care, but we need to determine whether it works to treat depression and whether women find the app usable and relevant to their care. In this study, we will test the efficacy, acceptability, and feasibility of this new behavior therapy app. Identifying a population-level, cost-effective, evidence-based behavioral approach to treating perinatal depression would reduce the global burden of illness and improve the lives of women and their children. Need/Problem: Perinatal depression affects 1.4M [...]

3 05, 2024

Identifying Novel Biological Profiles of Early Risk and Intervention for Mood Disorders in Adolescents: Mapping Stress-Responsive Changes in Electrocortical Indices in Adolescent Anhedonia | Feurer, Belger, Roubinov | $74,802

Identifying Novel Biological Profiles of Early Risk and Intervention for Mood Disorders in Adolescents: Mapping Stress-Responsive Changes in Electrocortical Indices in Adolescent Anhedonia 2024 Award: $74,802 Research shows that interpersonal stress increases risk for anhedonia, yet, not all adolescents who are exposed to interpersonal stress go on to experience anhedonia. Therefore, there is a critical need to understand which youth are most likely to experience anhedonia in the context of interpersonal stress. This study will integrate neural and physiological assessments to create novel biological profiles of stress responsivity and will examine whether these profiles can be used to predict adolescent anhedonia. Findings will serve as pilot data for future grants leveraging these biological profiles to improve early risk detection and treatment of adolescent anhedonia. Need/Problem: Anhedonia, the inability to experience or anticipate pleasure, is a core depression symptom that [...]

3 05, 2024

Developing a pre-clinical model to study the interaction of female pubertal hormones and early-life stress in vulnerability to anhedonia | Dr. Jose Rodriguez-Romaguera | $44,577

Developing a pre-clinical model to study the interaction of female pubertal hormones and early-life stress in vulnerability to anhedonia 2024 Award: $44,577 This preclinical study aims to explore the interaction between chronic stress and reproductive hormones during puberty in females and investigating their role in vulnerability to depression in adulthood. Focusing on anhedonia, or the inability to experience pleasure, we will investigate the impact of these interactions on cortico-striatal circuits, offering insights into potential resilience factors and critical windows of vulnerability, thus advancing our understanding of major depressive disorder in women. Need/Problem: After puberty, women present twice the prevalence of major depressive disorder than men. The mechanisms by which reproductive hormones shape vulnerability to chronic stress-induced depression during puberty in women remain unexplored. Grant Summary: We will study how chronic stress interacts with reproductive hormones in females to shape [...]

3 05, 2024

Addressing an Urgent Need: Developing and Disseminating a Brief Eating Disorders Intervention for Primary Care (FAST-ED) | Pisetsky | $99,001

Addressing an Urgent Need: Developing and Disseminating a Brief Eating Disorders Intervention for Primary Care (FAST-ED) 2024 Award: $99,001 Eating disorders effect approximately 10% of the population, but many individuals with eating disorders experience many barriers to accessing treatment, including unacceptably long waitlists at specialty care settings. The average delay between onset of the eating disorder and accessing treatment is over 5 years. The goal of this study is to develop and test a treatment for adolescents with eating disorders that is designed to be used in primary care settings and delivered by generalist mental health providers. By increasing access to treatment at the point of detection, we will be able to transform care delivery and improve youth mental health across NC. Need/Problem: Eating disorders effect approximately 10% of the population and have a high mortality rate, but current [...]

3 05, 2024

Epigenetic mechanisms linking psychological stress with dementia risk in minoritized individuals | Zannas | $147,167

Epigenetic mechanisms linking psychological stress with dementia risk in minoritized individuals 2024 Award: $147,167 Dementia has an enormous impact worldwide and disproportionately affects minoritized populations. Such health disparities have been attributed to discrimination and other social determinants of health, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. This project examines the epigenetic mechanisms through which stress contributes to dementia risk in Black individuals. Need/Problem: Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have an enormous impact on individuals and societies, with Alzheimer’s disease alone currently afflicting ~6.7 million persons age 65 and older in the US. Importantly, ADRD disproportionately affect minoritized populations, with older Black adults having an estimated two to three times higher risk for cognitive impairment and dementia as compared to older non-Hispanic White adults. However, the mechanisms underlying this health disparity are unknown and no reliable biomarkers exist to guide [...]

3 05, 2024

Identifying Modifiable Risk Factors Associated with Suicidality in Adolescents Following Acute Psychiatric Hospitalization | Danielle Roubinov, PhD | $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.

About Jennifer Gibson