Ten professors in Texas have been awarded grants by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health to conduct innovative academic research in mental health.
The one-year grants are capped at $17,500 each. The 10 research projects were selected from a pool of 44 proposals submitted by assistant professors who are on the tenure track at universities across Texas.
The grants are designed to support quality research in mental health and encourage grant recipients to share their findings with mental health researchers, policymakers and service providers at state and national conferences and meetings.
“The work that these grantees produce will advance our knowledge in critical areas of mental health. The grant initiative will also help these researchers build upon their budding careers,” said Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the foundation.
The recipients are:
– Baylor College of Medicine: Dr. Ashley Butler, Department of Pediatrics, will research African American and Latino parent engagement in an integrated behavioral health intervention for young children with disruptive behavior.
– Texas AandM University: Dr. Lizette Ojeda, Department of Educational Psychology, will examine the influence of Latino masculinity, family connectedness and perceived discrimination on the mental health of Latino immigrant day laborers. Dr. Marisol Perez, Department of Psychology, will study 5- to 7-year-olds to assess the environmental factors that may be contributing to the increasing prevalence of eating disorders in young children.
– Texas Tech University: Dr. Douglas Smith, College of Human Sciences, will study how a brief intervention affects couples that report intimate partner violence while seeking mental health services.
– University of North Texas Health Science Center: Dr. Leigh Johnson, Department of Internal Medicine, will research the influence of depression on diabetes in elderly Mexican Americans.
– The University of Texas at Austin: Dr. M. Teresa Granillo, School of Social Work, will examine the influence that mental health challenges and services have on the academic outcomes of Latina college students.
– The University of Texas at San Antonio: Dr. Amy Chanmugam, Department of Social Work, will research the mental health needs of children in domestic violence shelters.
– The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio: Dr. Robert Gonzalez, Department of Psychiatry, will examine the relationship between sleep disturbance and inflammation in bipolar disorder. Dr. David Roberts, Department of Psychiatry, will research tablet-based social cognition training for individuals with schizophrenia.
– The University of Texas Medical Branch: Dr. Patricia van den Berg, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will research disordered eating and body dissatisfaction in adolescents.
The Hogg Foundation advances recovery and wellness in Texas by supporting mental health services, policy analysis, research and public education. The foundation was created in 1940 by the children of former Texas Gov. James S. Hogg and is part of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.
