FOUNDATION OF HOPE GIVES ALMOST $1 MILLION TO MENTAL ILLNESS RESEARCH

RALEIGH, N.C., June 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing efforts to curb the debilitating effects of mental illness, the Foundation of Hope for Research and Treatment of Mental Illness (FOH) has approved over $987,000 in research grants to fourteen investigators in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The recipients are Dr. Elizabeth Andersen, Dr. Joyce Besheer, Dr. Flavio Frohlich, Dr. Alex Gertner, Dr. Rebecca Grzadzinski, Dr. Yoonmi Hong, Dr. Tyehimba Hunt-Harrison, Dr. Rebekah Nash, Dr. Riah Patterson, Dr. Julia Riddle, Dr. Ryan Vetreno, Dr. Melissa Walsh, and Dr. Guorong Wu. Their projects encompass a wide range of mental and behavioral conditions, including alcoholism and addiction, autism, behavioral health services, depression, schizophrenia, and women's mood disorders.

The Foundation of Hope also awarded its first grant to Dr. Danielle Roubinov, the Director of the new Foundation of Hope Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Mood Disorders Program (CHAAMP) at UNC-Chapel Hill, to investigate the effects of parental trauma on the development and severity of PTSD symptoms in their children. CHAAMP launched in 2021 as an innovative, translational research program to help identify and create cutting-edge prevention and intervention treatment programs for children, teens, and young adults struggling with anxiety and mood disorders.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), psychiatric disorders affect 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 children annually. Even minor manifestations of a mental illness can cripple a person's ability to function and have lasting consequences; the damage is often compounded by rampant social stigma and isolation.

With the growing tsunami of mental health needs emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, conversations around treatment modalities, clinical services, and care access have become more urgent. The innovative research funded by the FOH seeks to improve the lives and livelihoods of those who suffer from mental health issues. The grants could lead to breakthroughs in mental illness diagnosis and treatment.

"Since the pandemic, it has become crystal clear that more people than ever are suffering from mental illness," says Shelley Belk, Executive Director of the FOH. "So, we are determined to continue funding critical research that has the potential to change the trajectory of people's lives. We firmly believe that research is hope."

For grant details: https://walkforhope.com/what-we-fund/#news

The Foundation of Hope for Research and Treatment of Mental Illness is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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SOURCE The Foundation of Hope for Research and Treatment of Mental Illness