Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody releases 12-week "Roots of Resiliency" series
June 19, 2020
The Vanderbilt Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody (COE) launched a 12-week series, titled "Roots of Resiliency," in partnership with Tennessee Department of Children's Services in response to a request from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's office to provide support for families across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taylor, Blackford publish manuscript on mental health of clinicians treating COVID-19
May 27, 2020
Warren D. Taylor, M.D., MHSc, and Jennifer U. Blackford, Ph.D., professors of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, have written a new publication detailing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of front-line clinicians. The manuscript, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, describes physiological changes that occur with stress that lead to burnout and mental health disorders. It challenges many providers' reluctance to seek treatment and proposes strategies to maintain mental health.
Blackford and Benningfield call for greater attention to anxiety in research, clinical practice
May 20, 2020
Jenni Blackford, PhD and Meg Benningfield, MD published a viewpoint in JAMA psychiatry along with Kristy Allen, PhD from University of Tennessee, highlighting the need for a greater emphasis on childhood anxiety in psychiatry research and practice. Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental health conditions among youth and contribute to significant costs for society. In this piece, Drs.
Study seeks to improve social competence in adults with autism
Self-care crucial for providers during pandemic
Blackford, Winder labs collaborate on paper in Addiction Biology journal
April 6, 2020
M.D./Ph.D. student Elizabeth Flook spearheaded a paper published in the journal Addiction Biology. The review paper, titled "Anxiety during abstinence from alcohol: A systematic review of rodent and human evidence for the anterior insula's role in the abstinence network," was a joint collaboration between Jennifer Blackford and Danny Winder's research labs describing the role of the anterior insula in abstinence.
2020 VKC Hobbs Discovery and Director’s Strategic Priorities Grants announced, next call to open May 2020
March 31, 2020
https://notables.vkcsites.org/2020/03/2020-vkc-hobbs-discovery-and-directors-strategic-priorities-grants-announced-next-call-to-open-may-2020/
A Nicholas Hobbs Discovery Grant and a Director’s Strategic Priorities Grant have been awarded to Vanderbilt Kennedy Center (VKC) investigators for 2020-21. The grants aim to further our understanding of the neurocognitive effects of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and to explore the brain function of comorbid reading comprehension and math problem solving learning disabilities.