FOUNDATION OF HOPE GIVES OVER $478,000 TO MENTAL ILLNESS RESEARCH

RALEIGH, N.C., May 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its ongoing efforts to curb the debilitating effects of mental illness, the Foundation of Hope for Research and Treatment of Mental Illness (FOH) will award over $478,000 in research grants to nine investigators in the Department of Psychiatry at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The recipients are Dr. Alana Campbell, Dr. Sara Faccidomo, Dr. Hiroyuki Kato, Dr. Samuel McLean, Dr. A. Leslie Morrow, Dr. Juan Carlos Prieto, Dr. Danielle Swales, Dr. Mengsen Zhang, and Dr. Tobias Schwippel. Their projects encompass a wide range of mental and behavioral conditions, including alcoholism and addiction, anxiety, autism and developmental disabilities, depression, PTSD, and women's mood disorders.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), mood disorders like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and PTSD affect 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 6 children each year. 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 care 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 could lead to breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses, improving the lives and livelihoods of those who suffer.

"Since the pandemic, it has become crystal clear that more people than ever are suffering with mental illness," says Shelley Belk, Executive Director of the FOH. "So, we are determined to continue funding critical mental illness research projects that have 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.

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