University of Utah Awards 1U4U Seed Grants to Nine Research Teams

The grants are a result of last year’s 1U4U competition, which focused on Mental & Behavioral Health, an area highlighted in the U Research Strategic Plan for its potential to foster collaborations across different fields.

A total of 31 applications were submitted, showcasing collaborative proposals from researchers within both academic affairs and U of U Health aimed at tackling complex mental and behavioral health issues.

Jakob Jensen, Senior Associate Vice President for Research, emphasized the program's goal of connecting researchers across the university to enhance their collective efforts. He noted that while mental and behavioral health is a growing focus for the university, the diversity of expertise in these selected projects is particularly promising. The seed funding is intended to facilitate the formation of these interdisciplinary teams and position them for larger funding opportunities in the future.

The cross-institutional collaboration is central to the 1U4U initiative, which encourages the fusion of multiple disciplines to explore significant research questions.

Rachel Hess, System Chief Research Officer and Associate Vice President for Research at University of Utah Health Sciences, stated that the projects exemplify the effectiveness of interdisciplinary research in developing innovative approaches, generating evidence, and ultimately improving health outcomes.

The awarded teams draw from diverse fields such as psychology, psychiatry, mathematics, computing, philosophy, social work, engineering, education, and population health, reflecting the collaborative spirit that the 1U4U program seeks to inspire.

Anshuman Razdan, Vice Provost for Research Planning & Partnerships, highlighted that the most significant research opportunities often arise at disciplinary intersections. The 1U4U program provides researchers the space to cultivate these connections and evolve their projects into larger, grant-funded initiatives.

The selected projects include:

- “I Wish We Knew Earlier: Does Obesity Genetic Panel Testing Alter Developmental Trajectories of Mental and Behavioral Health for Patients with Pediatric Obesity?” led by Co-PIs Lisa Aspinwall and Larissa McGarrity.

- “From GWAS to Brain Circuits: Defining the Cellular and Circuit Architecture of Suicide Risk in Human Brain” headed by Co-PIs Boyi Guo and Bao Wang.

- “Quantifying Navigation Behavior in Virtual Reality to Promote Physical Activity in People with Low Vision” with Co-PIs Sarah Creem-Regehr and Brian Stagg.

- “Multimodal Biomarkers of Depression in Treatment-Resistant Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” overseen by Co-PIs Kara Johnson and Ben Shofty.

- “Mapping Barriers: Statewide Analysis of Pediatric Mental Health Service Access in Utah” led by Co-PIs Karen Manotas and Aaron Fischer.

- “Using Recurrent Neural Networks to Predict Dynamical Computations Underlying Failures of Model-Based Inference in Human Neuronal Ensembles” by PI Elliot Smith.

- “A Human-Centered AI Chatbot to Support Mental and Behavioral Health in Young Adults” with Co-PIs Yang Bai and Shandian Zhe.

- “Investigating How the Public Uses Commodity AI Chatbots for Mental Health Support” led by Co-PIs Sameer Patil and Nina De Lacy.

- “Effects of Post-Discharge Group Therapy on Outcomes Among Persons Hospitalized for Suicidal Ideation” headed by Co-PIs Brent Kious and Rachael Jasperson.

Faculty reviewers from both academic and health sciences evaluated the proposals. The selected projects underline the comprehensive nature of mental and behavioral health research at the University of Utah, from biological and neural studies to expanding care access, testing interventions, and assessing the role of artificial intelligence in these fields.

Looking ahead, the 1U4U program is preparing for its next challenge. The 2027 Seed Grant Program will focus on Disasters & Extreme Environments, seeking teams interested in topics related to predicting, preventing, preparing for, responding to, and mitigating disasters, as well as understanding human behavior in extreme situations. Applications for this program are due by February 25, 2027.