# Reducing Risk: A Comprehensive mHealth Sleep Health Intervention for Adolescents at Risk for Depression and Anxiety Disorders

> **NIH NIH K23** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2021 · $166,234

## Abstract

Project Summary
This application for a Mentored Patient-Oriented Career Development Award (K23) aims to support additional
training and research that will enable the candidate to achieve her career goal of becoming an independent
clinical scientist conducting research aimed at preventing mental illness among adolescents. Adolescence is a
critical period characterized by dramatic increases in rates of depression and anxiety disorders, hereafter
referred to as internalizing disorders (IDs). Problems with sleep health are ubiquitous and modifiable targets
that precede and predict the development of IDs. This project uses an experimental design to (a) improve
sleep health (through a sleep focused treatment), (b) determine whether a sleep focused treatment improves
ID symptoms, and a known biological marker of risk for IDs, cortisol reactivity and recovery in response to a
stress exposure, and (c) elucidate target mechanisms underlying the effect of poor sleep health on ID
symptoms, and cortisol measures. The present study will test an innovative adaptation of Transdiagnostic
Sleep and Circadian Intervention (TranS-C), a sleep health treatment that improves sleep and mental health
and effectively treats the most common sleep health deficits among adolescents, each of which was previously
shown to be independently associated with increased risk for IDs. To overcome the challenge of low availability
of qualified providers as a barrier to treatment access, we adapted TranS-C for mobile device delivery (referred
to as mTranS-C), thereby leveraging the high rates of mobile phone use among adolescents. To further
increase access, we will test mTranS-C within primary care services, a proven strategy for improving access to
behavioral health care. The application builds on the candidates’ prior work in transdiagnostic mechanisms of
mental illness, identifying targets for intervention and the prevention of IDs, and evidence based interventions
for sleep problems. The proposed training plan emphasizes the following training areas for the candidate: (1)
develop expertise in mHealth technology/science, (2) the biology and objective measurement of cortisol, and
(3) statistical methods for analyzing longitudinal data sets. An inter-disciplinary team of mentors and
consultants consisting of international leaders in the areas of sleep interventions, mHealth technology/science,
developmental psychopathology, cortisol measurement, and statistical methods, collectively will provide the
expertise to help the candidate meet her training objectives.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10248499
- **Project number:** 5K23MH116520-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Lauren Asarnow
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $166,234
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-22 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10248499

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10248499, Reducing Risk: A Comprehensive mHealth Sleep Health Intervention for Adolescents at Risk for Depression and Anxiety Disorders (5K23MH116520-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10248499. Licensed CC0.

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