# The academic-community experience (ACE): A postdoctoral training fellowship in implementation science to promote mental health > **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2022 · $144,508 ## Abstract 1 The University of Pennsylvania Training Program in Implementation Science and Mental Health is the only NIMH- 2 funded T32 program in the United States that provides training exclusively in implementation science and mental 3 health. This renewal application requests 5 years of funding to continue to train the next generation of scientists 4 who will study how to improve implementation of assessment, prevention, and intervention practices that can 5 transform mental health delivery across the lifespan. Since 2016, we have prepared 9 postdoctoral fellows, 44% 6 of whom met NIH criteria for underrepresented populations; 89% of whom were female. Those who have 7 graduated have faculty positions across the country. We will continue to provide training to postdoctoral fellows 8 per year and request additional slots for predoctoral trainees. Over the past 35 years, faculty in Penn's Center 9 for Mental Health have collaborated closely with community agencies, including Philadelphia County's 10 behavioral health Medicaid agency, the Philadelphia Departments of Health and Behavioral Health, the School 11 District of Philadelphia, the justice system, the Department of Veteran Affairs, and Penn Medicine. Through these 12 partnerships, we create unique opportunities to embed postdoctoral trainees in the settings in which they hope 13 to conduct implementation research. Penn has emerged as a leader in implementation science, with numerous 14 resources including the Penn Implementation Science Center, founded and directed by Contact PI Beidas, and 15 foundational and advanced coursework in implementation science. The proposed training program includes 16 seven experienced investigators from Penn and two community partners as part of the core executive committee. 17 Additional mentors are available from other schools at Penn including the Wharton School of Business and 18 investigators from other local institutions (Drexel, Temple)to encourage interdisciplinary inquiry and cutting-edge 19 knowledge. Further, a group of national leaders in implementation science (Senior Scholars) interact with 20 trainees regularly. We propose the following aims for our T32: Our trainees will (1) Participate 21 based 22 implementation 23 additional 24 science 25 from c 26 consultant. 27 partner Our T32 brings together trainees and mentors creating a fertile 28 interdisciplinary environment in which to train the next generation of implementation scientists. Successful 29 trainees are future leaders in reducing the research-to-practice gap and scaling up the use of evidence-based 30 practices in community settings. in didactic training, on a personalized needs assessment. Both pre and postdoctoral trainees will take two core courses in (foundational and advanced implementation science); predoctoral trainees will take any courses r equired by their doctoral programs; (2) Receive mentorship from a core implementation and mental health faculty member, an additional conten... ## Key facts - **NIH application ID:** 10409866 - **Project number:** 2T32MH109433-06 - **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - **Principal Investigator:** David S Mandell - **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.) - **Funding institute:** NIH - **Fiscal year:** 2022 - **Award amount:** $144,508 - **Award type:** 2 - **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2027-06-30 ## Primary source NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10409866 ## Citation > US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10409866, The academic-community experience (ACE): A postdoctoral training fellowship in implementation science to promote mental health (2T32MH109433-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10409866. Licensed CC0. --- *[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*