# Midcareer investigator award in patient-oriented research in the area of perinatal-developmental neuroscience

> **NIH NIH K24** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2022 · $160,958

## Abstract

Despite evidence that 1 in 5 children are at risk for psychiatric disorders, only 1 in 20 young children receive
mental health care. Thus, a high number of children who would benefit from mental health care remain untreated.
My long-term goal is to improve brain-based targets for early detection and behavioral interventions of childhood
psychiatric disorders. The area of perinatal-developmental neuroscience (PDN) is of high public health
significance as a substantial proportion of pregnant women will experience health, environmental, or
psychological stressors, which have early and long-lasting effects on offspring. Increasing the number of
research programs that can support training in PDN is paramount. The K24 will allow me to: 1) expand my
expertise in advanced analytic methods to support trainee research, and 2) establish an internationally
recognized research and training program focused on fetal-infant brain and behavioral origins of mental health.
My K24 training program, the Columbia Engagement, Stability, and Success in PDN will provide an individualized
approach to research training: assessing the research skills and career goals of mentees early on and developing
personalized training modules; didactics; experiential, hands-on training; and research productivity that follow
their individualized plan. The program also includes a monthly seminar series alternating between science and
career-networking topics. Our prior studies suggest there may be common biological pathways by which early
exposures exert their influence on offspring conferring psychiatric risk – with recent attention to the immune
system and/or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and brain regions involved in behavioral regulation. Using the
expanded analytic skills obtained through this K24, my mentees and I will conduct studies to examine whether
four key prenatal exposures: maternal depression, body mass index, infection, and blood glucose are associated
with connectivity and morphology of brain regions (e.g., dorsal anterior cingulate) involved in behavioral
regulation. In a subset of the cohort, we will also consider the potential mediating effects of inflammation and
glucocorticosteriods. I have a unique opportunity to pool data from cohorts of pregnant women-fetal dyads
involved in research studies (2004 to present; n~500) at Columbia University Irving Medical Center – a large
center with a diverse patient population – and perform new data collection harnessing health information
technology (e.g., electronic medical records). The data set will serve as a platform for my mentees to produce
pilot projects and manuscripts, and practical experience conducting a project in an area of PDN that matches
his/her career goals within the scope of this funding mechanism. My strong commitment to and ongoing research
in patient-oriented research focused on identifying early antecedents of psychiatric risk, individualized
mentorship plans, direct involvement of mentees in the c...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10472708
- **Project number:** 5K24MH127381-02
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Marisa N Spann
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $160,958
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2026-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10472708

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10472708, Midcareer investigator award in patient-oriented research in the area of perinatal-developmental neuroscience (5K24MH127381-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10472708. Licensed CC0.

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