News

Congratulations to Kelly Beck, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), who has received the 2024 YourMomCares Brilliance in Research Award. YourMomCares is a kids’ mental health nonprofit, founded by the moms of musicians, actors, and athletes, to fund innovations in kids’ mental health and wellbeing. 

Dr. Beck’s project focuses on the Schools Unified in Neurodiversity (SUN) Project, designing school classrooms and instruction to eliminate barriers to learning and set neurodivergent children up for success

Rachel Conlon, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), and César Escobar-Viera, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral and Community Health Sciences), were also recognized for the following projects:

• Rachel Conlon, PhD - ClockWork: Harnessing the circadian timing system to promote postpartum mental health among moms and children
• César Escobar-Viera, MD, PhD – Leveraging a social media-based chatbot and a social media-based support group to evaluate the feasibility of a social support intervention for increasing mental health help-seeking and reducing depression in sexual and gender minority youth

The three Pitt Psychiatry investigators were selected from a large applicant pool to travel to Serendipity Labs in New York City and participate in a Shark Tank-style competitive event, where they presented their innovative ideas to a YourMomCares panel for a chance to win the $100,000 research award. The competition is aimed at addressing critical needs in child and adolescent mental health research, and supporting early-career investigators working in this field.