Meg H. Zeller, PhD
Zeller, a tenured professor in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, is at the forefront of research focused on the “epidemic within the epidemic”, pediatric severe obesity. Zeller launched the literature tracking the benefits to health and well-being as well as emerging risks associated with undergoing bariatric surgery during adolescence. She served as the originating lead behavioral investigator in the NIDDK Teen Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (Teen-LABS) Consortium. She continues to collaborate with Teen-LABS as a productive R01 scientist (NIDDK, NIDA). Most recently, she is transitioning her focus to the prevention of severe excess weight gain in youth at high risk. With a Pilot and Feasibility Award from the CCTST, during the past fiscal year, Zeller completed a Phase 1 behavioral trial of an innovative lifestyle intervention working with mothers who have undergone bariatric surgery with aims to disrupt an intergenerational cycle of severe excess weight in her school-age children. There is a plan for a Phase 2 randomized controlled trial.
Addressing organization, time management and study skills in middle-school youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD)
During middle schools years, the academic performance of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is on average five years below their typical peers, which is due, in part, to executive dysfunction. Youth with ASD have problems with organization, time management, prioritization and initiation, yet there are no evidence-based treatments targeting these academic executive functions for middle-school youth with ASD. Over the past few years, Leanne Tamm, PhD, and Amie Duncan, PhD, are in the process of developing and studying an intervention called "Achieving Independence and Mastery in School (AIMS)" which targets academic executive functions for youth with ASD. After first identifying the significant need for this type of intervention through focus groups with key stakeholders, school administrators, teachers, parents, and youth with ASD, the research team developed two versions of AIMS: 1) AIMS for the Outpatient Setting; and 2) AIMS for the School Setting. The outpatient version is an eight-session group intervention that psychologists can utilize in the clinical context with youth with ASD and their parents. The outpatient version of AIMS involves teaching academic executive functioning skills using behavioral management (e.g. reinforcement, behavioral agreement, etc.) principles to promote increased independence related to academics. Sessions follow a consistent routine of: (1) real world practice review; (2) teaching component that focuses on teens and parents learning key academic executive function skills (e.g., creating a homework system, study cards); and (3) in-session practice of the newly taught concepts / strategies (e.g. parents and teens work together to create a behavioral agreement, study cards, etc.) with coaching from the psychologist. The research team demonstrated that participants in the outpatient version of AIMS improved significantly on both parent- and teacher-rated academic executive functions, particularly organization. The school-based version, which is still in development, is a semester-long intervention delivered by school personnel to groups of four to six youth with ASD during the school day, with three sessions for their parents. The team is currently adapting AIMS for telehealth delivery in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.Kevin Hommel, PhD
Hommel, a professor in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and director of the Center for Health Technology Research, developed and tested Migraine Manager, a novel digital therapeutic tool for adolescents with migraine. Pear Therapeutics licensed this technology in 2019. Migraine Manager is a self-management tool that provides patients with assessment and intervention components to help manage symptoms of migraine. It also provides valuable inter-visit data for physicians and nurses who care for these patients so they can see longitudinal patterns of headache frequency, functional impact, and self-management behavior, and use these data to better inform care provision. The results of a pilot study for Migraine Manager were recently published in Headache. Patients who used Migraine Manager experienced a reduction in headache frequency from 17 to eight headaches per month over a period of eight weeks of use. Pear Therapeutics plans to use a mobile app version of Migraine Manager as a prescription option for adolescents with migraine.Pioneering Center for Heart Disease and Mental Health Established
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth anomaly, affecting more than 1.35 million babies worldwide each year. While contemporary medical care dramatically increases survival, CHD remains a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality. Children with heart disease have a heightened vulnerability to neurodevelopmental delay, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism, as well as an increased risk of emotional, behavioral and relational difficulties. Given the strain that serious medical illness puts on families, parents and siblings also report psychological distress, with consequences persisting long after discharge of their child or sibling from the hospital. In response, Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute and the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology joined forces to establish a new Center dedicated to improving mental health outcomes for children with heart disease and their families. Founded in January 2020 by Nadine Kasparian, PhD, the vision of Cincinnati Children’s Center for Heart Disease and Mental Health is lofty - to prevent or minimize the mental health burdens of childhood heart disease through cutting-edge research, clinical initiatives and policy change. Initial projects bring together multidisciplinary experts working in partnership with patients and families to:
- Uncover the factors that contribute to neurobiological and psychological risk and resilience in CHD,
- Understand and address COVID-19 related fears and anxieties in children with CHD, as well as parents’ experiences of ‘parenting under pressure’ during a pandemic,
- Identify facilitators of, and barriers to, timely and effective psychological and neurodevelopmental care, and
- Develop sustainable interventions to transform mental health outcomes for children with heart disease and their families.
In addition, the center recently partnered with colleagues in Australia to receive over $10 million in research funding from the Australian Federal Government Medical Research Future Fund, for projects to improve neurodevelopmental evaluation, and reduce the physical and mental health burden experienced by children and adults with CHD. The team, supported administratively by Jennifer Hembree, is looking forward to welcoming its first international postdoctoral research fellow, Julia Bänziger, MSc, from Switzerland in the fall, and program specialist, Jared Connor, in January 2021.
