MIRECC / CoE

Highlights from Our Anchor Sites

Our affiliates in Houston, Little Rock, New Orleans, and VISN 17 work hard to promote mental health education, research, and treatment locally and nationally. Here are some highlights of their accomplishments over the past three months.

Houston

Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Kanzler Received Funding for New Chronic Pain Grant

Dr. Kanzler received a Chronic Pain Management Research Program/Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (Department of Defense) - Clinical Exploration Award for $370,957. The grant, “Supporting Acceptance for Living with Unwanted Thoughts and Experiences in Chronic Pain (SALUTE-CP) for Active Duty Military Servicemembers,” will take place from November 2024 through October 2026. Drs. Lilian Dindo, Jan Lindsay, and Juinell Williams will serve as Co-Is on the grant.

New Orleans

Drs. Gala True and Claire Houtsma Received Funding for New Projects

Drs. True and Houtsma received $337,592 for FY25 from the Office of Suicide Prevention for their demonstration project “Partnering with Firearm Retailers to Promote and Provide Out-of-Home Firearm Storage: Sustainability and Scalability of The Armory Project.” Dr. True is the Project Lead and Claire Houtsma is Co-Lead.

They also received $309,295 from the Office of Rural Health - Portland VRHRC for “Facilitating Lethal Means Safety Conversations with Rural Caregivers.” Dr. True is PI and Dr. Houtsma is a Co-I.

Invisible Injuries Exhibit Displayed at Dole Foundation Annual Meeting

Stories and images from Dr. Gala True’s Health Services Research-funded PhotoVoice project, From War to Home: The Impact of Invisible Injuries were exhibited at the Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s annual conference in Arlington, Virginia on September 24. This is the second time that the project has been exhibited at the Dole Foundation’s annual meeting.

Dr. Mary Shapiro Receives SWIFT-IVI Grant

Dr. Shapiro, a clinical investigator, was awarded a Small aWard Initiative For impacT – Independent VA Investigators grant (SWIFT-IVI; Total Costs $47,409) to examine the utility of group present-centered therapy among pregnant Veterans with PTSD.

Dr. Chelsea Ennis is a VA Shark Tank Finalist

Dr. Chelsea Ennis is a finalist in the VA Shark Tank Competition. Her project titled “Rapid Treatment for PTSD in Acute Care Settings” aims to improve the availability of evidence-based treatments for Veterans with PTSD receiving care on acute mental health inpatient units. Dr. Ennis will present this project in Chicago later this month at the 2024 VHA Innovation Experience Conference.

New Publications

Houtsma, C., Reyes, L., MacWilliams, K., & True, G. (2024). Impact of a suicide prevention learning module for firearm training courses in Louisiana. Injury Epidemiology, 11, 41.

True, G., Wiesel Cullen, S., Brecht, T., Dichter, M. E., Blosnich, J. R., & Montgomery, A. E. (2024). Suicide prevention providers’ perspectives on addressing social determinants of health for at-risk Veterans. General Hospital Psychiatry, 90, 84-87.

Last updated: October 18, 2024