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Newsletter | Winter 2025 Article 4 | South Central MIRECC

Highlights from Our Anchor Sites

Our affiliates in Houston, Little Rock, and New Orleans 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

Drs. Kathryn (Katie) Kanzler, Jeffrey Cully, and Juinell Williams.
Drs. Kathryn (Katie) Kanzler, Jeffrey Cully, and Juinell Williams.

Affiliates Present at Collaborative Family Healthcare Association Conference

In October, affiliates presented at 30th Annual Collaborative Family Healthcare Association Conference in San Antonio.

Dr. Kathryn (Katie) Kanzler presented “Tackling Prediabetes in South Texas in Partnership with Community Health Workers: Community Based Participatory Research Principles in Action.” She also presented “’Be Very Strong Because it’s Agonizing’: A Qualitative Study Learning from Hispanic/Latinx Patients with Unmanaged Type 2 Diabetes.”

Dr. Jeffrey Cully presented “My Brief CBT.” Dr. Juinell Williams presented the poster “Black College Women’s Knowledge Sources and Conceptualizations of Preventive Health.”


Dr. Juinell Williams Receives Training Grant Award

Congratulations to Dr. Williams for receiving the Winter 2024 Implementation Science for Health Equity Lab Training Grant from the Health Systems Research (HSR) Center for Innovations in Quality, Effectiveness and Safety. The award supports the Lab’s mission to improve equitable healthcare to ensure the best treatments are delivered to patients who need it.


Little Rock

Drs. Jeffrey Pyne, JoAnn Kirchner, Kathleen (Katy) Grubbs, and Michael (Mike) Cucciare
Drs. Jeffrey Pyne, JoAnn Kirchner, Kathleen (Katy) Grubbs, and Michael (Mike) Cucciare.

Affiliates’ Work Leads to Arkansas Grant

The HSR Center for Mental Healthcare and Outcomes Research helped secure a U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant to fund implementation of the Collaborative Care Model. Drs. Jeffrey Pyne, JoAnn Kirchner, and Kathleen Grubbs’ foundational work in feasibility and effectiveness of implementing collaborative care in primary care helped support this grant. Drs. Pyne and Grubbs, along with Dr. Michael (Mike) Cucciare, will lead the evaluation of the grant.


Dr. Corey Hayes
Dr. Corey Hayes

Dr. Corey Hayes Develops New Model

Dr. Hayes has developed a new predictive model for premature discontinuation of buprenorphine. His research team will work with VA’s Program Evaluation and Research Center to adapt the model into a decision support tool.


New Orleans

Dr. Amanda Raines
Dr. Amanda Raines

Dr. Amanda Raines Receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Congratulations to Dr. Raines for being awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by President Joseph Biden. The award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers early in their careers. PECASE recognizes scientists and engineers who show exceptional potential for leadership early in their research careers. To read more, visit https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/ostp/news-updates/2025/01/14/president-biden-honors-nearly-400-federally-funded-early-career-scientists/.


Dr. Claire Houtsma, Dr. Gala True, and Mr. Ronell Day
Dr. Claire Houtsma, Dr. Gala True, and Mr. Ronell Day.

Affiliates Present at National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm Related Harms

Drs. Gala True and Claire Houtsma presented at the 2024 National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm Related Harms in Seattle with their collaborator and SLVHCS Community Engagement and Partnership Coordinator, Ronell Day. Their presentation was titled “Partnering with Firearm Retailers to Promote Secure Firearm Storage: Sustainment and Expansion of The Armory Project.”

Additionally, a member of Dr. True’s team, Katherine MacWilliams, presented at the American Public Health Association meeting on their Office of Rural Health funded work, “Securely Storing Firearms and Medications to Reduce Suicide Risk: A Playbook for Caregivers.”


The Armory Project Featured in CBS News Story

Dr. Gala True’s “The Armory Project” was featured in a CBS News story about the project’s aim to safely store guns for Veterans facing suicide risk. To view the segment, visit https://www.cbsnews.com/video/inside-the-movement-to-safely-store-guns-for-those-facing-suicide-risk/.


Last updated: February 3, 2025