Jody Russon, an assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, received a three-year, $750,000 planning grant from the National Institute of Mental Health as Principal Investigator for “Behavioral Health-Works Suicide Prevention Program for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth.”

The grant support, which began in August 2022, allows Russon to study the adaptation and implementation of a suicide prevention program for sexual and gender minority youth presenting in community settings. Russon and her eight-person team have partnered with two LGBTQ+ organizations, Mazzoni Center in Philadelphia and Diversity Camp, Inc., in Roanoke, along with their respective behavioral health partnering sites, Thomas Jefferson University and Carilion Clinic Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services. Co-Principal Investigators include representatives of these four sites along with Tina Savla, a professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, and Guy Diamond, Center for Family Intervention Science at Drexel University. The NIH Planning Grant Program provides support for the initial development of a clinical trial or research project.