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Bayesian Variable Selection Methods to Accelerate Identification of Important Psychological Predictors and Neural Substrates of Psychopathology

Award Number: K01MH122805
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

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Project Summary NIMH seeks to “identify biomarkers and behavioral indicators with high predictive value, as early in the course of illness development as possible”, in order to reduce the overall burden of mental illness. However, the number of potentially important psychological, environmental, and biological factors of mental health disorders is vast, and a key challenge is to narrow down to the most important predictors of disorder. This challenge is made especially difficult as 1) recent advances in neuroscience begin to reveal neural substrates of psychopathology, and 2) many predictors are themselves correlated, making it difficult to disentangle which factors are reliably related to disease, after controlling for other factors. Currently used statistical methods are inadequate to overcome this challenge. Powerful Bayesian variable selection methods, called stochastic search variable selection (SSVS), can be used to identify predictors with the most robust relationships for a given criterion, however these methods have not been developed for use in psychology and are currently only available to specialized statisticians. The goal of this project is to develop guidelines to enable mental health researchers to use SSVS to overcome current methodological barriers. I will also develop user-friendly online applications to make SSVS easily available. For the first Aim of this study I will use computer simulation studies to evaluate how SSVS works across a range of conditions and develop guidelines and software for researchers to use. In the second Aim of this study I will apply SSVS to predict obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms in the Nathan Kline Institute Rockland sample, which is a large, publicly available database. OCD is a common, chronic, and debilitating disorder. Much regarding risk for OCD remains unknown, which limits efforts aimed at treatment and prevention. Previous research to identify potential risk factors and triggers for illness onset has relied heavily on evaluation of individuals long after symptoms began. The predictors in this sample include a wide range of theoretically-derived risk factors, including measures of potential psychological vulnerabilities, brain connectivity, stressful life events, and key comorbidities. This proposed research is embedded in a training and mentoring plan that will provide training in 1) the etiology and assessment of psychopathology, 2) neuroscience approaches to determine neural substrates of psychopathology, and 3) Bayesian variable selection methods. This K01 mentored research award will provide the training, time and resources for me to make substantial advances towards addressing this important problem and establish myself as an independent, R01-funded investigator.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $131,493 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	1320 SOUTH DIXIE HIGHWAY STE 650	CORAL GABLES	FL	33146	MIAMI-DADE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	5	7/19/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$131,493
														Subtotal = $131,493

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $131,493 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	1320 S DIXIE HWY STE 650	CORAL GABLES	FL	33146	MIAMI-DADE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	7/25/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$131,493
2023	2022	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	1320 S DIXIE HWY STE 650	CORAL GABLES	FL	33146	MIAMI-DADE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	11/11/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $131,493

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $131,493 )
2022	2022	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	1320 S DIXIE HWY STE 650	CORAL GABLES	FL	33146	MIAMI-DADE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	3/15/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$131,493
														Subtotal = $131,493

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $131,493 )
2021	2021	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	1320 S DIXIE HWY STE 650	CORAL GABLES	FL	33146	MIAMI-DADE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	3/26/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$131,493
														Subtotal = $131,493

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $133,113 )
2020	2020	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI	1320 S DIXIE HWY STE 650	CORAL GABLES	FL	33146	MIAMI-DADE	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	3/6/2020	NEW	$133,113
														Subtotal = $133,113

Grand Total All Awards = $659,085

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Bayesian Variable Selection Methods to Accelerate Identification of Important Psychological Predictors and Neural Substrates of Psychopathology

Award Number: K01MH122805

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

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