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THE IMPACT OF PUBERTAL SUPPRESSION ON ADOLESCENT NEURAL AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES - Resubmission - 1

Award Number: R01MH123746
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2021
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2026

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THE IMPACT OF PUBERTAL SUPPRESSION ON ADOLESCENT NEURAL AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES - Resubmission - 1 - Project Summary The proposed project examines the effects of pubertal suppression treatment on the mental health of transgender adolescents over time. The physical changes brought on by puberty often amplify gender dysphoria in transgender youth. Administering gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa) is an effective means of suppressing puberty to provide transgender youth, their families, and health care teams more time to consider whether partially and/or fully irreversible treatments are indicated. Pubertal suppression is endorsed by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health and the Endocrine Society as standard of care. Preliminary reports suggest that treatment with GnRHa may confer mental health benefits for transgender youth. However, GnRHa may also disrupt puberty-signaled neural maturation in ways that can undermine mental health gains over time and impact quality of life in other ways. The overall impacts of GnRHa treatment have not been systematically studied. In order to probe these effects, this project focuses on the assessment of dimensional mental health and three neural systems that map onto the NIMH RDoC matrix: cognitive/emotional control, social cognition, and reward responsiveness. Existing literature documents marked maturation in these systems during normative adolescent development, and gonadal hormones are thought to contribute to this maturation. We will take a multimodal approach, in which self- and parent-report, standardized neuropsychological assessments, and neuroimaging methods are used to assess the effects of GnRHa treatment over a two-year study period. We will enroll 132 transgender adolescents across three sites: Nationwide Children’s Hospital; Children’s National Hospital; and Lurie Children’s Hospital. Half will be undergoing pubertal suppression with GnRHa and the other half will be transgender youth not undergoing treatment. Evaluating the impact of GnRHa treatment on mental health functioning as well as puberty-linked RDoC system maturation will clarify its potential protective and risk effects to support optimization and personalization of treatment protocols.


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: 2026 ( Subtotal = $157,087 )
2026	2024	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	12/23/2025	OTHER REVISION	$157,087
2026	2024	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	12/12/2025	OTHER REVISION	$0
														Subtotal = $157,087

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = -$157,087 )
2025	2024	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	3/20/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2025	2024	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	001	4	9/18/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$157,087
														Subtotal = -$157,087

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $738,171 )
2024	2024	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	4	5/15/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$738,171
														Subtotal = $738,171

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $684,522 )
2023	2023	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	3	7/5/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$684,522
														Subtotal = $684,522

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $738,146 )
2022	2022	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	2	4/29/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$738,146
														Subtotal = $738,146

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $852,161 )
2021	2021	RESEARCH INSTITUTE AT NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL	700 CHILDRENS DR	COLUMBUS	OH	43205	FRANKLIN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	7/1/2021	NEW	$852,161
														Subtotal = $852,161

Grand Total All Awards = $3,013,000

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THE IMPACT OF PUBERTAL SUPPRESSION ON ADOLESCENT NEURAL AND MENTAL HEALTH TRAJECTORIES - Resubmission - 1

Award Number: R01MH123746

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/01/2021

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/31/2026

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