Depression Grand Challenge

Leading mental health and computer science researchers, industry experts, advocates and funders who participated in the Digital Sensing Workshop held at UCLA in the winter of 2023 are seeking additional review and input from colleagues and other stakeholders for a shared vision, common standards and recommendations they created to facilitate the use of digital sensing technologies in mental health research.

The UCLA Alumni Association spotlighted the Depression Grand Challenge at its May Town Hall providing a strategic focus overview and update of the campuswide initiative and insights from the program to the alumni community.

More than 20,000 people have enrolled in the UCLA Depression Research Registry, which improves and streamlines longstanding obstacles to recruiting participants for medical research. The registry is now expanding outreach to invite all Angelenos.

The UCLA Depression Grand Challenge’s NIMH-funded STAND for Community Colleges Innovation Center announced its second call for proposals for pilot projects. This funding mechanism is open to UCLA-based early-career researchers. Up to three projects will be awarded up to $25,000 each.

The UCLA Depression Grand Challenge hosted a speed-ideation session at the university’s 2023 Bar Raiser Summit: DISRUPTx, a full-day professional development workshop for communications professionals across the campus.

More than 50 leading mental health and computer science researchers, industry experts, advocates and funders from six countries came together at UCLA Feb. 28 – Mar. 2, 2023 to collaborate on a shared vision and common goals for digital sensing technologies in mental health research.

In a recent article authored for the April 2022 issue of UCLA Magazine, Chancellor Gene Block spoke to his concern about a “shadow pandemic” of worsened mental health across societies in the two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

UCLA has launched the UCLA Depression Research Registry, a new tool to improve research recruitment for future UCLA mental health research studies.

The UCLA Depression Grand Challenge has established an advisory committee to help ensure its programs and decisions promote social justice and anti-racism. The inaugural DGC Social Justice Advisory Committee includes: Jeanne Miranda, chair, Gaby Aguilera, Denise Chavira, Nicole Green, Stan Huey, Tamar Kodish, Isabelle Lanser and Anna Lau.