The Garrison Suite at the Tampa Downtown Hilton buzzed with excitement as the Institute’s 13 new scholars met and interacted with representatives from six local community agencies: 1) BayCare Behavioral Health; 2) Hillsborough County Children Services; 3) Hillsborough County Public Schools; 4) Frameworks; 5) Mendez Foundation; and 6) Pasco County Schools. The Institute’s Service Learning Fair at the 29th Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health held in Tampa on March 13 gave Cohort 4 the opportunity to discuss their research interests with their fellow scholars and learn about the community agencies. Some of the Institute’s national advisory board members also attended and supported the new scholars by answering questions and sharing their expertise. By the end of the 2016 spring semester, scholars will be grouped into teams and matched with academic mentors and community agencies to begin the first steps of their four-semester service learning research project.

Additionally, the Institute awarded the Mendez Foundation the first-ever “Community Partner Award” for its dedication and commitment over the past four years to collaborate and mentor Institute scholars. Cohort 1 Scholar and current Community Partner, Kimberly Menendez, accepted the award on behalf of the Mendez Foundation.

Kimberly Menendez and Dr. Tom Massey with the “Community Partner Award” for the Mendez Foundation.

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At the start of the 2016 spring semester, the USF Translational Research Institute faculty and staff welcomed the fourth cohort of Institute scholars. Scholars attended orientation in January where they learned about their upcoming coursework, attended the annual conference, and worked together on a service learning project with community partners and academic mentors. This year, the Institute has two scholars who live out of state and who will participate in service learning projects with their Tampa-based peers via innovative technology and teamwork. Cohort 4 is comprised of students at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, along with students who work at local community agencies. Their academic interests span a broad range of disciplines, such as public health, rehabilitation and mental health counseling, psychology and social work. Join us in welcoming our 2016-2017 Institute scholars: Briana Byers, Andre Clark, Nicole Crawford, Caitlin Hill, Amanda Jennings, Lauren Julian, Jason Kora, Jana Leyrer, Alexis McKinley, Monica Rousseau, Sarah Sheffield, Vanessa Tate and Enya Vroom.

The newest cohort of Institute scholars at the 29th Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health.

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At the 29th Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health held in Tampa on March 14, people from around the country listened to The USF Translational Research Institute’s scholars present their research findings. Cohort 3 scholars, along with their community partners, shared their service learning project results and gave the audience an opportunity to ask questions. The Institute for Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health had a special track at the conference that included Cohort 3 presentations, a Service Learning Fair for Cohort 4 scholars, and a presentation by one of The Institute’s National Advisory Board members, Dr. Jennifer Wisdom, titled “Research Project Management: Practical Strategies for Success.”

Institute scholars have been working with their academic mentors and community partners on their service learning projects since the 2015 summer semester. The research topics included evaluating and implementing evidence-based practices in local community agencies, adapting an existing program for a multi-tiered system of support and assessing organizational readiness for change.

Cohort 3 scholars and Community Partners sharing their service learning research.

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World Mental Health Day is October 10

Scholars of the Institute for Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health (Institute) do more than submit research proposals addressing an adolescent behavioral health problem. They translate that research into action.

The Institute, a joint program between the University of South Florida’s College of Public Health and the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, is a National Institute on Drug Abuse funded research education program allowing graduate-level scholars the opportunity to carry out their research in a tangible setting.

“Institute scholars get an opportunity to apply their learning in real world settings,” said Dr. Tom Massey, multiple principal investigator and CBCS faculty member. “We provide the scholars knowledge regarding community-based research and scholars then have the opportunity to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply that knowledge in the community. The research projects are academically sound, but also very relevant and meaningful for the community agencies.”

“The best part about being a scholar at the Institute was the mentorship from Institute leaders and the supportive partnerships with community agencies,” said former Institute scholar Vickie Lynn, a doctoral student in the COPH’s Department of Community and Family Health. “Understanding the real world application of evidence-based interventions and program implementation is highly valuable in order to increase uptake of those interventions and reach the intended populations. It was an amazing experience to step outside the classroom and apply what I learned to a real world research project.”

Scholars, in groups of two to three, work in a mentoring environment and are assigned to address a behavioral health issue faced by a community agency. They are paired with agencies based on individual research interests and compatibility to the issue the community agency is facing.

“Since my participation in the Institute, I have applied the knowledge I gained in implementation science to my current work providing training and technical assistance,” said former Institute scholar Nichole Snyder, CBCS Department of Child and Family Studies social and behavioral researcher. “The Institute also helped develop and refine research and presentation skills in both academic and community settings.”

Scholars of the Institute work with a community agency to address a behavioral health issue. Here, a group of scholars meet with their community partner and academic mentor. 

Each fall semester up to 15 graduate level scholars are accepted into the program. Scholars can be from any college in the university. It is also open to individuals who are not students but want to earn the graduate certificate in Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health. The Institute is able to provide funding to support tuition and fees for Institute coursework and related activities, including support to attend national conferences.

“This [program] is an added level of complexity to research education,” said Dr. Donna Burton, project director and CBCS faculty member. “It helps students to understand how research affects community-based organizations and agencies that are actually delivering services to populations of interest – in this case, youth and adolescents with substance abuse and other behavioral health issues and their families.”

Dr. Burton has worked with the Institute since its inception in 2009 and is now witnessing its fourth cohort of scholars.

“Perhaps the biggest ‘feather in our cap’ has been the ability to recruit some very excellent scholars who have grown in their commitment to learning the skills of research and understanding the nature and value of community based service learning,” Burton said. “We could have the very best research education program in academia, and it would be nothing without the hard work and commitment of our students.”

Dr. Tom Massey of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences (CBCS) speaks to students of the Institute. The Institute is a joint program between the College of Public Health and CBCS. 

According to Dr. Burton, the management of this program between the COPH and CBCS increases the variety of scholars enrolled in the program with respect to their degree programs, backgrounds and career ambitions, and also broadens scholar perspectives on health, public health and behavioral health issues.

“An area like translational research is so important for practitioners,” said Heather Williamson, graduate research assistant at the Institute and doctoral candidate in the COPH’s Department of Community and Family Health. “We always want to be up on the most current evidence-based practices and this program really lives and breathes that; it asks, ‘What do we know that works and how do we get that translated into the community and working with those families and adolescents?’”

The Institute has partnered with a variety of agencies, such as the Mendez Foundation, Hillsborough County Public Schools and BayCare Behavioral Health Services. All the agencies have one goal in common, however, and that is an urgency to address an adolescent behavioral health issue.

“I have had scholars mention that having the certificate gives them an edge when they applied for jobs,” Williamson said. “So, it’s a pretty nice thing to say you have a skill set and understanding for how to do that type of research, particularly for community agencies.”

Each fall, 15 graduate level scholars are accepted into the program. 

The theme of this year’s World Mental Health Awareness Day is dignity. The Institute hopes to add to that mission.

“Behavioral health also takes a public health approach to addressing mental health conditions; looking at the big picture, beyond just the diagnosis, looking at what’s happened all around that individual and what we can do to best support that individual and their mental health,” Williamson said.

The Institute is accepting applications now for its fourth cohort of Institute Scholars. For more information on how to apply, please contact Dr. Donna Burton at dburton@usf.edu or visit the USF graduate Innovative Education website.

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health, photos courtesy of Heather Williamson.

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On February 13, 2015, Institute faculty and staff welcomed the third cohort of Institute Scholars. Scholars attended an Institute Orientation where they learned about exciting opportunities available to them in the Graduate Certificate in Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health. Scholars are a diverse group representing community agencies as well as being graduate students in the fields of education leadership and policy, public health, behavioral health, rehabilitation and mental health counseling, health education, and social work. Welcome our new Institute Scholars: Kaitlyn Bauer-Jones, Monica Chambers, Melody Chavez, Ericka Duncan, Elizabeth Dunn-Gader, Aldenise Ewing, Shalay Jackson, Sarah Lokey, Hannah Rampersad, Gina-Maria Roca, Christine Rollins, Vinita Sharma, Mariana Stavig, and Ashley Walker.

The newest cohort of Institute Scholars showing their University of South Florida Bulls Pride

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The second cohort of Institute Scholars is preparing to present the final results of its service-learning research projects nationally at the 28^th annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health in Tampa on March 22-25. The Institute for Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health will have a special track at the conference that will include the Institute Scholar presentations, a presentation on developing evidence-based practice for the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, and a panel discussion on the state of implementation science.

Institute Scholars 2014

Institute Scholars have been working alongside their academic mentors and community agency partners since summer 2014 on their service-learning research projects. The projects include evaluating the integration of behavioral health and primary health services, intervention selection in individualized education plans, fidelity evaluation of EBPs, and development of an opioid addiction prevention education program. The full conference agenda is available online. Early-bird registration is available until March 1.

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The second cohort of Institute Scholars are preparing to present the final results of their service learning research projects at the national 28^th Annual Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health in Tampa on March 22-25, 2015. The Institute for Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health (Institute) will have a special track at the conference that will include the Institute Scholar presentations, a presentation on developing evidence-based practice for the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), and a panel discussion on the current state of implementation science.

Institute Scholars have been working alongside their Academic Mentors and Community Agency Partners since summer 2014 on their service-learning research projects. The service learning research projects include: evaluating the integration of behavioral health and primary health services, intervention selection in Individualized Education Plans, fidelity evaluation of EBPs, and development of an opioid addiction prevention education program. The full conference agenda is available online. Early bird registration is available until March 1^st.

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The Institute for Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health is a federally funded* state-of-the-art research education program that teaches the practical skills of translational and implementation science in the field of adolescent behavioral health. The institute and its outstanding institute scholars work with community partners, academic mentors and national mentors to advance the field of translational science and promote evidence-based practice.

The institute is a collaborative effort between the USF College of Public Health, the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, and local community partner agencies.

Funding is available to institute scholars for course credits (in-state tuition and fees) and related program activities including an opportunity to present their work at the annual Children’s Mental Health Research and Policy Conference. Institute scholars work with faculty mentors and community agency partners on service-learning research projects and earn the Graduate Certificate in Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health.  Twelve credit hours are offered via online courses, and three credit hours are earned through the completion of a service-learning project with a community agency.

Applications are due November 14th. Institute Scholars will be notified of admission decisions in late November, and coursework will begin in the spring 2015 semester.

Interested in applying?

• Submit an application through the USF Graduate Certificates website
• Visit the Institute’s website for more information about the program
• Contact Donna L. Burton, project director, at dburton@usf.edu or at (813) 974-3241 with any questions

*National Institute on Drug Abuse, Grant 5R25DA031103-03

Submitted by Heather Williamson, USF College of Public Health

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The USF Institute for Translational Research in Adolescent Behavioral Health welcomed its second cohort of Institute Scholars at an orientation session held on January 31, 2014. The Institute Scholars are students and professionals working and studying in child and adolescent behavioral health. This year, the Institute Scholars represent the fields of behavioral health, education, nursing, psychology, public health, rehabilitation and mental health counseling, school psychology, and social work. At the orientation, the Institute Scholars  had the opportunity to meet with first year Institute Scholars and learn about their experiences in the Institute as well as hear about their service learning research projects. The Institute Scholars are currently taking the first online course, PHC 6539 Foundations in Adolescent Behavioral Health. In addition, they will be attending The 27^th Annual Children’s Mental Health Research and Policy Conference where they will network with Institute Community Agency Partners, Academic Mentors, National Advisory Board members, and also hear the results from the first cohort’s service learning translational research projects. The new Institute Scholars, pictured below, are: Shawna Green, Jessica Koelsch, Kristen McCallum, Lauren Nieder, Flossie Parsley, Jennifer Shepherd, Sharlene Smith, Ashley Souza (not appearing in the picture), Bailey Thompson, Jessica Vazquez, Maria von Zuben, and Heather Walders.

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