Dr. Yong Chen, PhD, Professor of Biostatistics and Director of the Center for Health AI and Synthesis of Evidence (CHASE), has received an $8 million Data Coordinating Center (DCC) grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to lead a major AI-driven initiative to advance mental health diagnostics and interventions. This effort is part of the newly launched IMPACT-MH program, a $150 million nationwide initiative funded by NIMH to transform mental health research through artificial intelligence.
Working in collaboration with Yale University and Mayo Clinic, the Penn-led DCC will serve as the central hub for harmonizing, curating, and analyzing multi-modal data from more than a dozen research teams across the country. Dr. Chen’s team will develop cutting-edge AI tools to enable earlier and more accurate diagnoses of mental health conditions, while supporting the discovery and evaluation of tailored, data-driven interventions.
This grant builds on Penn’s leadership in real-world data science, privacy-preserving analytics, and clinical evidence generation. Through this work, Penn will help lay the foundation for a national mental health research infrastructure that harnesses AI to improve patient outcomes and reduce disparities.