How AI&DHI support catalyzed a $17.9M grant for precision mental health care

Written By Kate Murphy
 
 

AI&DHI-supported research efforts lead to major investment from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Depression, sleep disorders, addiction, and anxiety are leading and growing causes of disability, productivity loss, and premature mortality globally. Because of the increasing need for mental health care, patients may go months between the time they schedule an appointment and the time they are seen by their provider. Further, there are many different options for treating these conditions, and it can take months or years for each person to find a treatment that works.

IIn 2024, researchers who are AI & Digital Health Innovation (AI&DHI) members at the University of Michigan were awarded a $17.9m grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to support the development of new precision medicine approaches aimed at improving mental health care access and outcomes. Led by principal investigators Dr. Srijan Sen, Dr. Lars Fritsche, and Dr. Amy Bohnert, the “Comprehensive Mobile Precision Approach for Scalable Solutions in Mental Health Treatment” (COMPASS) study utilizes mobile technology, genomic, behavioral and electronic health record (EHR) data to create decision aids capable of predicting the type of treatment approaches that work best for individual patients. 

The research team is currently enrolling thousands of patients starting mental health care at U-M Health and providing them with free access to mobile mental health apps prior to the start of their care. Participants will also receive wearable trackers and will take surveys and genetic tests over the course of a year. By pairing this information with the patients’ responses to treatments, the COMPASS team is looking for patterns and predictions that they hope could pave the way to developing precise, individualized mental health care treatment plans similar to those which patients and providers already have for conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

“With the burden of mental health problems increasing, our current health care system does not have the capacity to treat everyone who needs help,” said Dr. Sen. “Mobile tool and precision health through digital technology and genomics holds tremendous potential to dramatically increase our capacity to help people in a timely manner and match the right treatment to the right patient.”

 

Before COMPASS: The Pilot Study

The COMPASS study grew out of several research efforts that were supported by AI&DHI, along with the Eisenberg Family Depression Center and National Institute of Mental Health. These efforts were launched in 2018 when AI&DHI (then U-M Precision Health) provided seed funding for a pilot study led by Drs. Bohnert and Sen that examined the effects of wearable and mobile technology on mental health outcomes.

The project, titled “Enhancing Mental Health Care through Mobile Technology,” aimed to reduce the burden of depression by increasing capacity in the mental health care system through expanding the use of mobile technology–delivered interventions, and by accelerating recovery from mental illness through better matching patients to pharmacological, psychological, and mobile-based treatments.

“Mobile tool and precision health through digital technology and genomics holds tremendous potential to dramatically increase our capacity to help people in a timely manner and match the right treatment to the right patient.”

Srijan Sen, MD, PhD
Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences
Director, Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center
Research Professor, Michigan Neuroscience Institute
Michigan Medicine Department of Psychiatry

This initial study catalyzed the development of a highly successful patient recruitment pipeline that provided the foundation for COMPASS as well as another NIH project led by Drs. Bohnert and Sen: “Providing Mental Health Precision Treatment” (PROMPT), which leveraged comprehensive data and cutting-edge technologies to create tailored therapeutic approaches for conditions such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

“The investment from AI&DHI allowed us build the model to study mental health treatment from before a patient’s first appointment through his or her recovery,” said Bohnert. “Through this support, we were able to gain a unique perspective by combining objective information from new mobile technology with genetic data and what patients told us about their experiences.”

Multidisciplinary Approaches to Multi-faceted Care

Mental health care is complex and multifactorial, and tackling the unique needs of individual patients requires a multi-pronged approach. The COMPASS and PROMPT studies, as well as the initial pilot study from which these efforts grew, drew upon the collective expertise of researchers and schools across U-M, including the College of Engineering, LSA, College of Pharmacy, and School of Public Health as well as the support of partner organizations including Michigan Medicine Outpatient Psychiatry and
University Health Service.

Further Reading

Michigan Medicine Article on COMPASS

Publications on PROMPT

Kate Murphy
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