Research Grants
About Our Research Grants
The IOCDF has a long history of funding projects for both junior and senior investigators. We are hoping that many junior investigators will apply this year as grant from us will help build their research programs and keep them interested in studying the field of OCD and related disorders.
Senior investigators may also ask for grant funding for projects that would provide pilot data for future larger scale federal grant applications.
Since 1994, over $2,700,000 in research grants have been awarded.
The money to fund these awards is donated by our members and friends of the Foundation.
International OCD Foundation 2009 Research Awards:
In 2009, the IOCDF received 50 proposals which were reviewed by the Grant Review Committee led by Sabine Wilhelm, PhD., Vice Chair of the OCF Scientific Advisory Board. Recommendations by this committee were submitted to the OCF Board of Directors who made the final selection. Thank you to all who contributed their time and energy. Below is a list of the winners and a brief description of each study:
Jack Samuels, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Total Award Amount: $49,660
A Family Study of Compulsive Hoarding
There are major gaps in our understanding of compulsive hoarding. What are the genetic and environmental causes of compulsive hoarding? What is the relationship of compulsive hoarding to OCD? Is compulsive hoarding related to how the brain processes information (“executive functioning”)? A family study is a useful approach for beginning to answer these questions. The aims of this study are to determine if: 1) compulsive hoarding runs in families; 2) compulsive hoarding and OCD share a common family link; 3) specific domains of executive function underlie compulsive hoarding; and 4) specific childhood adversities are potential environmental risk factors for compulsive hoarding. We plan to recruit 50 adults with compulsive hoarding and 125 of their relatives (parents, siblings, and children). As a comparison group, we also plan to recruit 35 individuals without compulsive hoarding and 90 of their relatives. Participants will be interviewed by telephone using self-report instruments to evaluate compulsive hoarding, OCD, childhood adversities, and different aspects of information processing (for example, memory, decision-making, inhibiting responses, shifting attention, initiating and monitoring tasks, and planning and organizing activities). We anticipate that the results of the study will contribute to understanding the causes of compulsive hoarding. Moreover, we hope to determine if hoarding and OCD “run together” in families, which would support a genetic connection between these conditions. In addition, if specific difficulties in information processing (for example, making decisions, organizing, and planning tasks) are found to be passed along in families of individuals with compulsive hoarding, then these may be fundamental to the development of the condition, and may be targets for future approaches for treatment and prevention.
Jennifer L. Greenberg, PsyD, Clinical and Research Fellow in Psychology
Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
Total Award Amount: $34,644
Visual Attention Bias in Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a severe disorder associated with substantial distress, reduced quality of life, social and academic/occupational impairment, hospitalization, and suicide. BDD is relatively common, therefore, identification of risk factors and effective treatment strategies are critical. Cognitive-behavioral models of BDD highlight the role of information processing biases in the development and maintenance of the disorder. Specifically, people with BDD show a tendency toward detailed information processing, or overfocus on small details instead of the big picture—for example selective attention to specific or minor aspects of appearance. Information processing biases trigger negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, depression, shame), and further excessive attention to perceived appearance flaws, which then leads to rituals (e.g., mirror checking, reassurance seeking, camouflaging) and avoidant behaviors. Cognitive and emotional information processing biases are well documented in clinical observation and neurobiological studies; however, early stages of processing (e.g., visual) have not yet been fully explored in BDD, and may play a critical role in the development and maintenance of the disorder. Eye tracking is an innovative technology that has already been used to examine visual attention in other populations, including eating disorders. In the current study, we will use eye tracking to examine visual attention in 20 individuals with BDD (primary face/head concerns) relative to 20 healthy controls during a task in which participants observe photos of their own face and a control face and provide ratings of distress and perceived attractiveness of facial features. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been shown to reduce information processing biases in disorders similar to, and often associated with BDD (e.g., OCD, social phobia, eating disorders), but this has yet to be explored in BDD. Thus, we will also explore the relationship of visual attention bias to treatment outcome to determine if visual attention bias improves following a brief behavioral therapy intervention.
Patricia Gruner, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Research Fellow
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY
Total Award Amount: $40,855
Anterior Cingulate Deficits in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Abnormalities in a brain structure called the anterior cingulate are believed to play an important role in OCD. Prior brain imaging studies suggest that the anterior cingulate is overactive in individuals with OCD, and that it is particularly active when an individual experiences symptoms. The anterior cingulate plays a key role in detecting errors in the environment and may send signals to surrounding brain regions when an error is made or the individual believes that something is wrong. This could explain why individuals with OCD experience the need to correct their actions repeatedly even when they have not made an error. In this study we plan to study the integrity of the anterior cingulate in 15 pediatric patients with OCD and 15 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers using noninvasive brain imaging techniques. We will use diffusion tensor imaging to investigate the anterior cingulate white matter, which forms the physical foundation for connections throughout the brain. In addition, we will use functional magnetic resonance imaging, which allows us to measure brain activity, while individuals perform a task associated with a high or low likelihood of error. By combining these techniques we hope to improve our understanding of the role that the anterior cingulate plays in the neurobiology of OCD. Abnormalities in this brain region could one day potentially serve as a marker for treatment response and provide critically needed information to inform genetics studies.
Guy A. Rouleau, MD, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine
University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
Total Award Amount: $55,250
Whole Exome Sequencing in OCD Patients
We increasingly understand OCD to be a complex disorder of the brain. More and more evidence suggests that OCD symptoms are due to malfunctioning of synapses (the areas of contact between different nerve cells that are critical for communicating signals throughout the brain and the body). The few genes that have been linked with OCD are involved in development or maintenance of synapses. Studies in OCD twins and families suggest that OCD is highly heritable. However, traditional genetic approaches to discovering OCD genes have had limited success. We propose to use a new approach, looking at all the genes in a small number of OCD individuals in an attempt to identify possible mutations. We will start by studying the exons, or portions of the human genome that encode protein. We will then use a procedure called “Next Generation Sequencing” to determine the DNA sequence of each exon. By doing this, we can compare the exons to look for variants which we believe might disrupt the gene and therefore the protein. We will confirm the problematic genes or proteins by studying mutations found in these genes in a larger group of OCD affected individuals, and “normal” individuals. We expect that this approach will lead to identification of variants in a small number of genes that can predispose to OCD, give us insight into the disease mechanism (for instance, imbalances in certain brain chemicals, or altered synapse structures) and may lead to novel therapeutics or treatments.
Monnica Williams, PhD, Assistant Professor
Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Total Award Amount: $37,400
African-Americans with OCD: Reducing Barriers to Diagnosis and Treatment
African-Americans experience OCD at similar rates as the general population, but are less likely to receive treatment. Even among those who get professional help few receive evidence-based treatment, such as exposure and response prevention or anti-depressant (SSRI) medication. African-Americans are virtually absent in OCD specialty clinics and clinical research studies. We don’t know why African-Americans aren’t getting help, how they cope with the disorder, if African-Americans tend to obsess about different things, or how effective conventional treatments are for this group. We will conduct a comprehensive assessment of 40 African-American adults with OCD from the Philadelphia area. This study has three important goals. First, we will examine the reasons that African-Americans do not receive specialized treatment for OCD, so that we can develop guidelines for clinicians to improve outreach to African-Americans with OCD. Second, we will identify the reasons that African-Americans do not participate in OCD treatment-outcome studies and provide guidelines for researchers to improve recruitment and participation. Finally, we will examine how well our clinical screening questionnaires work in identifying OCD in African-Americans. This study is intended as a first step toward future goals of greater African-American inclusion in treatment and research opportunities.
Past Grant Recipients
2008
Sanjaya Saxena, M.D.
University of California San Diego, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders Program
Functional Neuroanatomy of Body Dysmorphic Disorder
$50,000
Antonio Mantovani, M.D., Ph.D.
Columbia University Medical Center
Optimization of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): A Sham Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial of MRI-Guided TMS
$37,642
Catherine R. Ayers, Ph.D.
University of California San Diego, Department of Psychiatry
Treatment of Compulsive Hoarding in Older Adults
$38,873
Margaret Anne Richter, M.D.
Center for Addiction and Mental Health, Ontario
Predicting Medication Response in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
$49,901
Gregory L. Hanna, M.D.
University of Michigan, Department of Psychiatry
Error-Related Negativity in Unaffected Siblings of Youth with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
$63,161
2007
John Piacentini, Ph.D.
Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCLA-SINHB
Controlled Evaluation of Positive Family Interaction Therapy (P-FIT) for Children and Adolescents with OCD
Kiara Cromer, MS
Department of Psychology, Florida State University
A Prevention Program for Postpartum OCD Symptoms
Golda Ginsberg, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The Treatment of OCD in Young Children
Jonathan S. Abramowitz, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Enhancing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for OCD: A Couple-Based Approach
Jordana R. Muroff, MSW, Ph.D.
Boston University School of Social Work
Delivery of Internet Treatment for Compulsive Hoarding (D.I.T.C.H.)
Arthur A. Simen, MD, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University
Genomic Copy Number Variation in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Rene Staskal
Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara
Cross-Cultural Issues in Assessment and Identification of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in the Public School Setting
Jamie D. Feusner, M.D.
UCLA Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
Visual Information Processing in Body Dysmorphic Disorder
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