The Eisenberg Family Depression Center’s new Digital Health Behavior Initiative recognizes the urgent need for upstream, preventive solutions to improve mental health outcomes for at-risk populations across the U.S. and beyond. 

Despite substantial investment and markedly increased treatment utilization, the U.S. remains in a mental health crisis, with the prevalence of depression increasing by 60% over the past decade. While targeting upstream factors has been key in reducing the burden of other common diseases, this approach has received relatively little investment in depression.

This initiative seeks to reduce the proportion of the population who develop depression and help those with depression get and stay well. With mobile technology, generative AI, genomics and modern causal inference tools and a growing recognition of the importance of mental health, we have an unprecedented opportunity to address modifiable drivers of depression with personalized approaches. We aim to capitalize on this opportunity by investing in efforts to catalyze the development of scalable, practical prevention approaches and translate these approaches into policy and practice.

This landmark initiative is funded by a transformational gift from the Eisenberg family.

Key initiative activities

Signature study

We will conduct a signature study that utilizes modern research tools to understand individual-level susceptibility to different drivers of depression and improve health behaviors in multiple high-risk populations that could most benefit from a focus on prevention. These include:

  • Michigan Medicine patients. Building on the foundation of COMPASS, a U01-funded study that utilizes mobile tech, generative AI and other modern research tools, we will advance a precision approach to depression treatment. The digital tools we're developing in COMPASS to enhance health behaviors in mental health patients can also be utilized to improve support for various other patient populations across diverse research and clinical areas. Further, given the role of sleep cycles, physical activity, and anxiety and mood management on all health conditions, these tools could have a wide-reaching impact across all Michigan Medicine areas of care.
  • Adolescents and college students. These populations have experienced a disproportionate increase in mental health problems in recent years. This cohort will facilitate the development and evaluation of personalized and population-based prevention in this critically important population.
  • Health care workers. With the predictable increase in stress and depression rates in health care work, this cohort is ideal for identifying prevention opportunities that improve resilience to high-stress conditions. 

Generate open datasets for secondary analyses by U-M investigators 

This study will create rich databases that researchers across our campus can utilize. It will provide a foundation for a new generation of U-M researchers to become leaders in a new and promising domain of clinical research. In parallel, the initiative would increase the population that can benefit from these interventions.

Develop a digital health research infrastructure

In partnership with other U-M units, the initiative will help develop the infrastructure to facilitate the collection and utilization of complex digital health data through a series of specialized research hubs: 

  • Data Development Hub. Transform complex, dense digital data into readily usable data constructs by developing data ingestion and processing pipelines.
  • Data Analytics Hub. Provide analytic support to researchers across disciplines to accelerate the time from research idea to published paper.
  • Treatment Research Support Hub: Facilitate clinical trials and implementation studies that evaluate the effectiveness of clinical- and patient-facing mobile technology tools. 

Fund novel ideas

We’ll provide funds to University of Michigan researchers conducting cutting-edge work in this area through two mechanisms:  

  • Pilot studies. We empower researchers to pursue bold, out-of-the-box ideas that will accelerate the field of depression research. Explore new avenues of prevention and generate data for competitive external funding proposals.
  • Strategic initiatives. These funds will enable leadership to strategically invest in time-sensitive, interdisciplinary research opportunities that have the potential for the highest impact.

Ignite policy change 

We aim to develop programs and teams that promote policies to directly affect health behaviors (e.g., later school start times, work hour limits, third places, social media limits, and eliminating questions about mental health treatment for physician licensure). 

Our goal is to produce policy briefs, white papers, and other materials designed explicitly for lawmakers and the media, which summarize key academic research findings and highlight important implications for public policy. This work will also facilitate our engagement with key lawmakers and organization leaders to advocate for policy change aligned with depression prevention.

Host educational events

We aim to create opportunities for connections and collaboration through symposiums, seminars, and other events to educate researchers and learners.

Establish new professorships

Establish two research professorships to recruit and invest in world-class investigators, equipping them with the necessary resources to pursue their most innovative ideas. These world-class scholars will be the change-agents who will catalyze new research approaches and utilize innovative tools to move mental health research forward.

Contact us 

For more information about the Digital Health Behavior Initiative, contact our co-principal investigators: 

  • Amy Bohnert, Ph.D., M.H.S., co-director of the U-M Opioid Research Institute, and a professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Epidemiology and Psychiatry at the University of Michigan.
  • Srijan Sen, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center, and the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Professor of Depression and Neurosciences