Internal Grant Helps Launch Study on Early Detection of Mental Health Symptoms
Qinxin Shi, assistant professor of psychology in Texas Christian University’s Louise
Dilworth Davis College of Science & Engineering, has received a $74,665 internal Leap
Forward Grant to explore whether everyday technology can help identify mental health
symptoms in young adults earlier.
Shi serves as principal investigator for “AI-Enabled Multimodal Passive Sensing for
Early Detection of Mental Health Symptoms in Young Adults,” an interdisciplinary project
combining smartphone activity, wearable sensor data and artificial intelligence.
The project brings together expertise from across TCU. Kaiqun Fu, assistant professor
of computer science, will lead the project’s AI and machine-learning analysis, while
Qinghua Yang, associate professor of communication studies in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication, will support data collection, community engagement and analysis of social media
use. External consultants Xiaoran Sun of the University of Minnesota and Amir M. Rahmani
of the University of California, Irvine also bring expertise in Screenomics, digital
biomarkers and wearable technologies.
TCU’s Leap Forward seed grant program provides internal funding through the Office of Research & Creative Activity to help faculty launch and scale interdisciplinary research collaborations across
the university. The program is part of TCU’s broader investment in growing its research
enterprise and advancing toward R1 status.
