John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED)

John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) is sponsored by American Psychological Foundation (APF). This grant supports early career psychologists investigating serious emotional disturbance (SED). The program aims to promote and support the next generation of student and early career practitioner psychologists to expand the knowledge base in the practice of psychology.

John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) - American Psychological Foundation Ways to Give Toggle Submenu Franklyn Springfield Awareness Fund Impact Reports Toggle Submenu Early Career Psychologists John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) The John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant supports early career psychologists conducting research in the area of early intervention and treatment for serious emotional disturbance in children.

Amount: 3 grants of up to $22,000 Sponsors: APF, The John and Polly Sparks Foundation This program is no longer accepting applications This program is no longer accepting applications for the 2026 program year. The John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant supports early career psychologists conducting research in the area of early intervention and treatment for serious emotional disturbance in children.

The John and Polly Sparks Foundation partnered with APF to empower early career psychologists to produce scientifically-based research and programs that could provide models for broad-based applications across the country. APF encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, race, color, religion, creed, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and geography.

Applicants must be early career psychologists (no more than 10 years postdoctoral with a degree from an accredited university) timeline of proposed project detailed budget and justification Applications will be evaluated on: conformance with stated program goals and qualifications quality and impact of proposed work innovation and contribution to the field with proposed project applicant’s demonstrated competence and capability to execute the proposed work Please be advised that APF does not provide feedback to applicants on their proposals.

Please review our Program FAQs for important details on the application process.

“Cognitive Control Variability and Sleep–Wake Regulation as Proximal Risk Signals for Adolescent Aggression” Dr. Rebecca Griffith, University of Pittsburgh “Cognitive Control Variability and Sleep–Wake Regulation as Proximal Risk Signals for Adolescent Aggression” Dr. Samantha Awada, The Children’s Hospital Corporation dba Boston Children’s Hospital “Effectiveness of a family-centered risk assessment and management tool in preventing proactive violence risk among children and adolescents” Dr. Beverlin Rosario-Williams, University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. “Dyadic Effects of Emotion Regulation on Youth Suicide Risk and Parent-Child Relationship Quality” Dr. Amanda Collins, Massachusetts General Hospital “Time-varying and idiographic models to determine short-term dynamics of suicide risk” Dr. Stacie Warren, University of Texas, Dallas “Computational and Sociocultural Predictors of Youth Emotional Disturbance: A Mechanistic Approach to Early Detection” Dr. Corinne Carlton-Smith, Vanderbilt University “Brief Enhancement of Positive Emotions Intervention for Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbances” Dr. Benjamin Rosenberg, University of California, Los Angeles “Unique Pathways from Early Life Adversity to Serious Emotional Disturbances in Adolescence” Dr. Cynthia Brown, Pacific University “Adapting Multisystemic Therapy for Autistic Youth: A Pilot Study” Dr. Madelaine Abel, Massachusetts General Hospital “Evaluating a Single Session Intervention for Parents of Children with Anxiety on a CBT Waitlist” Dr. Mary Kathryn Cancilliere, Rhode Island Hospital/ Brown University “Understanding the Characteristics of Suicidal Youth Who are Boarding to Await Inpatient Care” Dr. Kate R.

Kuhlman, University of California, Irvine “Mitigating depression among adversity-exposed adolescents using Positive Affect Therapy: A Pilot” Dr. Sarah Hope Lincoln, Case Western Reserve University “Role of social support in reducing serious mental illness in racial and ethnic minority adolescents” John Cooley, PhD, Texas Tech University “Initial Evaluation of a Brief Preventive Intervention for Aggressive Victims” Joyce Lui, PhD, University of Maryland, College Park “A Novel Responsive Intervention for Adolescents with Persistent and Severe Disruptive Behaviors” Lauren Ng, PhD, The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles “Pilot Trial of an Integrated Care Treatment for Children with PTSD” Amy Byrd, PhD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Autumn Kujawa, PhD, Vanderbilt University Jennifer Silvers, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles Maggi Price, PhD, Boston College Marc Weintraub, PhD, UCLA Semel Institute Charlotte Heleniak, PhD, Columbia University Sarah Kennedy, PhD, University of Colorado Denver Yuliya Kotelnikova, PhD, University of New Orleans Heather MacPherson, PhD, Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital Jennifer Suor, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago Brittany Zakszeski, PhD, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health Alexandra Bettis, PhD, Brown University Sarah Black, PhD, University of New Orleans Jessica Lee Schleider, PhD, Stony Brook University Rebecca Waller, PhD, University of Pennsylvania Sunhye Bai, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles Spencer Evans, PhD, Harvard University Lori Hilt, PhD, Lawrence University Michelle Elizabeth Roley-Roberts, PhD, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Melissa J.

Atkinson, PhD, University of West England Anna Van Meter, PhD, Yeshiva University Jennifer Thomas, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital Brendan Andrade, PhD, CPsych, University of Toronto Catherine DeCarlo Santiago, PhD, Loyola University Chicago Elizabeth Koschmann, PhD, University of Michigan Medical School Amy Przeworski, PhD, Case Western Reserve University “ Screening and Prevention of Anxiety & Depressive Disorders in Pediatric Primary Care ”