Meet the people and organizations dedicated to the mission of SOAR.

Ohio is home to many passionate researchers, scientists and health care providers who’ve made it their life’s work to improve — and save — the lives of people with mental health conditions.

They’ve spent years studying what fosters resiliency and what might prevent mental health challenges from ever arising in the first place, all while implementing evidence-based therapies and championing that recovery is possible.

Now, these talented mental health experts from across the state are working as a team in this large-scale project to uncover the root causes of mental health conditions. While The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is the lead research site for the SOAR Study, it will take the bright minds of many to address the mental health crisis in our state and beyond.

SOAR Leadership Team

K. Luan Phan, MD

Principal Investigator, SOAR Study

Chair and Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Chief of Psychiatry Services
Jeffrey Schottenstein Endowed Chair of Psychiatry and Resilience

Dr. Phan is joined by the SOAR scientific leadership team in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, which includes:

Anthony King, PhD

The Anne K. "Nancy" Jeffrey Endowed Professor for Mental Health Equity and Resilience

Nina Kraguljac, MD

Dr. Lee E. Shackelford Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Vice Chair for Strategy and Innovation

Scott Langenecker, PhD

Professor and Vice Chair for Research

Grace Maynard-Wentzel, CCRP, CHRC

SOAR Study, Deputy Director

Holly Kastan, MSW, LSW

Senior Strategy and Transformation Officer, The Ohio State University Department of Psychiatry

Shown left to right, Anthony King, PhD, Scott Langenecker, PhD, K. Luan Phan, MD, Nina Kraguljac, MD, Grace Maynard-Wentzel, CCRP, CHRC (Not pictured: Holly Kastan, MSW, LSW).

Learning from Ohioans

Special thanks to Governor Mike DeWine, the Ohio Legislature and Ohio Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) for providing critical funding to launch the SOAR Studies.

SOAR is led by The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Wexner Medical Center.