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
SOAR Leadership team group shot

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.

SOAR Partnership graphic of the state of Ohio

We’re proud of our collaborating partners across Ohio.

Bowling Green State University
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
School of Medicine Case Western Reserve University
Central State University
Kent State University
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Northeast Ohio Medical University
Ohio University
The Ohio State University
Cincinnati Children’s
University of Cincinnati
The University of Toledo
Wright State University

Connect With Us

If you’d like to learn more, please contact us by phone at 614-688-9537 or by email at SOARStudies@osumc.edu.