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Updates

Stay up to date on the latest happenings and advancements being made with the first-of-its-kind mental health initiative.

Over the next decade and through this innovative look at mental health care, we plan to make great strides in defining risks of mental health challenges and helping people develop resiliency. The SOAR Study is already making waves, raising awareness about our mission and seeing successes. In the first six months after the groundbreaking study launched in January 2024, over 11,000 surveys were completed, and more than 500 people participated in the brain health study.

Our team of dedicated mental health experts is actively visiting cities around Ohio to gather research that will make real change in how we view, treat and prevent mental health conditions.

Latest updates

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$20 million mental health and resilience SOAR Study now enrolling in southeast Ohio

Holzer Health System and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Jackson, Ohio, to celebrate the next phase of the SOAR Study with the opening of the SOAR Mobile MRI unit. The mobile unit now based at Holzer Medical Center – Jackson (500 Burlington Rd., Jackson, Ohio) is enrolling study participants ages 12 and up from southeast Ohio, including Athens, Gallia, Meigs and Jackson counties.

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News coverage of SOAR

Cardinal Health gifts $1 million to Ohio State

Cardinal Health donates $1 million to The Ohio State University Department of Psychiatry’s Center for Psychiatry and Resilience, supporting mental health and wellbeing initiatives in Ohio.

SOAR publishes report of initial findings

The 2024 SOAR Interim Report showcases the substantial findings made by SOAR since its inception. It outlines early and promising discoveries that will contribute to shaping mental health and resilience for the future.

2024 SOAR Interim Report (PDF)

Holzer Medical Center details how SOAR Study will help those in Jackson and beyond

From September 2024 through the end of the year, Holzer Medical Center will serve as a hub for potential SOAR Study participants.

Wright State’s Boonshoft School of Medicine participating in statewide mental health study

Wright State is participating in a statewide initiative to better understand the risk factors that trigger mental health problems and how to prevent and treat those illnesses.

SOAR study moves forward in southeast Ohio

Channel 3 WSAZ Huntington/Charleston, West Virginia, provides coverage of the opening of the SOAR Mobile MRI unit, which will now be based at Holzer Medical Center – Jackson, to help SOAR Study researchers gain insight into what causes mental health issues.

$20 million research project tackles mental health epidemic on massive scale

Study will look at roots of mental illness and new approaches to treatment in all 88 Ohio counties.

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SOAR Study press conference

To uncover the root causes and risk factors of mental health challenges, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine launched the $20 million SOAR Study at a press conference in January 2024. Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., Wexner Medical Center chief executive officer John J. Warner and other university leaders also spoke about Ohio State’s lead role in this groundbreaking research initiative.

The launch of this large-scale project was covered by various new media including:

Stories of resilience

Sharing stories of how mental health struggles have impacted us and how we’ve been resilient in our lives can help others feel less alone. It will also help researchers learn more about the causes of and best therapies for mental health conditions.

Here are some of those stories happening around Ohio now.

From addiction to advocacy

Once addicted to drugs and drawn into crime, Melissa Plummer is now a counselor helping young people in southeastern Ohio struggling with the very same problems she faced.

Taking action to build mental health resilience

Ohioans are opening up about mental health and addiction struggles for a statewide initiative to improve prevention and treatment efforts.

Ohio State’s Coach Ryan Day aims to help write new playbook for mental health

The $1 million gift supports innovative research aimed at breaking mental health stigma and promoting resilience.

Looking inside the brain to uncover the origins of mental illness

Psychiatrist K. Luan Phan, MD, uncovers the link between the effects of trauma and stress on the brain to inform a new understanding of how mental illness develops. Phan is the principal investigator for SOAR

Neuroscientist launches resilience program to study trauma response

Anthony King, PhD, studies the neuroscience behind resiliency and the environmental, psychosocial and physiological factors that influence how we adapt to and manage chronic stress and traumatic incidents. King is a key team member of the SOAR project.

Read about current and past studies

Meet the team behind SOAR