The STARR Coalition

04/17/2026

April is Stress Awareness Month! 🧠💙

Stress isn't just an inevitable part of life - it's a mental health issue that affects millions and is linked to depression, anxiety, and other conditions.

Why this matters:
Clinical research is actively studying how chronic stress affects mental health and exploring new interventions that build resilience and reduce stress-related symptoms.

Clinical researchers and advocates, we encourage you to:
- Share stress management resources with your communities
- Talk about the connection between stress and mental health
- Normalize conversations about stress before it becomes crisis
- Connect people with support services and research opportunities

Education about stress management isn't just wellness - it's prevention.

Get practical tips for managing stress: stress.org/news/stress-awareness-month-tips-for-keeping-tensions-in-check/

April is recognized as National Stress Awareness Month to bring attention to the negative impact of stress. Managing stress is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle. Knowing how to manage stress can improve mental and physical well-being as well as minimize exacerbation of health-related iss...

04/16/2026

Today's the day! 🙌

Creating a Connected Community is happening at 12 pm ET. Register now and join us for a free, practical conversation about community connection in mental health research.

✅ Free to attend | Today | 12 pm ET
🔗 bit.ly/STARRCommunity

04/15/2026

Tomorrow's the day! 🙌

Join The STARR Coalition for Creating a Connected Community a free, practical conversation about how research sites can show up as trusted partners in their local mental health communities.

Spots are still open. Register today!

✅ Free to attend | April 16 | 12 pm ET
🔗 Register here: bit.ly/STARRCommunity

04/14/2026

Our April newsletter is here!

We’re proud to spotlight Shishuka Malhotra, recipient of the 2025 STARR Lew Yagodnik Award, recognized for her exceptional leadership, advocacy, and dedication to individuals living with mental illness.

Plus, updates from our Certified Sites, the latest news, and more - take a look!

Email from The STARR Coalition National Volunteer Month, Latest Site News, ICYMI news, and more!   STARR News & Updates April 2026 Dr. Shishuka Malhotra Honored with the 2025 STARR Lew Yagodnik Award

04/13/2026

Quick question: If someone in your community wanted to join a mental health clinical trial, would they know where to go? 🤔

Most sites are trying to make that connection, but it's not always easy to know how to do it well.

This Thursday, The STARR Coalition is hosting a free conversation about exactly that: what community connection looks like in clinical research, and how to build it in a way that lasts.

✅ Free to attend | April 16 | 12 pm ET
🔗 Register here: bit.ly/STARRCommunity

04/10/2026

Could oxytocin be the next frontier in mental health treatment? 🧠

A recent review highlights oxytocin's growing potential as a therapeutic target across multiple neuropsychiatric conditions - including autism, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety.

Beyond its well-known role in social bonding, oxytocin carries anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and neuroprotective properties that influence key neurotransmitter systems.

Researchers are now exploring how it may improve social cognition and symptom severity - and how novel delivery methods like intranasal and nanoparticle-based approaches could make it more clinically viable.

For mental health clinical researchers, this opens doors: new biomarker opportunities, precision medicine applications, and a broader toolkit for conditions that have long been difficult to treat.

This is exactly the kind of science that reminds us why clinical research participation matters. Every study brings us closer.

Read the full review → https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41759439/

Please SHARE to help build trust and awareness in mental health clinical research. 💚

Oxytocin, a neuropeptide predominantly produced in the hypothalamus, has garnered significant attention for its multifaceted roles extending beyond social bonding and reproduction to therapeutic applications in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. This review explores oxytocin's neuropr...

04/09/2026

Before you join us next week, meet the people leading the conversation! 👋

Our Creating a Connected Community webinar features three voices you don't want to miss:

➡ Narinder Chopra - Investigator & Patient Engagement XTA Head, Johnson & Johnson
➡ Anna Sackett Rountree - Director of Communications, Clubhouse International
➡ Lauren White - Director of Business Development, CenExel Atlanta

Together they'll explore what it really takes to build trust between research sites and the communities they serve.

✅ Free to attend | April 16 | 12 pm ET
🔗 bit.ly/STARRCommunity

04/07/2026

Research sites have the potential to be trusted resources in their local mental health communities - but that connection doesn't happen automatically. 💙

On April 16th at noon ET, join The STARR Coalition for a free webinar: Creating a Connected Community.

We've brought together experts from Johnson & Johnson, Clubhouse International, and CenExel Atlanta for a real, practical conversation about what community connection looks like in clinical research - and how to build it.

✅ Free to attend
✅ April 16 | 12 pm ET
✅ Register at bit.ly/STARRCommunity

Share with someone who works in research or mental health advocacy!

04/06/2026

🔬 Research Monday | The Case for Early Psychosis Screening

When it comes to psychosis, time matters.

Research shows that identifying symptoms earlier in adolescents and young adults can shorten the duration of untreated psychosis - and that means fewer hospitalizations, less treatment resistance, and better long-term outcomes for patients with schizophrenia.

One challenge: cognitive complaints in young people are often mistaken for ADHD or anxiety, delaying the right diagnosis by months or years. Evaluating the full symptom picture - including negative symptoms - is essential.

Early screening isn't just good clinical practice. It's an opportunity to change the trajectory of a young person's life.

🔗 https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/early-screening-for-schizophrenia-and-the-opportunity-of-lais

Know someone in mental health research or advocacy?

Please share - awareness and trust in clinical research grows one conversation at a time. 💚

Early psychosis screening in teens and young adults helps catch overlooked symptoms sooner.

04/03/2026

💚 Insight Friday | Meeting the Community Where They Are

The team at CenExel Marlton recently attended a community health event at First Methodist Church in Moorestown, New Jersey - connecting with residents about clinical research, answering questions, and sharing information about how trials work and how to get involved.

It's a reminder that trust in clinical research isn't built through advertising. It's built through conversations - in churches, community centers, and neighborhoods - with real people who have real questions.

Shoutout to CenExel Marlton for showing up and leading with heart. 💚

🔗 See our STARR Certified Sites: https://thestarr.org/starr-certified-sites/

Know someone who might benefit from learning more about clinical research?

Please share!

STARR Certified Sites Mental health clinical research is a particularly challenging area within research and the sites that work within this area do so because they are driven to help those with mental health disorders, despite the added complexity. Many of these sites have chosen to become STARR Ce...

04/01/2026

💚 Community Wednesday | Honoring Research Heroes

Pillar Clinical Research recently celebrated a meaningful milestone — the completion of the first cohort in a clinical trial focused on to***co use at their Bentonville, Arkansas site.

To mark the occasion, Pillar honored their "Research Heroes" - the participants who gave their time and trust to make the research possible. Because that's exactly what they are.

Not subjects.
Not data points.
Heroes.

Every person who participates in a clinical study helps pave the way for better treatments for others. That kind of contribution deserves to be recognized.
Congratulations to the Pillar team and to every Research Hero who made this milestone possible. 💚

🔗 Learn more about STARR certified sites: https://thestarr.org/intro-certification/

Know someone in mental health research or advocacy?

Please share — awareness and trust in clinical research grows one conversation at a time.

Stakeholders in Treatment, Advocacy, Research and Recovery

03/30/2026

🔬 Research Monday | World Bipolar Day - The Pipeline is Moving

Today is World Bipolar Day, and the research community has real momentum to celebrate.

This month, the FDA approved Bysanti (milsaperidone) for acute bipolar disorder and schizophrenia - a new treatment option supported by multiple clinical studies. Its developer, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, is also studying Bysanti as an add-on treatment for major depressive disorder, with results expected later this year.

Also this month, the FDA accepted Teva's application for a once-monthly olanzapine injectable for schizophrenia - designed to be used without the 3-hour post-injection monitoring currently required for similar treatments. If that holds in final labeling, it's a meaningful step toward making long-acting injectables more accessible in clinical practice.

Progress is happening. Research participation makes it possible.

🔗 Bysanti FDA approval: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/fda-approves-bysanti-for-treatment-of-bipolar-1-disorder-and-schizophrenia

🔗 Teva olanzapine LAI: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/nda-accepted-olanzapine-extended-release-injectable-suspension-for-treatment-of-schizophrenia

Know someone in mental health research or advocacy? Please share - awareness and trust in clinical research grows one conversation at a time. 💚

FDA clears Bysanti, a novel atypical antipsychotic for acute bipolar I and schizophrenia, leveraging Fanapt data; US launch planned 2026.