Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) awarded The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute a Project Grant of $170,024 under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242) for research examining computational learning mechanisms underlying avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) in youth. The award, effective May 4, 2026 through April 30, 2031, supports a K23 mentored research career development award designed to position Principal Investigator Marita Cooper, Ph.D., for research independence in studying restrictive eating disorders using computational modeling approaches. The research will employ active inference and reinforcement learning methodologies to probe neurocognitive and learning mechanisms underlying aberrant food approach in ARFID, the most prevalent eating disorder in childhood with serious health consequences including malnutrition, growth delays, and cardiac complications.

The study will generate primary research products including empirical data from 99 youth participants (66 with ARFID, 33 controls, ages 8-18) completing computational learning tasks and behavioral assessments, along with computational models characterizing learning mechanisms and neurocognitive deficits associated with the disorder. Deliverables will include peer-reviewed publications advancing understanding of learning and executive functioning in ARFID, novel computational modeling insights identifying mechanistic targets for intervention, and methodological contributions applying advanced computational techniques to pediatric eating disorder research. The research directly supports NIMH's mission to transform understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research.