Federal Grant Award Summary

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center received a $820,196 Project Grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242), awarded March 5, 2026, with a completion date of February 28, 2031. The award supports a five-year observational and mechanistic research study examining the impact of circadian misalignment on adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The research will investigate how the timing mismatch between the late circadian phase of adolescents with later chronotypes ("owls") and early school schedule demands contributes to functional impairment beyond sleep duration alone.

The research project will generate observational data and mechanistic evidence establishing causal links between sleep timing alignment and attention symptoms in adolescents with ADHD. Findings are intended to inform development of individualized, sleep-targeted interventions that integrate both sleep duration and circadian timing to address the escalating academic, social, and psychological impairments associated with untreated ADHD during adolescence. The study builds upon prior research from the investigator's group demonstrating that improved attention through extended sleep occurs only when sleep is properly aligned with an individual's circadian phase, with the goal of unlocking new treatment pathways for this population.