The University of Illinois was awarded a $419,357 Project Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research (CFDA 93.865) program. The funding will support a 2-year research project to develop interpretable machine learning models that integrate electronic medical records and neighborhood-level social determinants of health to predict perinatal depression risk among minority women of color. The goal is to optimize ML approaches to better identify pregnant individuals at higher risk of depression, particularly among underserved populations that have been historically underrepresented in predictive modeling. The research will leverage data from large urban OB/GYN clinics primarily serving minority populations in the Chicago area. Anticipated outputs include an interpretable ML framework that can be integrated into routine clinical care to enable early detection and intervention for perinatal depression.