Funding Opportunities

John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED)

The John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant supports early career psychologists conducting research in the area of early intervention and treatment for serious emotional disturbance in children.

Deadline: April 24, 2025
Amount: 3 grants of up to $22,000
Sponsors: APF, The John and Polly Sparks Foundation

The John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant supports early career psychologists conducting research in the area of early intervention and treatment for serious emotional disturbance in children.

The John and Polly Sparks Foundation partnered with APF to empower early career psychologists to produce scientifically-based research and programs that could provide models for broad-based applications across the country.

Eligibility

APF encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, race, color, religion, creed, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and geography.

Applicants must be early career psychologists (no more than 10 years postdoctoral with a degree from an accredited university)

Application Instructions

Application Materials:

  • project proposal
  • timeline of proposed project 
  • detailed budget and justification 
  • CV 
  • two letters of support

Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be evaluated on:

  • conformance with stated program goals and qualifications
  • quality and impact of proposed work
  • innovation and contribution to the field with proposed project
  • applicant’s demonstrated competence and capability to execute the proposed work

Please be advised that APF does not provide feedback to applicants on their proposals.

Please review our Program FAQs for important details on the application process.

Recent Recipient

Dr. Benjamin Rosenberg

University of California, Los Angeles

“Unique Pathways from Early Life Adversity to Serious Emotional Disturbances in Adolescence”

Past Recipients

2024

Dr. Benjamin Rosenberg, University of California, Los Angeles
“Unique Pathways from Early Life Adversity to Serious Emotional Disturbances in Adolescence”

Dr. Cynthia Brown, Pacific University
“Adapting Multisystemic Therapy for Autistic Youth: A Pilot Study”

Dr. Madelaine Abel, Massachusetts General Hospital
“Evaluating a Single Session Intervention for Parents of Children with Anxiety on a CBT Waitlist”

2023

Dr. Mary Kathryn Cancilliere, Rhode Island Hospital/ Brown University
“Understanding the Characteristics of Suicidal Youth Who are Boarding to Await Inpatient Care”

Dr. Kate R. Kuhlman, University of California, Irvine
“Mitigating depression among adversity-exposed adolescents using Positive Affect Therapy: A Pilot”

Dr. Sarah Hope Lincoln, Case Western Reserve University
“Role of social support in reducing serious mental illness in racial and ethnic minority adolescents”

2022

John Cooley, PhD, Texas Tech University
“Initial Evaluation of a Brief Preventive Intervention for Aggressive Victims”

Joyce Lui, PhD, University of Maryland, College Park
“A Novel Responsive Intervention for Adolescents with Persistent and Severe Disruptive Behaviors”

Lauren Ng, PhD, The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles
“Pilot Trial of an Integrated Care Treatment for Children with PTSD”

2021

Amy Byrd, PhD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine 

Autumn Kujawa, PhD, Vanderbilt University 

Jennifer Silvers, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Maggi Price, PhD, Boston College 

Marc Weintraub, PhD, UCLA Semel Institute

2020

Charlotte Heleniak, PhD, Columbia University

Sarah Kennedy, PhD, University of Colorado Denver

Yuliya Kotelnikova, PhD, University of New Orleans

Heather MacPherson, PhD, Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital

Jennifer Suor, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago

Brittany Zakszeski, PhD, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health

2019

Alexandra Bettis, PhD, Brown University

Sarah Black, PhD, University of New Orleans

Jessica Lee Schleider, PhD, Stony Brook University

Rebecca Waller, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

2018

Sunhye Bai, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles

Spencer Evans, PhD, Harvard University

Lori Hilt, PhD, Lawrence University

Michelle Elizabeth Roley-Roberts, PhD, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

2017

Melissa J. Atkinson, PhD, University of West England

Anna Van Meter, PhD, Yeshiva University

2016

Jennifer Thomas, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

2015

Brendan Andrade, PhD, CPsych, University of Toronto

Catherine DeCarlo Santiago, PhD, Loyola University Chicago

2014

Elizabeth Koschmann, PhD, University of Michigan Medical School

2013

Amy Przeworski, PhD, Case Western Reserve University
Screening and Prevention of Anxiety & Depressive Disorders in Pediatric Primary Care