UCLA Postdoctoral Fellow Receives Grant from the Society for Research in Child Development

Dr. Kelly Kohler received a grant from the Society for Research in Child Development. Dr. Kohler is a first-year postdoctoral fellow in the UCLA Division of Population Behavioral Health. This grant will fund a project adapting the current FOCUS-Early Childhood (FOCUS-EC) Program, originally developed for preschool-aged children, to be accessible for families with infants and toddlers (0-2 years). Funding will support a pilot study of the newly expanded version of FOCUS-EC implemented with NICU families. Through FOCUS-EC, Dr. Kohler aims to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of a structured, short-term therapy model at the UCLA Family Development Program, with the goal of expanding the adaptation to additional clinics and partnership sites. Dr. Kohler expresses gratitude to the Society for Research in Child Development, as it acknowledges how deserving families are of ongoing care and highlights the important role of psychologists in NICU and hospital systems. She is excited to contribute to the development and expansion of a model that has shown success in other settings, with a focus on continuous quality improvement to meet the evolving needs of families and healthcare systems.