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Scientists From Nigeria and Jordan Win 2025 SNF Global Center Research Fellowships
The SNF Global Center invests in visionary experts transforming youth mental health research in under-resourced communities
New York, NY – The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute has named Nehjla Mashal, PhD, ABPP, of Jordan and Lola Kola, PhD, of Nigeria as 2025 Research Fellows. Their projects support the advancement of critical research and capacity building to address gaps in youth mental health care in their home countries.
The SNF Global Center Research Fellowships provide approximately $550,000 over a 4–5-year period and offer structured mentorship opportunities, strategic career development, training in implementation science, and access to a global network of experts. Fellowship applications grew by 95 percent this year, underscoring the program’s growing relevance to early-career scientists leading scalable, community-driven innovations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
“The Fellowship strategically identifies and invests in early-career researchers already making a remarkable impact in their communities,” says Michael P. Milham, MD, PhD, chief science officer at the Child Mind Institute. “Through substantial funding and global mentorship, we are accelerating the development of the next generation of innovative mental health leaders across LMICs.”
Dr. Mashal is an assistant professor, Clinical Psychology-Research Track, University of Jordan, whose expertise spans evidence-based psychotherapies and culturally responsive mental health interventions, with a focus on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT).
Her winning project, Taqabbal & ACT, adapts ACT for Jordanian adolescents facing anxiety and depression, embedding Islamic values and metaphors to enhance engagement and reduce stigma. The program integrates group therapy, biomarker sampling, wearable tracking, ecological momentary assessments, and AI-assisted qualitative analysis.
“This Fellowship is our sapling — an act of hope in a region facing deep psychological pain and multiple pressures. If we are to invest in anything, let it be the resilience and wisdom of our youth,” says Dr. Mashal.
Dr. Kola is a medical sociologist and global mental health researcher with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. She specializes in task-sharing, digital innovations, and co-production with adolescents and communities.
Her project, TIWA (“our own” in Yoruba), pilots a mobile health model that addresses adolescent perinatal depression in primary care. Grounded in the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) guidelines, Dr. Kola’s TIWA model combines a self-care mobile application with in-person psychosocial support.
“This Fellowship is the bridge that takes me from developing investigator to independent leader, using digital tools to improve the lives of young people and families in low-resource settings,” says Dr. Kola. “It will also allow me to mentor the next generation of African researchers.”
The SNF Global Center also named Pattie Gonsalves, PhD, of Sangath, a child development center in India, as an Honorable Mention. Dr. Gonsalves’s work focuses on mental health interventions for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, especially India.
“Through the Research Fellowship, we ensure tomorrow’s mental health leaders have the resources and global connections to drive transformative, culturally grounded solutions,” says Peter Raucci, director of global fellowship strategy at the SNF Global Center.
This strategic investment in visionary youth mental health leaders allows the center to continue building a powerful network of innovators driving collaborative, evidence-based transformation across continents.
About the SNF Global Center at the Child Mind Institute
The SNF Global Center brings together the Child Mind Institute’s expertise as a leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)’s deep commitment to supporting collaborative projects to improve access to quality health care worldwide. The center builds partnerships to drive advances in under-researched areas of child and adolescent mental health and expand access to culturally appropriate training, resources, and treatment in low- and middle-income countries. This work is conducted by the Child Mind Institute with support from SNF through its Global Health Initiative (GHI). Visit the SNF Global Center on LinkedIn and Instagram
About the Child Mind Institute
The Child Mind Institute is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. We’ve become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard, evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments.
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