The STARR Coalition

11/21/2025

Join Rural Minds for a free webinar!

"Alcohol Use Disorder Among Women in Rural America"
Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 4 PM ET

Women in rural communities face unique barriers - isolation, stigma, and limited access to care. This webinar features lived experience and Mayo Clinic research on supporting women with AUD.

Learn more and register: bit.ly/43L6dXg

Women living in rural America face unique challenges related to alcohol use disorder (AUD). Economic stress and social isolation can increase vulnerability for alcohol misuse. Stigma surrounding AUD is greater due to a lack of anonymity, limited access to treatment, and social norms that discourage....

11/20/2025

Think about the high school student in your life who:

✨ Speaks up when others stay silent about mental health
✨ Makes their friends feel safe opening up
✨ Challenges the "just get over it" mentality
✨ Shows up for their peers who are struggling

That's a Stop the Stigma Champion.

We want to honor students who are brave enough to normalize mental health conversations and create supportive communities. If you know someone making this kind of difference, they deserve recognition.

Nominate them here: https://lnkd.in/ebGzSkJz

It only takes a few minutes and could mean the world to a deserving student. 💙

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

11/19/2025

🎄✨ The holidays are here—time to spread joy and strengthen community connections! ✨🎄

Community engagement is at the heart of what we do at The STARR Coalition. It builds trust, fosters healthier workplaces, and connects research to the people we serve.

This season, we're sharing 10 creative holiday giving campaigns your site can implement, including:

🎁 Host a "Giving Tree" for local mental health organizations
☕ Organize a community coffee & conversation event
🧣 Collect winter essentials with encouraging notes
💌 Create holiday cards to brighten spirits

These meaningful gestures uplift staff, volunteers, and the community while reducing stigma and building goodwill.

Start planning now!

Get all 10 ideas here ➡️ https://thestarr.org/news/holiday-giving-and-outreach/

Start Planning Now for Your Holiday Giving & Outreach Community engagement is a cornerstone of the STARR Site Certification for good reason: it fosters happier, healthier workplaces and serves as a force for good locally, while connecting research to the community and building trust. The holidays ar...

11/17/2025

💙 This November, we celebrate Family Caregivers 💙

National Family Caregiver Appreciation Month honors those who provide essential care to loved ones living with chronic illness, mental health conditions, or disabilities. These caregivers are the unsung heroes of healthcare - managing appointments, medications, crises, and emotional support, often while balancing their own lives and responsibilities.

For those supporting individuals with serious mental illness, caregiving can be especially complex. They navigate unpredictable systems, manage stigma, and advocate for dignity and understanding.

This month, we're encouraging everyone to recognize caregivers through simple gestures: appreciation events, resource kits, walls of gratitude, and community connection events.

Together, we can honor those who walk beside participants on their research journey and strengthen mental health care for all.

Learn more ways to celebrate caregivers
➡️ https://thestarr.org/news/celebrating-family-caregivers/

November is National Family Caregiver Appreciation Month - a time to recognize the compassion, strength, and resilience of those who provide essential care and support to loved ones living with chronic illness, mental health conditions, or disabilities. These caregivers are often the unsung heroes o...

11/07/2025

The November STARR Newsletter is here!

Read on to find out more about our upcoming webinar on psychedelics in clinical trials next Wednesday, exciting updates from our certified sites, holiday planning tips, and much more!

Email from The STARR Coalition Family Caregiver Month, Latest Site News, Holiday Planning, ICYMI News   STARR News & Updates November 2025 As November arrives, we’re reminded of the power of gratitude

11/07/2025

You don't want to miss this!

Just 𝟓 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 to register!

Join our insider conversation on Psychedelics in Clinical Trials.

Bring your toughest questions for our panel of experts from Segal Trials, atai Life Sciences, and CenExel Georgia.

𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐 𝐚𝐭 𝟐:𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐦 𝐄𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: 𝐛𝐢𝐭.𝐥𝐲/𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡

11/05/2025

We need nominations!

A Stop the Stigma Champion is a high school student who has demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership by openly discussing mental health issues, challenging stereotypes, and promoting a supportive environment in their community.

Know a student making a real difference? Nominate them here:

The STARR Stop the Stigma Champion Award recognizes a high school student who has made an outstanding contribution to destigmatizing mental health issues and promoting a supportive environment within their school community.

11/04/2025

One week from tomorrow! ⏰

Our expert panel is ready to dive into the complexities of psychedelic clinical trials!

Whether you're actively running trials or exploring this space, join us for practical insights and a live Q&A afterward!

November 12 at 2 pm ET

Register here: bit.ly/STARRpsych

11/03/2025

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: Breakthrough in precision medicine for treatment-resistant depression! 🧬

The ENLIGHTEN trial showed that liafensine (a triple reuptake inhibitor) significantly improved depression symptoms in patients with a specific genetic marker (ANK3-positive):

- 4.4-point improvement over placebo on depression scales
- Well-tolerated with manageable side effects
- Rapid symptom relief starting within the first week

What makes this groundbreaking: After failing in general populations, researchers identified that ~20% of patients with a specific genetic biomarker responded remarkably well. This is precision medicine in action - matching the right treatment to the right patient.

The 189 ANK3-positive participants show that personalized, biomarker-guided treatment could transform how we approach treatment-resistant depression.

Share this to show how clinical trials are pioneering personalized mental health care!

Read the full study: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2838697

This randomized clinical trial assesses whether liafensine is efficacious in ANK3-positive patients with treatment-resistant depression.

10/31/2025

𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲:

Did you know that many mental health clinical research sites actively partner with local advocacy groups to make trials more accessible and welcoming?

These partnerships help reduce stigma, build trust, and ensure research reflects community needs.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤:

What successful partnerships have you seen between research sites and advocacy organizations? Share examples below! 👇

10/28/2025

Just over two weeks out! 🗓️

Psychedelic clinical trials are complex. Learn from those doing it right.

Join our expert panel on 𝐖𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟐 𝐚𝐭 𝟐:𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐦 𝐄𝐓 for practical insights on regulatory navigation, patient recruitment, and operational strategies.

Live Q&A to follow the presentation.

𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐮𝐩 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 → 𝐛𝐢𝐭.𝐥𝐲/𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐩𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡

10/27/2025

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲: Promising Phase 2b results for anxiety treatment!

A clinical trial of MM120 for generalized anxiety disorder showed significant symptom reduction - 65% response rate and 48% remission at 12 weeks, with rapid relief starting within days.

Nearly 200 participants contributed to this research, which received FDA Breakthrough designation and is now advancing to Phase 3 trials.

Clinical research continues to explore innovative approaches for mental health conditions that affect millions.

Share with your communities to show how trials create new treatment options!

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/lsd-based-med-safe-effective-anxiety-phase-2b-trial-2025a1000nm8

Compared with placebo, a single application of the LSD-based medication MM120 is linked to rapidly reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms in adults with generalized anxiety disorder.