Darius Tandon

Maternal depression, community-engaged research, preventive interventions

My research focuses on the prevention of mental disorders and promotion of positive well-being among vulnerable populations. Much of my mental health research is with perinatal populations, including intervention studies aimed at the prevention of postpartum depression. Our Mothers and Babies stress management and postpartum depression preventive intervention is an evidence-based intervention that is being implemented by home visiting programs and other early childhood providers across the United States. Our research studies are currently examining various aspects of the Mothers and Babies intervention, including 1) a comparative effectiveness study examining delivery by mental health clinicians vs. paraprofessional home visitors; 2) an effectiveness-implementation hybrid trial examining the rollout of Mothers and Babies across the entire state of Florida; 3) the use of text messages to enhance engagement with core intervention components; and 4) the development of an ancillary Fathers and Babies curriculum aimed at supporting the partners of women receiving the Mothers and Babies intervention. I also have considerable expertise in the science and practice of community-engaged research. I am currently the Co-Director of Northwestern's Center for Community Health, which aims to promote patient and stakeholder engagement among clinical and translational research across the institution. From 2011-2018 I was the editor-in-chief of the only peer-reviewed journal solely focused on publishing community-engaged research: Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, & Action. I also served as co-chair of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute's (PCORI) Patient Engagement Advisory Panel from 2013-2017. I was recently an Aspen Ascend fellow, allowing me to work alongside other national leaders in promoting two-generation strategies that support children and parents together to create an intergenerational cycle of opportunity.