SC CTSI’s KL2 Scholar Joyce R. Javier, MD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC and primary care pediatrician, CHLA, focuses on the prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral health issues among immigrant populations, particularly Filipino youth and families.

As part of her work, Javier gives workshops designed to help parents raise and interact with their kids in a less stressful and more productive way. Early results have shown that, for kids, the programs strengthened social skills, emotional regulation, and school readiness. “Most importantly, our initial results hold the potential to lead to larger studies to eliminate the health disparities that affect young people in these immigrant groups, as well as the behavioral issues that can get in the way of their development as they grow toward adulthood,” said Javier.

The mentorship and coursework provided by SC CTSI’s KL2 program helped Javier mount a community-based study and later apply successfully for an NIH research grant. In July of 2013, Javier was awarded a four-year K23 grant by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The focus of the K23 award is to develop and evaluate an innovative approach to overcome stigma associated with parenting programs in order to increase participation of Filipinos in evidence-based parenting interventions. Currently, Joyce and her team are moving toward implementation of the interventions in both community and primary care settings. Joyce is also sharing her findings more broadly as a regular panelist on a national talk show geared toward Filipino-American families.

These mentors provided an enormous amount of invaluable feedback that enabled me to strengthen my NIH grant proposal. NIH applications take a lot of time and work, and you want them to be as competitive as possible.

Joyce R. Javier, MD, MPH – Assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine of USC; primary care pediatrician, CHLA

NIH Funding Acknowledgment: Important - All publications resulting from the utilization of SC CTSI resources are required to credit the SC CTSI grant by including the NIH funding acknowledgment and must comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.