Meet Our New Mental and Behavioral Health Institute Leader
Post Date: September 20, 2024 | Publish Date:
Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH, currently vice president of research at the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), will become the inaugural director of the new Cincinnati Children’s Mental and Behavioral Health Institute (MBHI), effective Feb. 24, 2025.
“Dr. Leslie’s extensive pediatric leadership and proven experience in pediatric mental, behavioral and developmental health makes her the ideal choice to direct our Mental and Behavioral Health Institute,” says Tina Cheng, MD, MPH, director of the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and chief medical officer of the health system. “Her expertise and passion for improving pediatric mental healthcare will help us advance our aspirations as the leader in improving child health.”
Launched in Oct. 2023, the new institute integrates the divisions of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. This innovative structure allows for deeper collaboration among experts across specialty fields and among a network of community partners that will serve as a national model system for improving outcomes for children affected by mental, developmental, and behavioral challenges.
“The mental health crisis among children, adolescents and young adults is the most critical pediatric public health emergency of our time,” Leslie says. “I am honored to have the opportunity to work at Cincinnati Children’s where the leadership, faculty and staff are committed to addressing this crisis in every setting, from schools and primary care offices through inpatient care.”
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Learn more about mental and behavioral health research at Cincinnati Children’s
