Recently, the China Medical Board (CMB) in the United States sent a letter to our university, announcing the successful approval of four projects under the 2023 CMB Open Competition (CMB-OC) and one project under the "China Elite Teaching Hospital Alliance" Clinical Scholar Innovation Grant. The total funding for these five projects amounts to $360,000. All five projects will commence from January 2023.

Project Categories:

1. CMB-OC

• Project Title:Feasibility, Acceptability, and Effectiveness Study of the Application of MBAT Training Program in Managing Depression Symptoms in Rural Elderly: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

• Principal Investigator:Xie Jianfei

• Affiliated Unit:Xiangya Third Hospital

2. CMB-OC

• Project Title:Effectiveness and Implementability Study of an Online Psychological Counseling Project (iESTEEM) Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in HIV-Positive Men Who Have Sex with Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial

• Principal Investigator:Li Xianhong

• Affiliated Unit:Xiangya School of Nursing

3. CMB-OC

• Project Title:Prevention Project for Antenatal Depression in Rural Areas Based on Task Allocation Model: An Effectiveness-Implementation Hybrid Design Cluster Randomized Trial

• Principal Investigator:Sun Mei

• Affiliated Unit:Xiangya School of Nursing

4. CMB-OC

• Project Title:Effectiveness Study of Problem-Solving Skills Training Based on the WeChat Platform in Improving Depression Symptoms in Mothers of Children with Malignant Tumors: A Practical Randomized Controlled Trial

• Principal Investigator:Luo Yuanhui

• Affiliated Unit:Xiangya School of Nursing

5. Clinical Scholar Innovation Grant

• Project Title:Research on Intern Adaptation Disorders: Incidence, Characteristics, and Interventions (Happy Internship)

• Principal Investigator:Xie Mingxuan

• Affiliated Unit:Xiangya Hospital

The China Medical Board was established in 1914 as a charitable organization originating from the Rockefeller Foundation. Over the years, it has provided continuous support to China's medical education and talent development, making significant contributions to the advancement of China's medical and health undertakings. The organization has had two chairpersons who received the Chinese government's "Friendship Award," the highest honor recognizing foreign experts for their outstanding contributions to China's modernization and reform and opening up. CMB has been one of the most important international funding agencies for our university in the field of medical and related disciplines. Since the establishment of the first equivalent fund by CMB at Xiangya Medical College in 1981, a total of 88 projects at Xiangya have been supported, with a total funding amount of approximately $15.31 million. The collaboration covers various areas, including medical education, public health, nursing, and biomedical research.

The CMB-OC project is the most iconic open competition project of CMB in China, and the competition is highly fierce. It is reported that the theme of this round of bidding is "Behavioral and Mental Health," with participation from 30 universities and related research institutions, including Peking University, Peking Union Medical College, Fudan University, West China Medical Center, Sun Yat-sen University, and others. After two rounds of intense abstract selection and full review, our university's four projects stood out from 385 applications. Since the initiation of CMB-OC project applications, our university has been granted a total of 23 projects, with a funding of $2.16 million. Currently, there are 16 ongoing CMB projects at our university.