Feinstein Institutes secures $3.37M grant to strengthen first responder mental health and resilience

MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 26, 2025--

Recent reports show that one in seven first responders have probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in response to routine duties with prevalence increasing after responding to a crisis. To improve our understanding and the well-being of these essential heroes, researchers at Northwell Health’sFeinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Stony Brook University and Texas A&M University received a $3.37-million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The five-year, multi-site clinical trial aims to significantly improve the mental health and resilience of first responders across the nation.

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The study, titled “A Large-Scale Efficacy Trial of a Resilience Training Program for First Responders” – led by Rebecca Schwartz, PhD, associate professor at the Feinstein Institutes’ Institute of Behavioral Science and senior director of clinical research with Northwell’s Department of Occupational Medicine, Epidemiology and Prevention, along with Adam Gonzalez, PhD, of Stony Brook University and Anka Vujanovic, PhD, of Texas A&M – will conduct a large-scale efficacy trial of the Worker Resilience Training (WRT) program, an interactive workshop designed to equip first responders with crucial skills to manage stress, promote healthy lifestyle behaviors and prevent the development or worsening of mental health conditions like PTSD and depression.

“First responders face a heightened risk for mental health conditions due to chronic exposure to trauma; COVID-19 demonstrated that firsthand. It’s our duty to support their well-being, especially their mental health,” said Dr. Schwartz. “This NIMH grant allows us to rigorously test a preventative intervention that has the potential to significantly enhance resilience and reduce the burden of PTSD and depression in this critical population.”

Earlier research led by Drs. Gonzalez and Schwartz, including a randomized clinical trial with Hurricane Sandy responders, demonstrated the WRT program’s potential to prevent mental health symptoms and promote adaptive coping. Building on these promising initial results, the new study will rigorously evaluate the WRT program in 800 first responders in New York and Texas. The research will compare the clinical trial group to a time-matched control workshop.

Key aims include measuring improvements in resilience indicators such as healthy lifestyle behaviors, stress management, physical activity and perceived resilience. A critical aspect of the study is to determine if the WRT program effectively prevents the development or worsening of psychological symptoms and functional impairments in first responders who are exposed to traumatic events after participating in the workshop.

“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the toll of chronic stress on first responders,” said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes and Karches Family Distinguished Chair in Medical Research. “Dr. Schwartz’s research provides scientific insights and new strategies to enhance mental well-being and resilience for essential workers.”

This research holds significant public health implications by providing an evidence-based, scalable, and impactful preventative intervention. It has the potential to reduce personal and financial costs for responders, their families and society at large.

About the Feinstein Institutes

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Researchis the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50+ research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its six institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research. We are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – an innovative field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. The Feinstein Institutes publishes two open-access, international peer-reviewed journalsMolecular MedicineandBioelectronic Medicine. Through theElmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, we offer an accelerated PhD program. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visithttp://feinstein.northwell.eduand follow us onLinkedIn.

Dr. Rebecca Schwartz led the study. (Credit: Feinstein Institutes).

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk's space exploration company has filed preliminary paperwork to sell shares to the public, according to two sources familiar with the filing, a blockbuster offering that would likely rank as the biggest ever and could make its founder the world's first trillionaire.

A SpaceX IPO promises to be one of the biggest Wall Street events of the year, with several investment banks lining up to help raise tens of billions to fund Musk's ambitions to set up a base on the moon, put datacenters the size of several football fields in orbit and possibly one day send a man to Mars.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the confidential registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SpaceX did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Exactly how much SpaceX plans to raise has not been disclosed but the figure is reportedly as much as $75 billion. At that level, the offering would easily eclipse the $29 billion that Saudi Aramco raised in its IPO in 2019.

The offering, coming possibly in June, could value all the shares of SpaceX at $1.5 trillion, nearly double what the company was valued in December when some minority owners sold their stakes, according to research firm Pitchbook, before an acquisition that increased its size.

Musk owns 42% of the SpaceX now, according to Pitchbook, though that figure will change with the IPO when new owners are issued shares. In any case, he is likely to pierce the trillion dollar mark because he is already close. Forbes magazine estimates Musk's net worth at roughly $823 billion.

In addition to making reusable rockets to hurl astronauts and hardware into orbit, SpaceX owns Starlink, the world’s largest satellite communications company. The company also recently brought under its roof two other Musk businesses, social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and artificial intelligence business, xAI, in a controversial transaction because both the seller and the buyer were controlled by him.

SpaceX has become the biggest commercial launch company in its industry, responsible for sending payloads into orbit for customers across the globe, but has also benefited from big taxpayer spending. That has raised conflicts of interest issues given that Musk was the biggest donor to President Donald Trump's campaign and is still a big backer.

In the past five years, SpaceX won $6 billion in contracts from NASA, the Defense Department and other U.S. government agencies, according to USAspending.gov.

Among current SpaceX owners is Donald Trump Jr, the president's oldest son. He owns a shares through 1789 Capital. That venture capital firm made him a partner shortly after his father won the presidency for a second time and has been buying up federal contractors seeking to win taxpayer money ever since.

The White House and Trump himself have repeatedly denied there are any conflicts of interest between his role as president and his family's businesses.

FILE - A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

FILE - Elon Musk attends the finals for the NCAA wrestling championship, March 22, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)