Stancil Lab
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We study how the developing brain metabolizes medications—advancing precision therapeutics for teens and young adults.
The Stancil Lab at Children's Mercy Kansas City is dedicated to improving how we treat adolescents and young adults. Led by Dr. Stephani Stancil, our team bridges clinical pharmacology and neuroscience to understand why medications work differently in developing bodies—and how we can make treatment more precise, more personal, and more effective.
Teens aren't small adults. Their brains and bodies process drugs differently. We design studies specifically around the needs and biology of young people.
We use functional MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy to visualize how the adolescent brain responds to medications, connecting pharmacokinetics to brain activity in real time.
Our Teen Research Advisors program gives participants a voice in shaping the future of research—from helping design studies to career mentorship and community building.
Beyond the lab, we partner with Children's Mercy Teen Clinic to improve reproductive and community health for youth experiencing homelessness.
Our work sits at the intersection of clinical pharmacology, developmental neuroscience, and adolescent medicine. We focus on understanding drug metabolism and brain response in young people to develop better, individualized treatments.
Using fMRI to detect brain responses to medications in adolescents, developing neuroimaging-based biomarkers that can predict who will respond to treatment—funded by a K23 award from NIMH.
Investigating naltrexone and opioid antagonism in teens with eating disorders—understanding why some patients respond and others don't, and how to personalize dosing.
Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to safely, non-invasively measure how much medication reaches the adolescent brain—information previously undefined in children.
Studying how genetic variation and food intake affect drug metabolism in young people, including how AKR1C4 genotype influences naltrexone exposure.
Developing genetics-informed, personalized vaping cessation treatment for teens, integrating differences in nicotine metabolism to improve quit rates in hospitalized youth.
Reducing unintended pregnancy and promoting reproductive autonomy in adolescents experiencing homelessness through evidence-based contraceptive counseling.
We are actively recruiting participants for the following studies. Your participation helps advance our understanding of adolescent health.
This research study aims to improve understanding of the medical treatment of adolescents with eating disorders and to understand why only some patients respond to the medication naltrexone. Participants undergo brain fMRI to help develop tools that objectively detect medication response.
Dr. Stancil is a nurse practitioner and clinical pharmacologist whose research focuses on precision therapeutics for adolescents. She uses functional neuroimaging to study how the developing brain responds to medications, with particular focus on eating disorders and mental health conditions. Her work is funded by a K23 award from the National Institute of Mental Health. In addition to leading the lab, Dr. Stancil continues to see patients as a licensed Nurse Practitioner in adolescent medicine at Children's Mercy, focusing on mental health, reproductive health, and substance use in youth. She has received over $870,000 in grants to build her research program in adolescent precision therapeutics.
Research Coordinator
Research Associate
Research Team
Research Team
A profile on Dr. Stancil's innovative research in adolescent precision therapeutics, her use of fMRI to detect drug response, and the Teen Research Advisors program.
Highlighting Dr. Stancil's growing research program, her K23-funded work, MRS brain imaging studies, and personalized vaping cessation initiatives.
Dr. Stancil receives a $383,165 award from Organon to study reproductive health interventions for adolescents experiencing homelessness.
Dr. Stancil receives a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute of Mental Health to advance her eating disorder neuroimaging research.