Help Develop Objective Measures for Depression
What if you could complement clinical judgment with quantifiable digital biomarkers? Join CANDID—a study exploring speech and facial expression patterns in depression.
10 minutes per referral
$100 honorarium per enrolled patient + bonuses
No new treatments involved and participation for patients is completely remote
One quick medication confirmation, then no additional work
Contribute to the frontier of precision psychiatry
About the CANDID Study
CANDID stands for Community Assessment of Novel Digital Instruments in Depression. This observational research study is exploring the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and digital measures—like patterns in speech and facial expressions.
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CANDID
Community Assessment of Novel Digital Instruments in Depression
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Study Type
Observational, fully virtual—no investigational drugs or treatments
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Sponsor
Janssen Research & Development, LLC
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Principal Investigator
Dr. Will Sauvé, Chief Medical Officer, Osmind
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What patients do
No clinic visits required - everything is done from home
Answer questionnaires about mood, anxiety, and functioning (15-20 min)
Complete speech recognition tasks—respond to prompts about daily life (15 min)
Complete facial expression recognition tasks—identify emotions in faces (15 min)
Completely remote. No clinic visits. Purely observational. Patients compensated up to $200.
The Problem You Can Help Solve
Diagnosing and monitoring depression relies almost entirely on subjective measures: self-reports, clinical interviews. These tools are valuable, but they have real limitations:
Patients may not accurately recall symptoms
Communication styles vary widely
We lack reliable ways to track subtle changes over time
No objective, quantifiable data to complement our judgment
Your patients may be a good fit for this study if:
Depression & Mental Health:
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Formally diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) by a mental health clinician as their primary diagnosis (in accordance with DSM-5 diagnostic criteria)
Current episode began 2-24 months ago (prior to screening)
Tried 2-5 antidepressants during the current episode without adequate response (augmentation agents, TMS, and ECT don’t count toward this number)
Moderate-to-severe depression (IDS-C ≥25, confirmed during screening)
No history of bipolar disorder, psychotic disorder, OCD, eating disorders, borderline or antisocial personality disorder, or alcohol/substance use disorder in past 6 months
May continue current treatment, including antidepressants, TMS, or esketamine (Spravato)Not currently taking antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, anxiolytics, or prescription sleep aids.
Psychotherapy is OK if started more than 60 days ago. Patients should not stop or change medications to qualify.
Demographics and Logistics:
Age 18-64 years old
US-based and English-Speaking
Has computer (laptop/desktop) with internet, camera and microphone (built-in is fine)
Patient's Commitment:
Willing to sign an informed consent form and complete a brief virtual screening and all 4 study visits over about 6 weeks
Patients will be compensated up to $200 for completing appointment visits.
Why Refer Patients?
What if we could add objective digital biomarkers to our clinical toolkit? The CANDID study explores whether patterns in speech and facial expression recognition can provide measurable data about depression severity.
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If this works, the outcome could be:
Better diagnostic accuracy
Real-time symptom monitoring between visits
Early warning signals for relapse
More personalized, data-driven treatment decisions
This is research that could change how we practice psychiatry.
Three Ways Patients Can Be Referred
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You refer them
It takes about 10 minutes, and the steps are below. Clinician referrals include a quick confirmation of the antidepressants tried: dose, duration of 4 to 6 weeks, and whether each was taken as prescribed.
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Your admin team refers them
Practice staff can submit referrals on your behalf. The study team confirms medication history at screening.
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Patients refer themselves
Patients can fill out the short form at osmind.org/candid. The study team confirms medication history at screening.
We Need Your Help—It Only Takes 10 Minutes to Refer a Patient
The best way to find the right patients is through clinicians like you who know your patients and can identify good candidates.
Identify
Review your patient panel for someone who meets our criteria.
Brief Conversation
During a regular appointment, mention the study opportunity.
Submit Referral Form
Complete brief online form with patient info, clinical details, and a quick confirmation of the antidepressants they’ve tried.
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Get Compensated
$100 honorarium per successfully enrolled patient + bonuses for more referrals.
The Patient Journey After You Submit the Referral
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MINI (Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview): Confirms MDD diagnosis, rules out bipolar disorder and other exclusions
IDS-C30 (Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology): Measures depression severity—must score ≥25 to qualify
The psychiatrist also confirms the antidepressants the patient has tried during the current episode, including dose, duration, and adherence.
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During the Study
At each visit, patients complete (all virtual via Userlytics platform):
Questionnaires: mood, anxiety, sleep, functioning (15-20 min)
Speech tasks: respond to prompts about daily life and motivations (15 min)
Facial expression recognition: identify emotions in faces (15 min)
Patients compensated: Up to $200
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How to talk to your patients about CANDID
To support your conversations with patients about this study, we have several helpful resources. These include a sample discussion guide below, a patient-facing webpage, and an informational flyer, all available for your use.
I wanted to let you know about a research study you might be interested in. It's called CANDID, and it's exploring new ways to measure depression using patterns in speech and facial expressions, looking for objective digital biomarkers that could help us better understand and track depression.
It’s a fully virtual study: no clinic visits, no travel, and no study medications, and you can stay on your current treatment. You’d complete a brief virtual screening, then four online visits over about six weeks, doing questionnaires and some simple tasks—including brief video recordings where you respond to prompts. The recordings are stored securely and your name is removed from the data, though your face and voice would be recognizable in the recordings themselves.
And you'd be compensated up to $200 for your time and participation. If you're interested, I can submit a referral and the study team will reach out to explain everything in detail, including exactly how your data is protected. What do you think?
If they say yes: Submit the referral form If they have questions: Direct them to contact the study team at research@osmind.org, or share the patient web page osmind.org/candid. Or send them the patient flyer for more information. If they decline: No problem, it's completely optional
Ready to take the next step?
If you're interested in participating and being compensated, refer your first patient below:
Email: research@osmind.org
Study Details:
Study Name: CANDID: Community Assessment of Novel Digital Instruments in Depression
Funded by: Janssen Research & Development, LLC
Study Facilitators: Osmind, 3130 20th St Suite 250, San Francisco, CA USA, 94110; Userlytics, 1200 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1950, Miami, Florida, USA 33131
Protocol Version: 0.5 (October 8, 2026)
For more information about Userlytics' terms of service, visit: https://www.userlytics.com/user-experience-research/terms-of-service-testers/
Contact: research@osmind.org
If you, or someone you know, is in crisis or needs immediate assistance, please call 911 immediately. To talk to someone now, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or 988.
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