The Evolution of Mental Health Research: Better Science, More Effective Treatments, and Broader Impacts

May 2, 2024 | 3:00 – 5:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

562 Dirksen Senate Office Building

The Friends of NIMH invite you to a conversation and reception.

Speakers include:

The Real-World Impact of NIMH Research

May 3, 2023 | 2:00 – 3:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

The Friends of NIMH, in conjunction with the Congressional Mental Health Caucus and the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus invite you to a virtual Congressional Briefing.

The nation is facing unprecedented mental health challenges. Join us to learn about how research supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is transforming treatments and services for children, adolescents, and adults with mental illnesses.

Video Recording | Briefing Summary

Speakers include:

• Joshua A. Gordon, MD, PhD
  Director
  National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) 
• David C. Mohr, PhD
  Director, Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies
  Northwestern University

• Rebecca B. Price, PhD
  Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Psychology
  University of Pittsburgh
• Eden M. Shaveet. MS, CPS
  Bridge to PhD Scholar
  Columbia University 
• Moderator: Theresa Nguyen
  Chief Program Officer
  VP of Research and Innovation
  Mental Health America

From Research to Intervention and Treatment: NIMH Advances in Early Psychosis

March 31, 2022 | 1:00 – 2:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

This briefing featured an expert panel presenting research on two innovative models of learning health care systems to improve care and outcomes and advance science.

By collecting and sharing data in coordinated and privacy-protected ways, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET) enables partnership among clients and their families, clinicians, health care administrators, and scientific experts to improve early psychosis care and conduct large-scale, practice-based research.

The Accelerating Medicines Partnership® in Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ) is a public-private partnership focused on generating biomarkers, prediction models, and other tools to accelerate the development of early-stage interventions for patients who are at risk of developing schizophrenia. Such tools will help identify and test novel treatment approaches to prevent or delay the onset of psychosis in at-risk individuals.

Download the flyer invitation.

Speakers and their presentations can be found below:

• Dr. Joshua Gordon, National Institute of Mental Health Director
• Mr. Carlos Larrauri, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Director and Mental Health Advocate — “AMP® Schizophrenia: A New Horizon for Psychosis Research.“
• Dr. Lauren Ellman, Professor in the Clinical area of the Psychology and Neuroscience Department at Temple University — “Improving Identification, Assessment and Treatments for Individuals at Risk for Psychosis”
• Dr. Lisa Dixon, the Edna L. Edison Professor of Psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and Division of Behavioral Health Services and Policy Research Director within the Department of Psychiatry — “Early Psychosis Treatment: How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going?”
• Dr. Abram Rosenblatt, Vice President in Behavioral Health and Health Policy at Westat — “EPINET: A Learning Healthcare System for Early Psychosis“
• Welcoming remarks by Dr. Arthur Evans, American Psychological Association (APA) Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President

Resources:

Learn more about the RAISE, EPINET, and AMP Schizophrenia initiatives using the links below:
• Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) – https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/schizophrenia/raise
• Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET) – https://nationalepinet.org/
• Accelerating Medicines Partnership Program – Schizophrenia (AMP SCZ)- https://fnih.org/our-programs/AMP/schizophrenia

NIMH-Funded Research Improving Care: From Bench to Bedside

July 14, 2021 | 1:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

This briefing was recorded. See the video here.

Presenters’ slides can be found below:

• Dr. Joshua Gordon — “NIMH Funded Research Improving Care – From Bench to Bedside”
• Dr. Gregory Simon — “Building a Learning Mental Healthcare System“
• Dr. Rinad Beidas — “Investing in Implementation Science to Maximize the Impact of Scientific Discovery: Lessons Learned and the Way Forward”

Strengthening mental health services within healthcare systems is essential to improving mental health and reducing the long-term negative impact of COVID-19.  With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), researchers are working to facilitate delivery of quality practice through large research collaboratives like the Mental Health Research Network. The MHRN is a consortium of research centers affiliated with 14 large health systems across the United States exploring a broad range of issues including suicide prevention, improving heart health in people with serious mental illness, using electronic medical records to improve follow-up care for depression, and understanding the causes of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care. 

 Moderated by:

• Dr. Nitin Gogtay, Deputy Medical Director and Chief of Research American Psychiatric Association and former Director of the Office of Clinical Research at NIMH 

Speakers included:

• Dr. Joshua Gordon, the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health.
• Dr. Gregory Simon, Investigator at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute; Psychiatrist in Kaiser Permanente’s Behavioral Health Service; and Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington. 
• Dr. Rinad Beidas, Founder and Director of the Penn Implementation Science Center at the Leonard Davis Institute and Associate Director at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics; Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Medical Ethics, and Health Policy; and Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.