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:
- Joshua A. Gordon, MD, PhD
Director
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - Victoria O’Keefe, PhD
Mathuram Santosham Chair in Native American Health
Johns Hopkins University
- Michelle Craske, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
University of California, Los Angeles - Robert Kolker
New York Times Best-Selling Author
Hidden Valley Road (2021, Penguin Random House)
Friends of NIMH Dialogue with the Director
June 29, 2023 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Joshua A. Gordon, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) joined the Friends of NIMH in a dialogue and provided updates on the institute, covering the Congressional appropriations and budget, Congressional and White House interest in mental health research, and NIMH research initiatives, among others.
Download Dr. Josh Gordon’s Slide Presentation.
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
All of Us Presentation by Dr. Holly Garriock
April 17, 2023 | 2:00 – 3:15 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Dr. Holly Garriock, Chief Cohort Development Officer, provided an update on the All of Us research program.
Holly A. Garriock, Ph.D., is the Chief Cohort Development Officer for the All of Us Research Program.
Holly came to All of Us from the National Institute of Mental Health, where she managed a research portfolio of child and adolescent depression, anxiety, suicide, and trauma that supported her growth and expertise in the fields of child development and mood disorders. Holly did her undergraduate training in Canada; graduate training at the University of Arizona, where she received her Ph.D. in genetics; and postdoctoral research at the University of California, San Francisco.
Download Dr. Garriock’s Slide Presentation.
NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Initiative: Foundations and Future, a Friends of NIMH Membership Meeting
October 19, 2022 | 1:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
The Friends of NIMH Membership Meeting featured guest speaker Sarah Morris, Ph.D., Branch Chief in the NIMH Division of Translational Research, who provided a presentation on NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Initiative: Foundations and Future, followed by a Q and A session.
Below is a brief bio for Dr. Morris and here is a link of her recent publication on RDoC.
Sarah Morris, Ph.D., is a Branch Chief in the NIMH Division of Translational Research and Associate Head of the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) Unit. She earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at UCLA and did research focused on learning and self-monitoring in schizophrenia prior to joining the NIMH in 2010. She now leads a branch which manages a portfolio of grant applications and funded grants focused on translational research in adult psychopathology. Dr. Morris also co-leads the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) effort to promote research that explores novel approaches to understand mental disorders.
Download Dr. Morris’s Slide Presentation.
NIMH Plans, Priorities, and Updates – Dr. Joshua A. Gordon Meets with Friends of NIMH
June 13, 2022 | 2:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Joshua A. Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), provided an update to the Friends of NIMH on the institute’s priorities, discussed research advances, and highlighted future directions for the mental health research field.
Download Dr. Gordon’s Slide Presentation.
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 101
February 24, 2022 | 2:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
The Friends of NIMH hosted a crash course on how the NIMH works, and an intro to the institute’s processes and resources that will enable advocates to effectively monitor its programs.
Speakers included:
- Phyllis M. Ampofo, MPH, CHES, NIMH Legislative Director
- Tracy Waldeck, Ph.D., Director, Division of Extramural Activities
- Meredith A. Fox, Ph.D., Director, Office of Science Policy, Planning, and Communications
Resources that were shared can be found below:
Legislation/Legislative Activities
- NIMH Budget Overview
- NIMH Congressional Justification
- NIH Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis (OLPA)
- NIH Office of Budget
Grant Processes, Funding, and Council
- Funding Opportunity Announcements
- National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC): Regulation and Role
- NAMHC Meetings – Upcoming Meetings
Resources, Communications, Outreach, and Advocacy Relations
- NIMH Strategic Plan for Research Overview (1-pager)
- Fiscal Year 2020 Progress Report (1-pager)
- NIMH-Funded Organizations: United States (2017-2021)
- Digital Shareables, Science Education, Discover NIMH e-newsletter
- Mental Health Statistics
- News and Events
- Health Information
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.