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Science News About Research Funding

NIH Common Fund Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) program
NIH Launches Community-Led Research Program to Advance Health Equity

NIH is funding a first-of-its-kind community-led research program to study ways to address the underlying structural factors within communities that affect health, such as access to safe spaces, healthy food, employment opportunities, transportation, and quality health care.

Winners of 2022 Speaking Up About Mental Health
NIH Announces Winners of High School Mental Health Essay Contest

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is pleased to announce the winners of 2022 Speaking Up About Mental Health! This Is My Story essay contest.

Illustration of neuronal connections.
NIH BRAIN Initiative Launches Projects to Develop Cell Atlases and Molecular Tools for Cell Access

The National Institutes of Health has launched two transformative projects supported by the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative: The BRAIN Initiative® Cell Atlas Network and the Armamentarium for Precision Brain Cell Access.

A photograph of Dr. Borba.
Dr. Christina P.C. Borba Named Director of Office for Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity

The National Institute of Mental Health has appointed Christina P.C. Borba, Ph.D., M.P.H., as director of the Office for Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity (ODWD). She began her new role on September 6, 2022.

A row of abstract circles in various colors
NIH Awards $100 Million for Autism Centers of Excellence Program

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a total of $100 million over the next five years to support nine Autism Centers of Excellence. This endeavor funds large research projects to understand and develop interventions for autism spectrum disorder.

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NIH, FDA and 15 Private Organizations Join Forces to Increase Effective Gene Therapies for Rare Diseases

The newly launched Bespoke Gene Therapy Consortium (BGTC), part of the NIH Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) program, aims to optimize and streamline the gene therapy development process to help fill the unmet medical needs of people with rare diseases.

Illustration of neuronal connections.
NIH BRAIN Initiative Unveils Detailed Atlas of the Mammalian Primary Motor Cortex

The NIH Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative Cell Census Network (BICCN) has unveiled an atlas of cell types and an anatomical neuronal wiring diagram for the mammalian primary motor cortex, derived from detailed studies of mice, monkeys, and humans.

National Institute of Mental Health
NIMH Addresses Critical Need for Rapid-Acting Interventions for Severe Suicide Risk

NIMH is working to meet the urgent need for rapid-acting suicide prevention interventions by supporting research investigating the feasibility and safety of treatment protocols that have the potential to quickly reduce severe suicide risk in youth and adults.

Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Ph.D.
NIMH’s Dr. Andrea Beckel-Mitchener Named Deputy Director of NIH BRAIN Initiative

Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Ph.D., has been named deputy director of the trans-NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative.

National Institute of Mental Health
NIMH Director’s Statement: Our Commitment to Ending Structural Racism in Biomedical Research

In this statement, NIMH Director Dr. Joshua Gordon reaffirms his commitment to dismantling structural racism in biomedical research and describes next steps for NIMH.

Adolescents taking a selfie
NIH Initiative Expands Access to Resources for Early Psychosis Treatment and Research

The Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET), an NIMH initiative aimed at determining how to best provide treatment for individuals experiencing symptoms of early psychosis, is increasing access to resources for researchers, providers, and families through a growing network of research hubs and a new website.

a young boy stacks wooden alphabet blocks
Testing and Refining Biomarkers to Support Intervention Research for Children with Autism

NIMH, along with other NIH Institutes, is supporting the ABC-CT project, a multisite study that aims to test and refine biomarkers that can be used as objective measures of social impairment for children with autism in clinical trials, leading to more predictive and personalized treatment.

National Institute of Mental Health
NIMH Awards Funding for Research on Preventing Firearm Injury and Mortality

Suicide attempts by firearm are especially dangerous, with as many as 9 out of 10 attempts resulting in death. NIMH is supporting three projects focused on preventing and reducing firearm injury and mortality to help address the critical need for more research in this area.

outline art of male and female human figures
NIMH Part of Collaborative Effort to Advance Early Intervention for Individuals at Risk of Developing Schizophrenia

NIMH has joined with other NIH Institutes in launching an new Accelerating Medicines Partnership focused on advancing the development of better ways to identify and treat those at clinical high risk for psychosis.

a pair of hands holds another person's hand in a gesture of comfort
NIMH Leadership Describes Suicide Prevention Research Priorities

In a new paper, published in JAMA Psychiatry, NIMH looks forward, outlining the next stages in the Institute’s suicide prevention research priorities.

National Institute of Mental Health
NIMH Director’s Statement on Racism

Right now, people across the country are currently coping with yet another episode of violence perpetrated against a person of color. In this Institute Update, Dr. Gordon addresses recent events.

Infant and female caregiver holding tablet and speaking with doctor.
Supporting the Development of Early Autism Screening Tools

NIMH, along with other NIH Institutes, is supporting the goal of identifying autism in the first year of life by funding projects that seek to seek to translate findings related to early-emerging signs of autism into practical ASD screening tools that can be implemented in the general population and community settings.

Transforming Mental Health Care Through ALACRITY
Transforming Mental Health Care Through ALACRITY

In 2018, 11.4 million adults in the United States experienced a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, severe bipolar disorder, and severe depression.

Infant and female caregiver holding tablet and speaking with doctor.
NIH Awards Funding for Early Autism Screening

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded more than four million dollars in FY 2019 to support seven research projects aimed at developing and validating screening tools to detect signs of autism spectrum disorder in the first year of life.

illustration of a human brain with magnifying glass held up to show detailed view of forebrain
New BRAIN Initiative Awards Accelerate Neuroscience Discoveries

The NIH has announced its continued support for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative by funding more than 180 new BRAIN Initiative awards, bringing the total 2019 budget for the program to more than $424 million.

a group of young people sits on grass in the sun
NIH Announces Funding Awards for National Early Psychosis Learning Community

NIMH awarded six research grants for studies to develop a learning health care system for the treatment of early psychosis.

Icon for Clinical Research Toolbox
NIMH Announces New Clinical Research Toolbox

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recently developed a Clinical Research Toolbox designed to assist clinical investigators with the development of clinical research studies.

video screenshot of Frances Johnson, NIMH trainee
Diversity Training Programs Nurture Research Career

A trainee tells her story of how NIMH/NIH training programs for members of underrepresented groups have nurtured her scientific career.

female medical professional and patient
NIMH Releases Strategic Research Priorities Update

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recently released its second annual update of the Strategic Research Priorities.

Nanopipette sampling a neuron without disturbing function
NIH Names Winners of “Follow that Cell” Phase 2 Competition

Two biological engineering researchers are winners in Phase 2 of NIH’s Follow that Cell Challenge. The winners will share $400,000 in prizes awarded for development of new tools and methods for predicting the behavior and function of a single cell in complex tissue over time – and how that reflects the health of the tissue.

National Institute of Mental Health
NIMH-Funded Study to Track the Effects of Trauma

By carefully tracking 5,000 people after they have experienced a traumatic event, a just-launched NIMH-funded study aims to provide a finely detailed map of the array of factors that play a role in the development of mental disorders that occur in the wake of trauma.

Strategic Research Priorities image
NIMH Releases Strategic Research Priorities Update

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recently released updates to its Strategic Research Priorities.

logo for Zero Suicide in health and behavioral health care
NIMH Funds 3 ‘Zero Suicide’ Grants

NIMH is supporting Zero Suicide efforts with 3 new research grants. Each project focuses on prevention and health care systems.

Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode
Team-based Treatment is Better for First Episode Psychosis

New research shows that a team-based, coordinated specialty care treatment plan produces better outcomes than typical community care for people with first episode psychosis. Investigators also found that treatment is most effective for people who receive care soon after psychotic symptoms begin.

people walking along prison cells New NIH-Department of Justice Study
Embracing the SPIRIT of reducing suicide

NIMH, NIH, and the National Institute of Justice are collaborating on a 4-year, $6.8 million study called Suicide Prevention for at-Risk Individuals in Transition or “SPIRIT.” The study focuses on the high-risk individuals who are transitioning from jail to community. SPIRIT is NIMH’s first major investment in suicide prevention in the justice system.

three children holding hands
NIH Joins Public-Private Partnership to Fund Research on Autism Biomarkers

James McPartland, Ph.D. of Yale University will lead a new four-year $28 million Biomarkers Consortium project that aims to improve clinical evaluation of treatments for social impairment in children with autism.

NIMH Strategic Plan for Research
New NIMH Strategic Plan Aims to Focus, Accelerate Mental Health Research

New NIMH Strategic Plan balances the need for long-term investments in basic research with urgent mental health needs.

Dr. Sarah H. Lisanby, M.D.
Lisanby Chosen to Lead NIMH Division of Translational Research

Dr. Sarah Hollingsworth Lisanby, one of the leading researchers in the area of neuromodulatory interventions for treating major depression, will join NIMH as the director of the Division of Translational Research.

NIMH Research Domain Criteria
NIMH Creates New Unit to Support Its Research Domain Criteria Initiative

NIMH announces a new unit within the Office of the Director to support the development of the institute’s Research Domain Criteria initiative. The unit will enhance communication with scientists, clinicians, and the public to refine the RDoC research framework and accelerate the translation of basic research into clinical treatments.

National Institute of Mental Health
New Grants Fund Cross-lifespan Services Research for Autism Spectrum Disorder

NIH-funded projects aim at improving access, timeliness of interventions.