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Transforming the understanding
and treatment of mental illnesses.

Celebrating 75 Years! Learn More >>

Highlighted Research Initiatives

Accelerating Medicines Partnership® Program - Schizophrenia (AMP® SCZ)

AMP SCZ is a public-private partnership that aims to generate tools that will considerably improve success in developing early-stage interventions for patients who are at risk of developing schizophrenia.

Adolescent Brain Cognitive DevelopmentSM Study (ABCD Study®)

ABCD is a landmark study that explores the environmental, social, genetic, and biological factors that affect brain and cognitive development, behavior, and health. The study aims to identify the foundational aspects of adolescence that shape a person’s future.

Advanced Laboratories for Accelerating the Reach and Impact of Treatments for Youth and Adults with Mental Illness (ALACRITY)

ALACRITY aims to support innovative research ideas and transdisciplinary collaborations that could transform the care of children, adolescents, and adults with severe psychiatric disorders.

The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative

The BRAIN Initiative is laying the foundation for developing novel treatments and interventions for mental illnesses.

Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET)

EPINET is a broad research initiative that aims to determine how to best treat individuals experiencing symptoms of early psychosis. The network includes regional hubs and more than 100 clinics across the country that provide Coordinated Specialty Care (CSC), a multi-component treatment for early psychosis.

Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative (NIH HEAL Initiative®)

The NIH HEAL Initiative is ambitious, high-priority effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the opioid public health crisis.

Practice-Based Suicide Prevention Research Centers

The Practice-Based Suicide Prevention Research Centers are integrated, transdisciplinary research programs aimed at developing, refining, and testing effective and scalable approaches for reducing suicide rates in the United States.

Past Initiatives

Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS)

Army STARRS was the largest study of mental health risk and resilience ever conducted among military personnel. The goal of the project was to identify, as rapidly as possible, risk and protective factors that can help the U.S. Army develop effective strategies to reduce rising suicide rates and address associated mental health problems among soldiers. The Army STARRS research team developed diverse and comprehensive datasets that provided practical and actionable strategies to enhance mental health resilience in both military and civilian life.   

Fast-Fail Trials (FAST)

The FAST initiative aimed to provide a quick way to test new or repurposed compounds for their potential as psychiatric medications. Using small clinical trials, FAST quickly identified whether the study compounds hit intended targets in the brain, and those that did were identified for further research.

Human Connectome Project (HCP) 

The HCP aimed to map the macroscale connections of the human brain. The project led to new data models, informatics, and analytic tools that advanced researchers’ ability to image and analyze brain connections. These advances played a major role in accelerating progress in the emerging human connectomics field and helped lead to the formation of NIH’s Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative.

Rapidly-Acting Treatments for Treatment-Resistant Depression (RAPID)

The RAPID program supported the development of speedier therapies for severe, treatment-resistant depression. RAPID researchers identified and tested promising pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments to lift depression within a few days among people with treatment-resistant depression.

Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE)

RAISE was a large-scale research initiative testing coordinated specialty care treatments. RAISE aimed to determine the best ways to help people recover from a psychotic episode and to reduce the likelihood of future episodes and long-term disability. RAISE research findings helped expand coordinated specialty care treatment programs across the United States, which helped lead to the formation of the Early Psychosis Intervention Network (EPINET).