NAMHC Minutes of the 279th Meeting

June 22, 2026

Department of Health and Human Services
Public Health Service
National Institutes of Health
National Advisory Mental Health Council

Introduction

The 279th National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC) convened on June 22, 2026, via Zoom and National Institutes of Health (NIH) videocast. In accordance with Public Law 92-463, the meeting was open to the public from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, followed by the closed session at 2:30 pm for consideration of grant applications. Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Ph.D., Acting Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), presided as Chair. Elizabeth Church, Ph.D., Acting Director of the Division of Extramural Activities, NIMH served as the Executive Secretary.

Council Members Present

• Olusola Ajilore, M.D., Ph.D.
• Rinad Beidas, Ph.D.
• Daniel Gillison, Jr.
• Angus MacDonald, III, Ph.D.
• Velma McBride Murry, Ph.D.
• Laura Scott, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Council Members Absent:

Jyotishman Pathak, Ph.D.

Ad Hoc Members Present:

• David Cohen, Ph.D.
• Laura Delano

Others present at Open Policy Session (Appendix A)

Others present at Closed Grant Review Session (Appendix A)

Open Portion of the Meeting

1. Open Policy Session Call to Order & Opening Remarks, Elizabeth Church, Ph.D. and Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Ph.D. (NIH Videocast  @ 00:06)

   The Executive Secretary of NAMHC, Elizabeth Church, Ph.D., opened the virtual NAMHC meeting at 11:00 am and provided administrative updates before turning the meeting over to the committee chair. The Acting NIMH Director and Chair of the NAMHC, Dr. Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, welcomed Council members, NIMH staff, NIH staff, and members from various constituent communities. Dr. Beckel- Mitchener also welcomed two ad hoc members, David Cohen, Ph.D., and Laura Delano.

   Elizabeth Church noted the final Summary Minutes of the March 2026 Council meeting were concurred electronically by Council prior to this meeting.

2. NIMH Director’s Report, Andrea Beckel-Mitchener, Ph.D. and Elizabeth Church, Ph.D. (NIH Videocast  @ 02:06)

   1. Congressional Activities

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener reported on recent congressional activities across HHS, NIH, and NIMH. In April 2026, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified in seven hearings on the fiscal year (FY) 2027 HHS budget before various House and Senate Committees. NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., testified on the FY27 NIH budget request before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) on May 21, 2026, and at a House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee oversight hearing on March 17, 2026. On June 16, 2026, John Ngai, Ph.D., Director of the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative , participated in a Senate briefing organized by the American Brain Coalition. Dr. Beckel- Mitchener and Amy Bany Adams, Ph.D., Acting Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), also attended, representing the institutes that co-lead the BRAIN Initiative.

      On June 12, 2026, Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) and congressional staff visited the NIH Clinical Center and labs within the NIMH Intramural Research Program. On May 20, 2026, Dr. Beckel-Mitchener and representatives from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) met with the House Mental Health Caucus  chairs. On April 28, 2026, Liz Necka, Ph.D., NIMH Associate Director of Life Course and Aging Research, participated in the Sleep Research Society Congressional Briefing.

   2. Appropriations and Budget Updates

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener reported on FY27 appropriations and the current NIMH budget. On April 3, 2026, the White House released the President’s FY27 Budget , which proposed $41.5 billion for NIH, including $2.0 billion for NIMH. On June 9, 2026, the House Appropriations Committee approved the FY27 LHHS bill , which would provide $48.8 billion for NIH, including $2.2 billion for NIMH. On April 13, 2026, the President signed the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Reauthorization Act , restoring authority to the programs for six years. Because the reauthorization followed a six-month lapse, the act allows unused SBIR and STTR funds to carry over into the next FY.

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener reviewed the NIMH budget in appropriated (actual) and constant (inflationadjusted) dollars since FY17. She reported that the FY26 budget of $2.3 billion was nearly identical to the FY25 level. She also reported that, in FY25, NIMH made approximately 350 new and competing research project grant awards, a decrease from approximately 600 the year before. Despite an increase in applications between FY24 and FY25, the success rate decreased from 21 percent to 11 percent. She noted that NIMH fully obligated its FY25 appropriation and intends to fully obligate its FY 2026 appropriation as well.

   3. HHS Updates

      On June 17, 2026, HHS announced several new behavioral health funding opportunities . SAMHSA released its Safety Through Recovery, Engagement, and Evidence-Based Treatment and Support (STREETS) program, which expects to award eight communities up to $3 million annually over four years ($96 million in total) to build coordinated, multi-sector care systems for people experiencing homelessness who have substance use disorders, serious mental illness, or co-occurring disorders. HHS also published several funding opportunities related to behavioral health, anticipating an over $600 million investment in support for services such as Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics; improvements to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; and mental health service programs addressing childhood trauma, mobile crisis care, and youth mental health.

      On May 20, 2026, the Office of the Surgeon General released an advisory  on the potential harms of screen use among children and adolescents. The advisory provides recommendations and tools to promote healthy screen use, including stronger parental controls, school-based phone restrictions, and product design changes.

      On May 4, 2026, Dr. Beckel-Mitchener participated in a co-moderated panel at a summit organized by the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Institute and the Inner Compass Initiative. At the summit, HHS Secretary Kennedy announced a new action plan  to promote appropriate psychiatric prescribing and to support deprescribing when clinically indicated.

      On April 28, 2026, the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) held a full committee meeting. The new National Autism Coordinator, Diana Diaz-Harrison, M.Ed., and new committee members were introduced.

      On April 21, 2026, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced the first research teams funded through its Evidence-Based Validation & Innovation for Rapid Therapeutics in Behavioral Health (EVIDENT)  initiative, which provides $139 million to 13 teams nationwide. The initiative builds on the Presidential Executive Order  to accelerate medical treatments for serious mental illness and aims to generate clinical endpoints to validate the effectiveness of rapid-acting therapies, such as psychedelics, for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review. On March 6, 2026, SAMHSA announced approximately $69 million in new funding opportunities  for serious mental illness and suicide prevention programs.

   4. NIH Updates

      NIH announced several new NIH leadership: Brad Bower, Ph.D. , as NIH Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer; Jonathan M. Green, M.D., M.B.A. , as Chief Executive Officer of the NIH Clinical Center; Caitrin Shuy, M.Sc., as Director of Strategy within the NIH Office of the Director and Elisabeth Armstrong, D.Be. , as Chief of Staff within the NIH Office of the Director; Raymond Jacobson, Ph.D. , as Director of the Center for Scientific Review; John H. Powers III, M.D. , as Acting Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Steven Schiff, M.D., Ph.D. , as Director of the Fogarty International Center and NIH Associate Director for International Research.

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener also shared several NIH program and initiative updates. She reported that the 2026 BRAIN Initiative Conference  is scheduled for August 11-13, 2026, in Rockville, Maryland. In April 2026, NIH launched an agency-wide initiative  to elevate replication and reproducibility studies focused on three pillars: driving effective NIH replication and reproducibility studies, incentivizing replication and reproducibility sciences across the research enterprise, and formalizing replication and reproducibility as a scientific discipline. In March 2026, the NIH Common Fund’s Complement Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE)  program announced $150 million in awards to build a research consortium to develop and standardize human-based new approach methodologies (NAMs) to complement or replace traditional research methods. On June 15, 2026, NIH announced the creation of the Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) to accelerate the development and use of human-based technologies. In March 2026, NIH published its inaugural NIH Strategic Plan for Disability Health Research .

      She encouraged the research community to respond to open NIH requests for public input, including: 1) Measuring and Rewarding Scientific Impact ; 2) Proposal to Cap the Number of Simultaneous Research Project Grants per Principal Investigator to Support More Researchers and Maximize Scientific Productivity and Innovation ; and 3) modernizing the NIH Data and Safety Monitoring Policy  . She also mentioned the draft policy for returning summary-level study results to research participants .

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener reminded the audience of the new ways to learn about NIH grants and funding processes, including the Explore NIH Grant Opportunities  search tool, Grants.gov , NIH’s Highlighted Topics portal , and individual Institute, Center, and Office Profiles .

      She also highlighted three NIMH funding opportunities with application due dates in October 2026: Addressing Methodological Challenges with Clinical Trials of Rapid-Acting Psychotropic Interventional Drugs (RFA-MH-27-135) , Advancing Research on Empirically-Supported Interventions for Older Adults Living with Serious Mental Illness (RFA-MH-27-180) , and Optimizing Behavioral Sleep Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults (RFA-MH-27-140) .

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener reminded the audience of the emergency modifications to NIH peer review  that were adopted for the Winter 2026 and Spring 2025 advisory council rounds to address the backlog of review meetings deferred during the fall 2025 lapse in appropriations. She noted that the share of applications discussed in most review meetings would be reduced from 50 percent to approximately 30- 35 percent, though applications designated “competitive but not discussed” remained eligible for funding. She emphasized that NIMH remains committed to three full rounds of review in FY26.

      Finally, Dr. Beckel-Mitchener reviewed several funding and policy updates. This includes a revised NIH Grants Policy Statement for FY26 , a notice updating NIH’s prior approval requirements for new domestic subawards , a notice reaffirming NIH’s definition of foreign components , and the first Notice of Funding Opportunity under the HHS SimplerNOFO Initiative .

   5. NIMH News to Know

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener shared several NIMH events, staff updates, and recognitions. NIMH participated in three symposia. On May 28-29, 2026, NIH hosted the Outstanding Scholars in Neuroscience Award Program (OSNAP) Awardee Symposium to celebrate its 2025 awardees. On April 28, 2026, NIMH hosted the 16th Annual Julius Axelrod Symposium honoring its 2024 and 2025 recipients. NIMH also hosted the Foundations and Frontiers in Cognitive Neuroscience on April 7  and April 8 , 2026, honoring Alex Martin, Ph.D., who retired from NIMH in 2025 after more than 35 years serving as a principal investigator.

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener announced that Dianne Rausch, Ph.D., retired after many years as Director of the NIMH Division of AIDS Research (DAR) and more than 40 years of federal service. Gregory Greenwood, Ph.D., M.P.H., is serving as Acting DAR Director. Dr. Beckel-Mitchener also announced the passing of Judith Rapoport, M.D., on March 7, 2026. Dr. Rapoport served as Chief of the NIMH IRP’s Child Psychiatry Program from 1984 to 2017; pioneered research on childhood-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia; helped found the OCD Foundation; and, was elected to the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener recognized several NIMH scientists. Two NIMH IRP scientists were awarded NIH tenure: Hugo Tejeda, Ph.D., Chief of the Unit on Neuromodulation and Synaptic Integration, and Arash Afraz, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Unit on Neurons, Circuits, and Behavior. She announced that Jane Pearson, Ph.D., Special Advisor on Suicide Research to the NIMH Director, received the 2026 Lifetime Research Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She also announced that NIMH Clinical Fellow Hiroe Imai Hu, D.O., received the 2026 New Investigator Award from the American Society for Clinical Pathology. On June 10, 2026, recipients of the 2026 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience were announced: Oswald Steward, Ph.D., Christine Holt, Ph.D., Erin Schuman, Ph.D., and Kelsey Martin, M.D., Ph.D. They were honored for their discovery of local protein translation in neurons and its importance for brain development and plasticity. Some of this work was supported by NIMH, as well as other NIH institutes and centers.

   6. Science Highlights

      Dr. Beckel-Mitchener presented two science highlights, both focused on brain development. The first study¹ examined how Human Accelerated Regions (HARs), stretches of DNA that stayed largely unchanged across the evolution of mammals but rapidly evolved in humans, contribute to the expansion of the human neocortex. They found that in human organoids, replacing HAR1984, a DNA sequence unique to humans, with a corresponding stretch of chimpanzee DNA reduced progenitors and neurons. However, introducing HAR1984 into chimpanzee organoids increased progenitors and neurons. Mice engineered to carry HAR1984 also developed larger, folded cortices, suggesting that HAR1984 helps regulate neurogenesis and may have contributed to human cortical expansion. The findings may also provide insight into genetic risk for neurodevelopmental conditions.

      The second study² sought to better understand why many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders differ by sex. Investigators used single-cell transcriptomic analyses across six adult human cortical areas, selected for their known anatomical differences by sex, to map sex differences in gene expression. The analysis identified more than 3,000 genes with sex differences, including 133 genes with consistent sex differences across all region and cell-type combinations. They found the strongest differences in the fusiform cortex; in oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and excitatory neurons; and within a subset of sex-chromosome and autosomal genes. These findings helped link sex differences in gene expression to specific brain regions and cell types, providing a resource for better understanding sexbiased genetic risk for brain disorders.

      Discussion
      Following Dr. Beckel-Mitchener’s update, Council members discussed the decreased FY25 success rate, expressing concern about gaps in funding for early-career investigators, the backlog of awards, and the outlook for the research workforce. Council members also asked about funding decisions, specifically asking for clarification on why some applications with strong percentile scores had gone unfunded and how applications scored as “competitive but not discussed” were being considered. Council members also asked about the effort to modernize the NIH Data and Safety Monitoring Policy, whether NIMH could provide more information on how funding was allocated across strategic goals, and additional information related to various HHS funding opportunities.

      References
      1 Mosti, F., Liu, J., Lam, K., Dillon, N. R., Skavicus, S., Kapps, V. A., Gjoni, K., Lee, C. F., Glidewell, E. N., Heaton, N. S., Pollard, K. S., & Silver, D. L. (2026). Species-specific chromatin architecture and neurogenesis mediated by a human enhancer. Cell Stem Cell, 33(4), 695–714.e10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2026.02.009
      2 DeCasien, A. R., Auluck, P., Liu, S., Feng, N., Elkahloun, A. G., Xu, Q., Marenco, S., Cookson, M. R., & Raznahan, A. (2026). Sex effects on gene expression across the human cerebral cortex at cell type resolution. Science, 392(6795), eaea9063. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea9063

3. A Strategic Plan for the Future of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Maria Oquendo, M.D., Ph.D., Chair and Professor, Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, (NIH Videocast  @ 01:39:13)

   Dr. Oquendo presented the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) strategy for the next iteration of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). She outlined the organization’s nine subcommittees and its effort to gather input from clinicians, researchers, patients, and families. She then reviewed the history and long-standing critiques of the DSM, including the categorical nature rather than dimensional structure, the emphasis on diagnostic reliability over validity, and the limited inclusion of biomarkers and genomic measures.

   The APA’s Future DSM Strategic Committee organized its strategy around two goals. Goal 1 addressed clinical implications, such as enhancing clinical judgment, supporting whole person care, facilitating interdisciplinary communication, reducing diagnostic reducing the definitiveness of a diagnosis, and representing the dimensional nature of psychiatric conditions. Goal 2 addressed research implications, such as incorporating transdiagnostic dimensions into research and treatment; improving opportunities to capture socioeconomic, cultural, environmental, and biological factors alongside symptom-based diagnoses; moving toward precision psychiatry for research; and, advancing an iterative rather than static framework for nosology. To meet these two goals, the committee proposed a new diagnostic formulation built around four areas: 1) a structured diagnosis (including a main category, a diagnosis with specifiers and severity levels); 2) contextual factors (including social and developmental factors, comorbidities, quality of life, and functioning); 3) biomarkers and biological factors that inform diagnosis, severity, dimension, context, and functional impact; and 4) transdiagnostic symptoms that cross-cut diagnostic categories.

   Dr. Oquendo emphasized that all changes to the DSM would be evidence-based and tested before adoption and that the future DSM would be a “living document” that could be updated as evidence emerged rather than once a decade. To better reflect the current scientific and global scope, the committee would be changing the name to “Diagnostic and Scientific Manual.” She also indicated that the committee was considering digital opportunities, such as an adaptable DSM database and AI-supported tools.

   Discussion
   Council members expressed appreciation for Dr. Oquendo’s presentation. Council members asked about the extent to which patients had been engaged in the revision, the committee’s implementation strategy, how this revision might strengthen differential diagnosis to separate the health impacts of treatment from the underlying illness, and how the committee was engaging with other classification frameworks, such as the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) or the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP). A Council member welcomed the emphasis on diagnostic uncertainty and asked whether the new DSM might offer a way to place a patient along its dimensional measures with a visual representation of symptoms that would help a clinician track change over time.

4. Concept Clearances (NIH Videocast  @ 02:15:36)

   1. AIDS Research Centers (ARCs) and Developmental AIDS Research Centers (D-ARCs) on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS), Christopher Gordon, Ph.D., Division of AIDS Research, NIMH

      Dr. Gordon presented a concept to renew the NIMH AIDS Research Centers program, including the ARCs and newer D-ARCs. The Centers use coordinated infrastructure and core services to advance high-impact, interdisciplinary HIV/AIDS research, particularly in neuro-HIV, HIV behavioral science, and mental health. The Centers demonstrate leadership in high-priority thematic areas, conduct research that will address key scientific questions, and provide mentoring for the next generation of HIV neuro and behavioral scientists with an expanded emphasis on HIV implementation and data sciences in support of the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative.

      Discussion
      Dr. Beidas expressed support for the concept and suggested that it could benefit from more specificity and a stronger emphasis on amplifying the experiences of the communities the Centers serve.

   2. BRAIN Initiative: Development and Validation of Novel Tools and New Approaches for Neuroscience Research, Eunyoung Kim, Ph.D., Division of Data Science and Technology, NIMH

      Dr. Kim presented a concept to continue the BRAIN Initiative’s development of neurotechnology tools across the spectrum of early-stage, high-risk ideas to the optimization of existing technologies. Over the past decade, the program focused on two lines of tool development: one focused on defining cell types, circuits, and cellular components, and the other focused on recording and modulating neural cells and circuits. As the field has advanced, the boundaries between these two lines have increasingly converged. This concept aims to support a more unified and strategic program with clearer vision and priorities.

      Discussion
      Dr. MacDonald expressed appreciation for the concept, asked whether it had already received input from other Institutes, and suggested incorporating NIMH’s experience in milestone-driven, “fail-fast” mechanisms to guide projects. Dr. Kim said that the concept reflected input from all ten participating BRAIN Initiative institutes. Dr. Beckel-Mitchener added that many BRAIN Initiative projects are milestone-driven with go/no-go decision points. A Council member questioned whether developing finer measures translated into reliable associations with clinical value such as symptoms and diagnoses. Dr. Kim acknowledged the translation challenges and said that this more unified approach aims to help close this gap. Dr. Beckel-Mitchener added that tools developed through the BRAIN Initiative have been increasingly informing psychiatric research and clinical practice.

   3. NIMH Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists (NIMH BRAINS), Eric Murphy, Ph.D., Division of Translational Research, NIMH

      Dr. Murphy presented a concept to continue the NIMH BRAINS program, which supports promising early-stage investigators pursuing high-risk, high-reward mental health research. Projects in this program do not require preliminary data but support the pursuit of innovative ideas and leadership in the field. Each project emphasizes the recipient’s career goals, the active involvement of an external advisory committee, and the home institution’s commitment to support the recipient’s research program development.

      Discussion
      Dr. Ajilore expressed support for the renewal, noting the productive career trajectories of past recipients. A Council member asked how the program’s success would be measured beyond publications and general descriptors such as “innovative” or “productive.” Dr. Murphy responded that the concept was purposefully broad in terms of scientific outcomes and called for transformative rather than incremental progress. Another Council member asked whether research on the long-term effects of psychiatric medication would be considered innovative under this program. Dr. Murphy said that the program did not limit research topics as long as they aligned with the NIMH Strategic Plan for Research.

5. Public Comment (NIH Videocast  @ 02:47:30)

   Dr. Church reported that virtual meetings did not include verbal public comment. However, Gabby Vaidaurre, Ph.D., Research Associate from Science Advancement and Outreach, submitted a written public comment which was shared with Council members prior to the meeting. Dr. Vaidaurre advised NIMH to implement a new policy excluding projects that use the forced swim test or tail suspension test from extramural funding and end the use of these tests in intramural research. The comment urged NIMH to prioritize and support mental health research, training, and related programs that focus exclusively on non-animal models. The comment call on NIMH to fund and make human-relevant discoveries by 1) Create training grants and fellowships for researchers who use non-animal methods in mental health research, 2) Assist universities and research institutes in developing continuing education and certification programs focused on non-animal methodologies, and 3) Provide transition and early-career awards that incentivize investigators to replace animal experiments with human-based systems and established research programs centered on non-animal approaches. They noted the recommendations and others are expanded in their policy roadmap, Research Modernization NOW.

6. Adjournment

   Dr. Church adjourned the open session of the meeting at 1:55 pm.

Closed Portion of the Meeting

This portion of the meeting was closed to the public in accordance with the determination that it was concerned with matters exempt from mandatory disclosure under sections 552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., and section 1009(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1014).

Elizabeth Church, Ph.D., Executive Secretary of the NAMHC, explained policies and procedures regarding confidentiality and conflict of interest to the members of the Council and all participants.

Members and participants were absent from the meeting during the discussion of and voting on applications from their own institutions, or for other conflicts of interest, real or apparent. Members were asked to sign a statement to this effect.

1. Review of Applications

   The NAMHC considered 2698 research and training applications with primary assignment to NIMH for a requested amount of $938,401,586 in first-year direct costs. The Council recommended 1288 applications with a $489,951,823 in first year direct costs.

2. Adjournment

   Dr. Church adjourned the closed grant review session of the meeting at 3:48 pm on June 22, 2026.

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS

Office of the Secretary, DHHS
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., J.D.
Secretary
Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC

National Institutes of Health
Jayanta Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD

APPENDIX A

Other Federal Staff Virtually Present:
Thomas Marutu, NIH VideoCast Producer
Wilson Compton, NIH
Jeffrey Cozart, NIH VideoCast Producer
James Dylan, NIH
Deborah Ismond, NIH
Allison Kurti, NIH

Others Present Virtually for Open Session:
Maria Oquendo, M.D., Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Aimee Oczkowski, 1Source Events
Deboah Krat, Miami Environmental & Energy Solutions

Attendees Present for Open Session virtually
There were 35 additional attendees who joined the NIH Videocast.