Posts by Former NIMH Director Thomas Insel about Research Funding

The BRAIN Initiative is supporting scientists aiming to understand how the 86 billion neurons in the brain act together to enable consciousness and behavior. Dr. Insel gives a snapshot of recent work and its implications for understanding normal and disordered brain function.

Suicide only occasionally makes the national news, but it is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. Dr. Insel talks about the need for research targeted directly at suicide and recent efforts to raise awareness and marshal research.

NIMH’s new Strategic Plan for Research is a broad roadmap for the Institute’s priorities for the next five years; Dr. Insel provides context and an overview.

Dr. Insel introduces a white paper posted on the NIMH website which provides answers to many of the most common questions NIMH receives about how it makes funding decisions.

Relative to other countries, U.S. funding of science has declined in recent years; Dr. Insel talks about the need for research and development related to mental illness.

Dr. Insel discusses the idea that chance may have as much to do with the development of mental illness as do genetic and environmental factors.

In his blog, Dr. Insel talks about on new NIMH grants that will support research on services for people of all ages with autism.

Dr. Insel and SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde provide an update on funding to support evidence-based programs that address the needs of individuals with early serious mental illness across the country.

The BRAIN Working Group unveiled an extraordinary report last week, providing a 12-year roadmap for the development of a new generation of neuroscience tools. Dr. Insel discusses how their vision provides hope for preventing and treating brain diseases and disorders.

Dr. Insel talks about the need for research taking place in academic settings to be in line with the desire of the public for advances in prevention and treatment of disease.

Dr. Insel explains the nuances of the term, “serious mental illness.”

NIMH’s director talks about the need for research that explores the frontiers of science and funding efforts to encourage innovative research.

Dr. Insel responds to discussion from the National Advisory Mental Health Council concerning the need to balance research funding for basic science and mental health services.

NIMH’s “government bureaucrats” are really dedicated public servants devoted to good patient care, improved  treatments, and scientific discovery.

Dr. Insel discusses the state of psychiatric research and development (R&D) in the public and private sectors

Dr. Insel on investing in research.

NIMH research can have a significant impact on public health through innovations and projects that cross the four objectives outlined in NIMH’s Strategic Plan.

Dr. Insel discusses the impact of difficult budget times on mental health research.

With the charge to become vanguards for the next generation of scientists, NIMH recognized the 12 recipients of the 2010 Biobehavioral Research Awards for Innovative New Scientists—or BRAINS.

Dr. Insel discuss what NIMH is doing to support economic research in light of mental health parity and health care reform.

Dr Insel discusses research priorities for 2011.

NIH has created several funding mechanisms aimed at supporting innovative, unconventional research.

Dr. Insel discusses the evolution of clinical research and changing priorities in clinical research funding.

Dr. Insel addresses recent misconceptions pertaining to financial conflict of interest.

Dr. Insel discusses progress in the approaches for identifying and preventing financial conflicts of interest.

NIMH recognizes the first seven recipients of its BRAINS awards.

Today’s treatments for mental illness may be good but they are not good enough. As industry pulls back, NIMH will have to step in and play a bigger role in fostering development of a new generation of evidenced-based medications for people with mental illness.

A picture of the brain’s connections is emerging from an effort to create a reference atlas of the human “connectome.” Much like variation in the human genome, highly individual variation in circuitry occurs within a universal, intrinsic functional architecture.

NIMH is increasing its commitment to global mental health.  The Institute is already invested in research around the globe.  In 2009, NIMH supported nearly 200 grants in 51 countries.  Our portfolio has included AIDS prevention in sub-Sahara Africa, studies of autism in Saudi Arabia, and research on mental health systems in Chile.  With such a broad international portfolio, so many unmet needs for mental health research in the United States, and so little new money available for research, why would NIMH want to invest more globally?

Can we develop a clinically useful diagnostic system based on neuroscience and genetics? Not yet. But, in the spirit of beginning a long journey, NIMH is taking its first step with the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project.

NIMH’s aggressive approach towards identifying and preventing financial conflicts of interest.

This week’s issue of Nature, the first of 2010, includes an editorial entitled “A Decade for Psychiatric Disorders”. Phil Campbell, the editor of Nature, argues that the understanding and treatment of conditions such as schizophrenia are ripe for a revolution. At NIMH, we agree with this assessment. Indeed, the revolution is already underway with extraordinary recent findings from genomics, imaging, and clinical trials. The banner for this revolution is pathophysiology, understanding the mechanism of disease as a critical step to developing novel, effective, and safe treatments and preventive strategies. As Campbell says, “There is much to be done, and a decade is the timescale over which enhanced commitment is required.”

From the extraordinary funding opportunities presented by the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to significant new investments in research and resource infrastructure — this has been a remarkable year for our Institute. I would like to reflect with you on how the work of 2009 has prepared us for the year ahead.

The NIMH Strategic Plan provides a framework to focus and accelerate mental health research so that breakthroughs in science become breakthroughs that can tangibly improve mental healthcare and the lives of people living with and affected by mental illness. For the Institute to pursue most effectively its mission of transforming the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses, we must be able to adapt to and fully explore the constantly changing scientific landscape that comes with the increased pace of research progress.

Last February’s announcement that funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) will be used to support job creation and retention in biomedical research presented an exciting opportunity for NIMH.  These supplemental funds arrived just as the Institute was launching the implementation of its new Strategic Plan.  For some months now, the Institute has been diligently working to implement a series of ARRA funding initiatives that will aggressively pursue the Plan’s objectives.