Center for Global Mental Health Research

Overview

The Center for Global Mental Health Research (CGMHR) supports the National Institute of Mental Health's (NIMH) mission to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through a global lens. By supporting mental health research in various global contexts, CGMHR helps advance scientific knowledge and generate valuable insights that inform efforts to improve mental health outcomes in the United States.

CGMHR-supported research leverages global settings essential to accelerating scientific discovery at NIMH by harnessing diverse, real-world data to continuously improve mental health outcomes in the United States and abroad. By understanding how mental health conditions manifest across various populations, testing novel innovations across various settings, and strengthening the design and implementation of sustainable interventions, research supported by CGMHR can inform the development of accessible and affordable evidence-based mental health services across the care continuum. By supporting innovative and groundbreaking research, CGMHR seeks to promote the mental health and wellbeing of individuals and communities in the United States and globally.

CGMHR seeks to contribute to the formation and strengthening of a sustainable long-term research partnerships across mental health researchers and research institutions. These collaborations incorporate a broad spectrum of disciplines including, but not limited to, psychology, psychiatry, biology, epidemiology, data science, health economics, behavioral and social sciences, and implementation science seamlessly integrating the use of emerging innovative technologies for improving mental health outcomes. These strategic partnerships facilitate reciprocal knowledge exchange and establish the United States as a global leader of discoveries in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illnesses.

CGMHR-supported research studies include but are not limited to:

• Biological, psychological, and social determinants of mental health to identify critical intervention targets and optimal timing for intervention delivery.
• Implementation research to promote the uptake and sustainability of evidence-based mental health interventions in real-world settings.
• Health services research to develop and evaluate demand- and supply- side interventions to improve the availability, accessibility, quality, and affordability of mental health care and delivery systems.
• Behavioral and social sciences research to examine the complex interplay between demand- and supply-side factors, and to develop, test, and evaluate interventions to prevent and treat mental disorders and promote wellbeing.
• Research to develop and test integrated care to simultaneously address mental health and chronic physical conditions including service coordination, co-management, delivery, and sustainability across various healthcare and community settings.
• Suicide prevention research with particular attention to adolescents and youth including risk identification, context specific early interventions, and innovative peer and community-based prevention strategies.
• Digital mental health research that leverages technological innovations to improve access, quality, and efficiency of mental health services as well as prevention efforts by developing and adapting evidence-based interventions to the unique needs of communities and settings.

In addition, CGMHR supports NIMH in:

• Identifying trends and gaps in global mental health to guide priority-setting for research funding.
• Coordinating activities within NIMH and across NIH that are relevant to global mental health research.
• Promoting strategies to increase engagement in global mental health research.
• Serving as the liaison to other federal agencies and external domestic and external interest-holders on research issues relevant to global mental health research.

Director

Leonardo Cubillos, M.D., M.P.H.
6001 Executive Blvd
Rockville, MD 20852
leonardo.cubillos@nih.gov