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Transforming the understanding
and treatment of mental illnesses.

Amplifying Voices and Building Bridges: Toward a More Inclusive Future

75th Anniversary

Date

March 18, 2024

Location

Virtual and in person at the National Archives Building (701 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.)

Overview

The National Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) 75th Anniversary Symposium Series is part of the Institute’s year-long anniversary celebration. NIMH hosted its second symposium, “Amplifying Voices and Building Bridges: Toward a More Inclusive Future.” This symposium focused on inclusion in mental health research, disparities in health and access to care, and mental health workforce diversity and brought together people living with mental illness, clinicians, and community leaders.

The event featured presentations from leading experts in health equity, sociology, psychiatry, and public health showcasing initiatives that advance research, policies, and practices to reduce mental health disparities. Event highlights included remarks from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NIMH leadership; presentations and panel discussions from scientific experts and community leaders; and messages of support from members of Congress.

Watch a recording of Session 1 , Session 2 , and Session 3  on the NIMH YouTube channel .

Recording

Session 1

Read the transcript.

Speaker listings for session 1

Welcome and Opening Remarks 
Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., Director, NIH
Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director, NIMH

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in Mental Health Research: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future 
Ruth Shim, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Dean, Diverse and Inclusive Education, Director, Cultural Psychiatry, Luke and Grace Kim Professor in Cultural Psychiatry, University of California, Davis

Listening to the Voices and Responding: The Jemmott Community Engagement Model for Improving Inclusion and Health Outcomes 
Loretta Sweet Jemmott, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N., FAAN, Vice President, Health and Health Equity Professor, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University

Amplifying the Voices of Constituents in Efforts to Transform Behavioral Healthcare Delivery 
Rinad Beidas, Ph.D., Ralph Seal Paffenbarger Professor, Chair, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine

Leveraging Lived Experience in Mental Health Research 
Carlos Laurrari, M.S.N., Zuckerman Fellow, Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School, University of Michigan Law School
 


Session 2

Read the transcript.

Speaker listings for session 2

Increasing Mental Health Equity through Transformative and Transdisciplinary Research and Interventions: Centering the Participation, Experiences, Strengths, and Values of People Experiencing Health Disparities and Structural Inequities 
Jessica Goodkind, Ph.D., Professor and Associate Chair, Department of Sociology, Co-Director, School of Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Undergraduate Medical Education Curricular Development, University of New Mexico

The Potential for Person-Centered Policy- and Community-Level Interventions to Achieve Equity in Mental Health Treatment 
Benjamin Le Cook, Ph.D., Director, Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research and Health Equity Research Lab, Cambridge Health Alliance, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Leveraging Community Partnered Engagement to Address Depression Disparities 
Sidney Hankerson, M.D., M.B.A., Associate Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry, Director, Mental Health Equity Research, Institute for Health Equity Research, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
 


Session 3

Read the transcript.

Speaker listings for session 3

How to Navigate and Eliminate the Barriers that Keep Us from Entering or Advancing 
Gina Poe, Ph.D., Eleanor Leslie Professor of Innovative Brain Research, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Department of Neurobiology, University of California, Los Angeles

Inclusive Pathways: Navigating Challenges and Cultivating Diversity in Psychiatric Research 
Cynthia Rogers, M.D., Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, Vice Chair, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, Psychiatrist-in-Chief, St. Louis Children’s Hospital

Empowering Early Career Researchers in Academic Training Environments 
Fátima Sancheznieto, Ph.D., Associate Researcher, Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Towards Inclusion: A Health Equity Scientist’s Journey in a Biomedical Research Enriched Psychiatry Department 
Cesar Escobar-Viera, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh

NIMH at 75: A Black Psychiatrist’s Perspective on Inclusion Then, Now and in the Future 
Altha Stewart, M.D., Senior Associate Dean, Community Health Engagement, Director, Public and Community Psychiatry, Director, Center for Youth Advocacy and Well-Being, University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Closing Remarks 
Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Director, NIMH
 

More information