Global Mental Health Research
Mental illnesses are a global concern and are among the most common causes of disability. The Global Mental Health Team consists of multidisciplinary staff from NIMH's intramural and extramural research programs. The Team works in partnership with scientific staff from the Center for Global Mental Health Research (CGMHR) to help inform and shape NIMH goals and priorities in global mental health research.
Highlighted news and events
Featured funding opportunities
- PAR-22-105: Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
- PAR-21-211: Pilot Effectiveness Trials for Post-Acute Interventions and Services to Optimize Longer-term Outcomes (R34 Clinical Trial Required)
- PAR-21-130: Clinical Trials to Test the Effectiveness of Treatment, Preventive, and Services Interventions (R01 Clinical Trial Required)
- PAR-21-131: Pilot Effectiveness Trials for Treatment, Preventive and Services Interventions (R34 Clinical Trial Required)
- PAR-21-132: Confirmatory Efficacy Clinical Trials of Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Mental Disorders (R01 Clinical Trial Required)
- PAR-23-095: Innovative Mental Health Services Research Not Involving Clinical Trials (R01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
- PAR-23-318: Mobile Health: Technology and Outcomes in Low and Middle Income Countries (R21/R33 - Clinical Trial Optional)
- PAR-22-097/PAR-22-098: Global Brain and Nervous System Disorders Research Across the Lifespan (R01 and R21)
- NOT-MH-21-090: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) in Reducing Suicide Risk in Young People in Low- and Middle-Income Countries and Low-Resource Settings
Global Mental Health Team working groups
The Global Mental Health Team has three working groups tasked with helping achieve team goals and establishing team research priorities.
The goal of the Strategic Engagement Working Group is to promote and elevate GMH research priorities through (a) coordinated information sharing within NIMH to expand awareness of GMH research issues and opportunities; (b) strategic planning that helps identify, prioritize, and implement NIMH’s global mental health research goals and objectives; and (c) knowledge exchanges that increase learning opportunities, allow for diverse perspectives, and foster relationships within the internal and external GMH research community.
The goal of the Reciprocal Learning working group is to communicate the importance of multidirectional exchange, adaptation, and implementation of advancements in global mental health research. In particular, the group aims to identify methods, approaches, and interventions that have been or could be effectively adapted in new settings, including strategies for optimal implementation.
The goal of the capacity building working group is to gauge and develop projects and initiatives that enable the performance of high-quality mental health research and practice, with particular interest in supporting researchers and practitioners in low- and middle-income countries. This group aims to develop, leverage, and disseminate resources and opportunities to overcome the challenges to building research capacity in LMICs in an equitable manner. Key areas of interest include strengthening a sustainable and equitable research training pipeline, fostering effective mentorship, supporting institutional research capacity, and encouraging the development of equitable partnerships and collaborations that facilitate the translation of mental health research to practice more broadly.
Team leads
Collene Lawhorn, Ph.D.
Acting Deputy Director, Division of Translational Research
Chief, Central-Peripheral Interactions Pathophysiology Program
Email: collene.lawhorn@nih.gov
Leonardo Cubillos, M.D., M.P.H.
Director, Center for Global Mental Health Research
Email: leonardo.cubillos@nih.gov