The National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) Advisory Committee meeting on May 30, was the last for Dr. Joshua Gordon who had announced his plans to step down on June 14, after eight years in the role. Deputy Director Dr. Shelli Avenevoli, a psychologist, has agreed to serve as acting director. Dr. Gordon indicated that a search committee has already been appointed – names have not yet been made public – and will soon launch a national search for the next Director. FABBS will send a letter to the search committee, encouraging members to prioritize a candidate with an understanding of and appreciation for the basic behavioral and social sciences.
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The NIMH is also in the process of updating its Strategic Plan for Research used to communicate institute priorities and help guide institute-funded mental health research efforts. The annual update to the Strategic Plan emphasizes NIMH’s commitment to funding research that addresses the needs of individuals from underserved populations. FABBS will respond to the NIMH solicitation for feedback (NOT-MH-25-135 ) and welcomes input from our members (infor@fabbs.org) and encourages researchers to respond directly using this webform . The deadline to respond is July 24, 2024.
In his Director’s report, Dr. Gordon provided an update on the budget. With a topline appropriation of $2.3 billion for fiscal year 2024 (FY24), NIMH was one of the few institutes to receive an increase of $75 million to support research focused on developing targeted preventive interventions and treatment for mental illnesses. NIMH anticipates awarding more than 600 new and competing research project grants in FY24, with an estimated success rate of 22 percent. Due to cuts to the 21st Century Cures funding, the Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies® (BRAIN) Initiative was cut by $139 million in FY24.
Dr. Bertagnolli, Director of NIH, had planned to attend in person yet ended up delivering a recorded video. Her remarks focused on the Common Fund initiative, Establishing a Network for Clinical Research in Primary Care, approved by the NIH Council of Councils on April 5, 2024.
The AC also heard from Christina Borba, Director, Office for Disparities. Dr. Borba presentation Progress in Disparities Research and Workforce Diversity at NIMH highlighted activities to build capacity, support community engaged research, identify funding mechanisms (such as diversity supplements) and implement practice changes. Dr. Damien Fair, University of Minnesota, past President of the Flux Society, a member FABBS, and current member of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) AC, shared an update from the Council Workgroup on High Dimensional Data: Presentation of Recommendations. According to members, the committee worked diligently to tackle tough questions offering eight recommendations to address the gap in knowledge between gene discovery and understanding the potential importance of genomic findings in the causation, risk, trajectory, or resilience to psychiatric disorders.
It is worth noting that FABBS disciplines are well represented on the current NIMH Council by psychologists and developmental scientists including Dr. Rinad Beidas, Northwestern University; Dr. Angus MacDonald, University of Minnesota; Dr. Velma McBride Murry, Vanderbilt University; and Dr. Matthew Nock, Harvard College.
Dr. Gordon thanked Council members for their support and the opportunity to serve as the NIMH Director, a role that he found deeply rewarding. Council members expressed their gratitude to Dr. Gordon for his service, praising his approach and accomplishments.
