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 Research & Giving News Article  The grants, which attracted worldwide competition, were awarded to early-career, mid-career and established scientists to broaden and deepen the investigation of mental illnesses. Since 1987, when NARSAD began awarding grants, the donor-supported charity has significantly expanded the field of mental health research by funding more than $180 million in research projects. This year’s grants were awarded to scientists involved in far-ranging research, from psychiatric genetics to treatment studies, and will bring new insight to such illnesses as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, autism and other childhood disorders. The scientists are based at universities and medical research institutions in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands and Switzerland. (Click here to see a complete list of grant recipients and their institutions.) “This group of scientists will extend the research potential for mental health,” said Constance E. Lieber, president of NARSAD. “Their work will continue to accelerate progress in the study of all areas of psychiatric disorders. They will take advantage of remarkable new technologies, powerful genetic insights and broadened experience to benefit the many millions of people suffering mental illnesses.” In the U.S. alone, approximately 44 million people suffer a diagnosable mental disorder in any given year, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. NARSAD’s 2005 grantmaking includes • 197 Young Investigator Awards, one- and two-year grants of $30,000 to $60,000 earmarked for promising young scientists just entering neurobiological research. The award is intended to help them generate the pilot data necessary to apply for larger grants. • 45 Independent Investigator Awards, which provide $50,000 a year for two years to help sustain promising work by scientists who have successfully initiated independent research • 20 Distinguished Investigators Awards, one-year grants of $100,000 for established scientists at work on breakthrough research. The 2005 grant recipients were selected from an applicant pool of more than 1,000 investigators. “These scientists represent the best in the field and are pursuing the most innovative and promising research,” said Herbert Pardes, M.D., president and CEO of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Healthcare System, who is also president of NARSAD’s Scientific Council. The council, which reviews and recommends grants, comprises 84 prominent leaders in mental health research, including Nobel Prize winners Paul Greengard, Ph.D., Rockefeller University, and Eric Kandel, M.D., Columbia University. According to Pardes, some noteworthy trends in the grant projects include: • Genome-scanning and/or association-design studies to identify genes that contribute to susceptibility to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and depression; • Endophenotype studies of normal population samples to identify genetic risk factors for various disorders; • Neurotransmitter research looking at the roles of such chemicals as dopamine, glutamate, norepinephrine, acetylcholine and serotonin in psychiatric brain disorders; • The use of proteomics and brain imaging to understand what aspects of the brain influence the development of mental illnesses; • Co-morbidity studies of coronary heart disease in people with schizophrenia, depression and anxiety; of diabetes in patients with bipolar depression; of depression and ADHD; and of motor disturbances and mood disorders; and • Psychosocial studies, including the use of cognitive behavior therapy in treating people with schizophrenia; risk factors in suicide; reducing risk for severe mental illness in sexually assaulted adolescents; role of parental death in the development of childhood anxiety and depression; and prevention of postpartum depression. NARSAD, founded as the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, is a nonprofit organization that raises and distributes funds for mental health research. It is the largest donor-supported organization in the world funding scientific research on brain and psychiatric disorders. Since it began in 1987, NARSAD has awarded more than $180 million, funding 2,674 research projects at 336 universities and medical research institutions throughout the U.S. and in 23 other countries. |
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