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NAMI awards 5-year grants to further research on serious mental illness

The National Alliance on Mental Illness recently awarded 5-year grants to the University of Michigan Health System’s department of psychiatry and the McLean Hospital Psychotic Disorders Division to encourage research on serious mental illness.

Each grant will support a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) research fellow, chosen by each health care system from early career investigators.

“One of the most important things about the grants is that our NAMI Research Fellows will help individuals who live with serious mental illnesses and their families feel more connected to research,” Ken Duckworth, MD, medical director of NAMI, said in a press release. “We’re confident both academic centers chosen will do an excellent job bringing the development and practice of research to life for people impacted by mental illness.”

The fellow chosen from the University of Michigan will conduct research in first episode psychosis with Stephan F. Taylor, MD, as a mentor. They will explore stem cell research, digital application of symptom monitoring and pharmacogenetics.

The fellow chosen from McLean Hospital will research a creative recovery-oriented approach to hospital care that utilizes shared decision-making and engages patients and family members. Dost Öngür, MD, PhD, will mentor the NAMI research fellow.

Fellows will begin their research in July 2016.