CHEMISTRY OF THE BRAIN: MOLECULES, MOOD, AND MENTAL ILLNESS - Chemistry: Notable Research and Discoveries - page 90

nationalInstituteofMentalHealth
The idea for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
was born on July 3, 1946, when then-president Harry Tru-
man signed the National Mental Health Act. On April 15,
1949, NIMH was fi nally established, becoming a part of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH). The mission of NIH is
to support biomedical research, which it does by conduct-
ing research in its own laboratories as well as by providing
funds to scientists at other institutions. There are presently
27 NIH branches, and although considerable overlap exists
among these different institutes and centers, NIMH is the
main supporter of brain research topics such as neurochem-
istry. NIMH headquarters is located at the Neuroscience
Center Building in Rockville, Maryland, but many of the staff
work at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
NIMH's goal is to reduce the impact of mental illnesses and
disorders by developing a better understanding of the brain and
how it works. Not only does mental disease affect its victims
on a personal level, the losses suffered by the economy due to
reduced productivity are severe—$150 billion, according to an
estimate by the Department of Health and Human Services.
NIMH fosters research with the efforts of the 500 scien-
tists who work at the institute, and it also provides funding for
scientists located at universities and research centers across
the country. Scientists typically obtain NIMH funds by submit-
ted a detailed proposal, outlining their goals and methods. Even
though NIMH spent more than $1 billion on such research in
2008, funding is highly competitive—and not every submitted
proposal receives funding—because there are many interest-
ing topics that can be investigated. NIMH provided part of the
funds for René Hen's research project mentioned in the text.
Another important goal is to train the next generation
of scientists. Along with other NIH institutes, a portion of
NIMH's budget is always earmarked to support the educa-
tion of students who wish to pursue a career in science.