GlobalTracks Newsletter November/December 2013

GLOBALTRACKS

A Newsletter for Global Mental Health Connections  

November/December 2013

Table of Contents

NEWS NIMH at the Biannual World Mental Health Congress 

The biannual meeting of the World Mental Health Congress of the World Federation for Mental Health was held this year on August 25-28, 2013, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Researchers, mental healthcare providers and consumers, community partners, advocates, and policymakers attended lectures, workshops, and roundtable discussions to discuss a variety of mental health topics related to the 2013 Congress theme of “social inclusion through interdisciplinary interventions.” On August 28, 2013, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) sponsored a roundtable discussion on research priorities in global mental health. Beverly Pringle, Ph.D., Chief of the Global Mental Health Research Program in the Office for Research on Disparities and Global Mental Health (ORDGMH) discussed the NIMH mission as well as the Institute’s global mental health research funding priorities. She noted that NIMH has sharpened its focus on global mental health research in the past several years, focusing on five overarching priorities: (1) anticipate and respond to global public health trends; (2) focus on equity and address the mental health treatment gap in low-resource settings; (3) integrate mental health services into existing platforms of care and address the combined mental health and general health needs of people with mental illness; (4) support research capacity-building in global mental health; and, (5) seize scientific opportunities where they exist. Dr. Pringle explained the rationale for each priority area and how NIMH is addressing them. She concluded by encouraging roundtable participants to join in the exciting work of global mental health research, and to contact her with questions or to discuss their ideas for grant proposals.

Three accomplished current and former NIMH grantees offered their insights and guidance on NIMH’s grant application process. Kathleen M. Pike, Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychology at Columbia University shared her grant-writing experiences and encouraged prospective grant applicants to reach out to senior researchers and NIMH program officials to get feedback on the feasibility and fundability of their ideas for grant proposals. Ezra S. Susser, M.D., Dr.P.H., Professor of Psychiatry and Epidemiology at Columbia University illustrated how well-crafted study aims provide the crucial foundation for competitive grant proposals. He urged researchers new to NIMH’s funding process to work with established scientists and to take time to refine their study aims before beginning the grant writing process in earnest. Elie Valencia, J.D., M.A., lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University and Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Chile, echoed the remarks of Drs. Pike and Susser and further emphasized the importance of connecting with experienced researchers in one’s home country and in other countries as a way to build a career in global mental health research. This gathering enabled budding investigators gained an understanding of NIMH priorities and processes as well as networked with senior investigators to further their career development.  

TRAINEES  NIMH Global Mental Health Webinar Series

On November 12 and 25, 2013, ORDGMH held the NIMH Global Mental Health Webinar Series. The goal of the webinar series was to showcase NIMH and Fogarty International Center’s (FIC) investments and outline their funding opportunities for investigators conducting or seeking to engage in global mental health research. At the first webinar, Susannah Allison, Ph.D., Program Official at the NIMH Division of AIDS Research, and Dr. Pringle presented “Navigating the Black Box: Global Mental Health Research Opportunities at the National Institutes of Health.” Both speakers described the treatment gap in global mental health in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and explained how investments like the Collaborative Hubs for International Research in Mental Health and the Medical Education Partnership Initiative are building individual, institutional, and regional capacity and infrastructure in LMICs to advance global mental health. They described funding mechanisms and potential funding pathways from post-graduate fellow to independent investigator, for both U.S. and non-U.S. investigators. To become a well-informed and successful applicant, Drs. Allison and Pringle noted, a prospective applicant should visit NIMH and FIC’s websites regularly to learn about their priorities and reach out to appropriate program staff. Mentors, collaborators, and peers who have successfully obtained funding from both organizations can also provide guidance and support prior to, during, and after the submission of an application.

At the second webinar, Lauren C. Ng, Ph.D., an NIMH-supported postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights’ Research Program on Children and Global Adversity, presented “What Early Career Researchers Need to Know About Conducting Mental Health Research in Humanitarian and Complex Settings.” Drawing upon her experience conducting research in Rwanda, Dr. Ng highlighted the multiple challenges of conducting research in a post-conflict setting. She emphasized the importance of working collaboratively with local communities to ensure that research questions reflect and address their priorities, research findings are contextually and culturally relevant, the capacity of local partners is developed, knowledge generation and sharing are reciprocal, and dissemination and uptake of research findings is optimized.

For more information about the webinar series, please contact LeShawndra N. Price, Ph.D. by telephone at 301-594-7963 or by e-mail at lprice@mail.nih.gov.

FUNDING Global Health Research and Research Training eCapacity Intiative (R25)

FIC is now accepting applications for its Limited Competition: Global Health Research and Research Training eCapacity Initiative (R25). The goal of this initiative is to develop innovative educational approaches that enhance research capacity in LMIC institutions by expanding the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in global health research and research training. Eligible applicants must be current or former Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) or collaborators of FIC research, research training, or research education grants (R03, R21, R01, R24, R25, R00, U01, D43, S07). Individuals from U.S. and LMIC institutions are eligible to apply and partnerships between countries are encouraged, as long as the capacity-building efforts are focused in the LMIC institution(s). Applications for fiscal year 2014 awards are due May 15, 2014, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. Before you begin your application, please contact Laura Povlich, Ph.D. of FIC to discuss eligibility and priority area(s) by telephone at 301-827-2227 or e-mail at laura.povlich@nih.gov.