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Labs at NIMH

Research Areas

The NIMH Intramural division plans and conducts basic, clinical, and translational research to advance understanding of the diagnosis, causes, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders through the study of brain function and behavior.

Clinics & Labs

NIMH Clinics and Labs

Source: Kyle Christiansen

NIMH scientists conduct research ranging from studies into mechanisms of normal brain function, conducted at the behavioral, systems, cellular, and molecular levels, to clinical investigations into the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mental illness. Major disease entities studied throughout the lifespan include mood disorders and anxiety, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders.

Principal Investigators at NIMH

Carlos Zarate Jr

Carlos A. Zarate, M.D. is Chief, Section on the Neurobiology and Treatment of Mood Disorders and Chief of Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch (ETPB) at the National Institute of Mental Health, and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, at The George Washington University.

Susan Amara, PhD.

Susan Amara, Ph.D. is Scientific Director of the Intramural Research Program at NIMH, and Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology and Section on Molecular and Cellular Signaling.  Work in her laboratory focuses on the structure, function, and cellular physiology of neurotransmitter transporters, including glutamate transporters and biogenic amine transporters, which are major targets for psychostimulant drugs and antidepressants.

Bruno Averbeck

Dr. Averbeck attained a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1994. After working 3 years in industry, Dr. Averbeck returned to the University of Minnesota and completed a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2001, working in the lab of Dr. Apostolos Georgopoulos. His thesis was titled, "Neural Mechanisms of Copying Geometrical Shapes".

Fellowships & Training

three scientists in lab coats

Office of Fellowship Training

The NIMH Intramural Fellowship Training Program located in the Office of the Director (OD), is headed by Janet Clark, Ph.D., Director for Fellowship Training. Dr. Clark provides oversight and development of Intramural Research Program's integrated multidisciplinary fellowship training program, and provides administrative support and resources for all training-related activities.

Office of the Scientific Director

The Office of the Scientific Director provides scientific, program, and administrative leadership for the Division of Intramural Research Programs; promotes an environment conducive to productive research; and coordinates activities, establishes priorities, and analyzes and evaluates progress.

Join A Study

Man in brain scanner

The staff of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) welcomes you to our patient recruitment and information web site. We conduct a large number of research studies with patients who have mental health disorders. Our studies are performed at the NIH Clinical Center (CC), a hospital dedicated to the highest quality research. The NIH CC (picture shown on the right) is located in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.