Today we interview Benita Shobe, the President and CEO of NARSAD, the Brain and Behavior Research Fund, whose free program Healthy Minds Across America is happening each weekend through May 8th. A schedule of events near you and free registration is at the HMAA Web site.

Please tell us about Healthy Minds Across America.

In April and May, NARSAD presents a national series of public education forums that highlight the latest breakthroughs in mental health research.  Healthy Minds Across America represents a rare opportunity for people to meet the world’s leading experts on illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder — and hear their messages of hope on the latest medications, treatments and support to improve the lives of those suffering from psychiatric illnesses.

The events are open to the public at no cost and will take place at more than 40 institutions throughout the United States and Canada over four weekends.  We are committed to empowering families through expanded knowledge of psychiatric illnesses – and the hope for recovery – by bringing science directly to families.

It is so exciting that NARSAD and Healthy Minds Across America is bridging the gap between the scientists who make the important brain and behavior discoveries, the treatments that result from this research, the professionals that prescribe and/or implement these treatments and the patients that benefit from them. What effect do you hope this will have on the future?

NARSAD scientific researchers are on the verge of changing the way we think about brain and behavior science, and also changing the way we think about recovery.  With the latest ground breaking and award winning technologies such as neurostimulation, epigenetic diagnosis, cellular repair or regeneration, we are creating something totally different.

What kinds of research does NARSAD fund?

NARSAD supports innovative research studies that offer the potential for breakthrough discoveries.   These discoveries are definitively changing what it means to live with mental illness. NARSAD research has contributed to:

Dr. Judith Rapaport (NIMH): New screening and early intervention methods for children at risk for mental illness so they get help as soon as possible.

Dr. Daniel Weinberger (NIMH): The discovery of “susceptibility genes” for mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which is deepening our understanding  of  causes and risk factors.

Dr. Eric Nestler (Mt. Sinai): More sophisticated understanding of the effect that genetic makeup can have on a patient’s response to antidepressants.

Drs. Helen Mayberg (Emory U.) and Mark George (MUSC): New technology and treatments for severe depression when drug therapy fails.

Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman (Columbia): The development of new anti-psychotic medication for the 30 percent of people with schizophrenias who do not respond to traditional drug therapy.

Can you tell us a bit about NARSAD’s genesis?

NARSAD began as a family movement in 1987 and has become the world’s leading private funder of mental health research.  Started by a small group of family and friends of the mentally ill determined to increase the pace of research to find the causes, better treatments and cures for mental illnesses, it has since distributed $257 million in research grants to over 2,900 scientists in the United States and around the world. The organization was formed with one clear goal: to ensure that the most promising research proposals in the field of psychiatry would receive funding in order to accelerate scientific progress.

Our prestigious Scientific Council, a volunteer body of 116 leading neuroscientists, including two Nobel Prize winners and four former directors of the National Institute of Mental Health reviews and awards funds to research that will lead to greater understanding of the causes of mental illnesses, better ways to treat and control them, and ultimately, we hope, to preventing these illnesses occurring.

Thank you for your time, Ms. Shobe.

In November 2009, Benita Shobe was named president and chief executive officer of NARSAD. With more than 25 years of experience leading major philanthropic fundraising initiatives, she is spearheading the organization’s “Campaign for the Next Decade of Brain and Behavior Research. As former Senior Vice President of Development and Field Operations for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, (JDRF), Ms. Shobe managed the operations of its chapters across the nation.

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    Last reviewed: 15 Apr 2010