Mental health and psychiatric research — NIH Funding Overview

Why this matters now

Suicide rates and adolescent depression have remained elevated post-pandemic, prompting expanded NIMH investment in early intervention, crisis response, and pharmacological alternatives to existing antidepressant classes. Workforce shortages also drive funding for implementation science.

How NIH funds this area

Common mechanisms include R01, R21, K01/K23/K99, U01 cooperative trials, and U19 centers (e.g., Conte Centers). The data below covers all NIH awards mentioning mental health in title, abstract, or terms.

What the data shows

• Funding peaked in FY2025 at $3.2B. The FY2025 total of $3.2B is +19% versus FY2021.
• The number of awards fell about 10% in FY2025 even as total dollars grew — funding is concentrating in fewer, larger awards.
• About 90% of FY2026 dollars so far are renewals and continuations. Mid-year snapshots overweight renewals because non-competing continuations are issued early in the fiscal year, but the share still indicates how much of the portfolio is committed before new applications compete.
• The average FY2025 award was $624K, and R01 was the most common mechanism in the recent window.

Yearly NIH Awards for Mental health and psychiatric research

Counts and total funding per fiscal year from NIH RePORTER. Recent fiscal years may understate final totals because of reporting lag.

Open the full interactive trends view for Mental health and psychiatric research →

Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)

Which NIH institutes funded the most Mental health projects in the most recent 90-day window.

Common Activity Codes (last 90 days)

Which grant mechanisms (R01, R21, U01, P30, etc.) appeared most often for Mental health in the recent period.

Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)

Universities and research organizations with the most Mental health awards in the most recent 90-day window.

1. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES — 22 awards
2. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO — 18 awards
3. DUKE UNIVERSITY — 12 awards
4. YALE UNIVERSITY — 12 awards
5. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR — 11 awards
6. UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH — 11 awards
7. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO — 11 awards
8. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON — 10 awards

Recently Awarded Mental health and psychiatric research Grants

Twelve most recent awards mentioning Mental health, drawn from NIH RePORTER. Click through to Find PIs for the full investigator search.

• Predoctoral Training in Multifaceted Translational Approach to Mental Illness

  5T32MH129274-04
  ADRIENNE LAHTI · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, AL · $155,596 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · T32

  Mental disorders are among the most common causes of disability, and the disease burden is among the highest of all illnesses. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop not only novel therapeutic approaches but also the next generation of research scientists who can meet the challenges of the growing field of mental health research. The overarching goal of…

• Using RE-AIM to Assess the Implementation of Depression Screening in HIV Clinics in Kenya

  1R36MH140596-01
  Tigest Mekonnen · EMORY UNIVERSITY, GA · $46,682 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R36

  ABSTRACT HIV remains a major public health challenge in Kenya, with untreated depression complicating HIV care and impacting treatment adherence and viral suppression. Despite Kenya's success in meeting international HIV control targets to date, diagnosis and treatment of depression among people living with HIV (PLH) remains insufficiently addressed. Given…

• Remote Delivery of a Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Tics

  5R01AT012455-04
  Joseph McGuire · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, MD · $537,351 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  PROJECT SUMMARY Tourette Syndrome and persistent tic disorders (collectively TS) are characterized by the childhood onset of tics that cause functional impairment and persist into adulthood in most cases. Alongside tics, patients with TS experience premonitory urges and comorbid mental health conditions (e.g., anxiety, ADHD, OCD, depression) that all…

• Digital Strategies to Advance Help-Seeking in Youth at Clinical High Risk for Developing Psychosis

  5R01MH133569-03
  Michael Birnbaum · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES, NY · $1,079,103 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01

  Project Summary Early psychosis intervention is critical to improving clinical and functional outcomes, yet treatment initiation is typically delayed for months to years, resulting in severe and long-term impairment. Online self-screening has emerged as a powerful tool capable of exponentially increasing the reach of effective early identification efforts,…

• Treating Maternal Depression in an Urban Community-Based Pediatric Asthma Clinic: Targeting Maternal Mood, Child Asthma Outcomes, and Health Disparities

  5K01MD018636-04
  Rachel Margolis · CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INSTITUTE, DC · $123,174 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · K01

  This proposal details a 5-year plan to provide Dr. Rachel Margolis with the knowledge and skills to become an independent clinical and translational researcher focused on improving pediatric asthma outcomes. Research Plan: Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic differences persist in pediatric asthma, particularly among low-resourced, Black children in urban…

• Sleep and Circadian Timing Irregularities as Short-term Risk Factors for Adolescent Suicide: An Intensive Longitudinal Study

  1K23MH144215-01
  Rachel Walsh · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, MA · $197,578 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · K23

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents, and rates of suicide in this age group have nearly doubled over the past two decades. However, our ability to predict and prevent suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STB) is limited, in part due to an emphasis on static, distal risk factors. Emerging research suggests that…

• Functional connectivity alterations among opioid users in treatment

  5K25DA055156-05
  Hyuntaek Oh · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, TX · $178,027 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · K25

  PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This proposed study is a step toward the career development goal of becoming an independent researcher who focused on the study of the functional connectivity alterations among opioid users. The opioid overdose results in almost 450,000 deaths during 1999-2018, and 128 people in the United States die every day from the opioid…

• Revisiting ReCHARGE: ECHO Follow up on Middle Childhood and Adolescence

  5UH3OD023365-11
  Irva Hertz-Picciotto · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS, CA · $1 · awarded Jun 4, 2026 · UH3

  Beginning in fall, 2016, the UC Davis pediatric cohort, ReCHARGE, was funded with the new Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Consortium that encompassed close to 80 sites. Now in year 7 of ECHO Phase 1, UC Davis has enrolled ~900 children into ECHO from three neurodevelopmental groups of children with: autism spectrum disorder (ASD),…

• Development and Feasibility Trial of Online Peer Support for Parents of At Risk Youth

  5K23HD109376-04
  Kacie Kidd · WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY, WV · $159,840 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · K23

  ABSTRACT At risk youth (ARY) are those who are at risk for suicide and self-harm. Suicide is the second highest cause of death among adolescents, but parent support and communication can improve mental health outcomes for this population. There are few formal support programs to help parents navigate conversations with their children about suicide and…

• A Longitudinal Examination of the Social and Environmental Influences on Substance Use among Non-Prescriber/Non-Executive Healthcare Workers in the United States

  5R01DA059443-03
  Rachel Hoopsick · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, IL · $629,139 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01

  Healthcare workers represent a large and growing segment of the US workforce, and the strain of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the healthcare system has brought to light the significant stress, trauma, and burnout that healthcare workers experience. These experiences may have lasting effects on healthcare workers’ substance use, mental health symptomatology, and…

• Being Safe, Healthy, and Positively Empowered (BSHAPE): A Digital Multicomponent Intervention to Improve Health and Safety Outcomes for Individuals with Cumulative Exposures to Violence

  4R01MD018503-04
  Bushra Sabri · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, MD · $1,271,183 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R01

  Lifetime cumulative exposures to interpersonal violence can have a significant negative impact on health. Individuals with such exposures often face substantial mental and physical health challenges, including conditions such as PTSD and HIV/STIs, alongside ongoing safety risks. Despite these needs, many do not seek formal support services because of…

• Trauma Effects on Men's Sperm miRNA Function in Epigenetic Inheritance

  1R21HD121040-01A1
  LARRY FEIG · TUFTS UNIVERSITY BOSTON, MA · $453,750 · awarded Jun 3, 2026 · R21

  Summary: The negative effects trauma exposure, such as those that promote PTSD, can be passed to offspring. While the environment in which affected parents raise their offspring clearly plays a role, a significant genetic component also exists. However, some of this genetic influence, typically revealed by twin studies, may stem from epigenetic inheritance;…

Related topics

• Autism spectrum research
• Opioid use disorder