Joshua Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., To Step Down as NIMH Director

Gordon acknowledged that his efforts have not always borne fruit. “When I came in, I defined suicide prevention as one of my key priorities, and we invested in a lot of wonderful science,” he said. As the national suicide rate ticked down in 2019 and 2020, it seemed like the investment might be paying off; however, the suicide rate has now climbed back up, and it remains a pressing public health challenge.

“Both basic and clinical psychiatry research is difficult; we have very little access to living brain tissue and still rely on subjective reports and intermittent clinical observations,” Hyman said. “I recall early in Josh’s tenure there was criticism that NIMH was not funding enough clinical trials. But the problem was not NIMH policy but a lack of novel compounds to test.” Hyman said that Gordon responded in the appropriate way: He strengthened translational neuroscience at NIMH, which led to better therapeutic hypotheses and a resurgence in clinical studies.

Gordon agreed said that generally he sees the past decade as more positive than not for mental health research. “In psychiatry we tend to overemphasize what we haven’t done and what we can’t do,” he told Psychiatric News. “There are many fair criticisms. Do our treatments work fast enough? No. Are they distributed equitably? No. But we have many recent wins that are tied to NIMH investments, and we should emphasize these accomplishments.”

In neuroscience, for example, Gordon cited the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative, launched in 2013. “In a little over a decade, we have reached the ability to identify all the distinct types of cells in the human brain and see how they connect, and this has revolutionized research.” He also cited the strong growth of small industry startups investing in mental health research and testing novel therapeutics for disorders such as depression and schizophrenia.

“Josh Gordon is an excellent leader who has overseen remarkable progress in basic, translational, and clinical research over eight years,” concurred Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., president of the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF), the largest private funder of mental health research in the United States. Since 2012, Gordon has served as a volunteer member of BBRF’s Scientific Council, which selects the foundation’s grant and award recipients.

Borenstein said Gordon’s talent was evident after he won two Young Investigator Awards from BBRF in the early 2000s. These grants serve as a springboard for talented scientists to develop new ideas and the data to secure additional funding from sources like NIMH. “Though he is changing locations, I am confident that he will continue to have a positive impact on our understanding and treatment of psychiatric conditions,” Borenstein said.

“It’s a super exciting time, and we’ve been using the 75th anniversary of NIMH this year to highlight all these contributions over the years,” Gordon said. He noted that the institute has sponsored several symposia for the public and has a traveling exhibit to display at scientific meetings, including this year’s APA meeting. “But I’m also ready to hand the reins over to the next leader and see what the next wave of mental health innovation brings.” ■