Funding for biomedical research, and especially research on mental illness, is one of the best investments Congressional representatives can make, said APA Medical Director-designate Steven Mirin, M.D., at the 14th Annual APA Academic Consortium in Washington, D.C., last month.

The consortium brought together leaders from 31 academic medical centers and patient advocates from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The program is an annual opportunity for members of the research community and patient advocacy groups to speak with members of Congress about the need for research funding.

The consortium was held in conjunction with the APA Federal Legislative Institute.

(For a summary of APA's funding recommendations for the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, see story below.)

Mirin, a clinical researcher and medical director and psychiatrist in chief at McLean Hospital, urged APA members at the consortium to talk to Congressional representatives about the benefits of investing in research.

He credited APA Medical Director Melvin Sabshin, M.D., with making outreach to the academic community a priority.

"I intend to continue that extraordinarily important effort," he said. "I have spent a great deal of time in clinical research, and I believe that what we do on the research side ultimately translates into better care for our patients."

Mirin said that Congressional representatives are generally inclined to favor funding for research, but that the struggle to balance the nation's budget requires the research community to be "vigilant" in protecting its interests.

"I think this is an opportunity for us to be very clear that investment in research is the best investment from a return standpoint that this Congress could make," Mirin said.

Also speaking at the consortium were Sabshin; Jay Cutler, director of APA's Division of Government Relations; David Kupfer, M.D., director of research at the Western Psychiatric Institute; and Laurie Flynn, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

MH Group OUtlines Funding Levels for National Institutes

Funding for basic and clinical research, training programs for young researchers, and management and support of research institutes are the backbone of America's biomedical supremacy.

That's what APA and 26 other member organizations of the Mental Health Liaison Group are telling Congress in recommendations for 1998 appropriations for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

APA is recommending a total of $764.1 million for NIMH, with $695.1 million of that recommended for research, $35.4 million for research training, and $33.6 million for research management and support.

President Clinton's budget recommends $728.2 million for NIMH. Last year it received $701 million.

For NIDA, APA is recommending a total of $562 million, with $520.4 million of that figure for research, $13 million for research training, and $29.1 million for management and support.

The Clinton Administration has recommended a total of $521.9 million for NIDA. Last year it received $489.1 million.

APA is recommending $243.6 million for NIAAA, with $212.8 million of that for research, $6.3 million for research training, and $12.9 million for management and support.

President Clinton's budget calls for $219.3 million for NIAAA; it received $211.8 million last year.

(Psychiatric News, May 16, 1997)