National Center for Research and Innovation in Mental Health (CISM)

Abstract

The Center for Research and Innovation in Mental Health (Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Inovação em Saúde Mental, CISM) represents a partnership between the University of São Paulo (USP), the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), private investors (Banco Industrial do Brasil), and two City Halls from the state of São Paulo (Indaiatuba e Jaguariúna). Our mission is to advance knowledge concerning mental health conditions within the state of São Paulo and outlying regions, by introducing innovative interventions aimed at improving the wellbeing of these communities. The CISM has its embryogenic origin from the National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry (Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatria do Desenvolvimento, INPD). Our partnership with the Banco Industrial do Brasil will allow us to capitalize on private investments in cutting-edge science research. Our interaction with the City Halls of Indaiatuba and Jaguariúna will facilitate fruitful interaction with the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde, SUS) and will allow for the implementation of state-of-the-art interventions in these two municipalities in São Paulo. The CISM will specifically address three areas where knowledge gaps currently exist in our field. The first will advance research in precision medicine, mental health and population neuroscience. The second will increase the relevance of ongoing research, as an engine for the emergence of new ideas in digital mental health, innovation and entrepreneurship. The third, will increase technology transfer (TT) in mental health to society through a framework of implementation science. Over the next 10 years, CISM will create: (1) a Module for Precision Neuroscience, exponentially expanding the brain and behavior investigations of the Brazilian Transgenerational High Risk Cohort for Mental Conditions (BHRCS), which constitutes a robust database for the training of researchers and students; (2) a Module for the Assessment and Incubation of Digital Interventions in Mental Health, promoting technological innovations that can be accelerated by Banco Industrial do Brasil, to be used within the SUS and the university system; and (3) a Module for the Implementation of Science and Technology Transfer to the Society, bringing evidence-based interventions to society through implementation in the cities of Indaiatuba and Jaguariúna, with the support of their City Halls and a local private university (UniEduK). With the knowledge generated by the proposed work, specifically regarding the barriers and facilitators associated with these implementations, we will be in a position to scale-up these interventions and disseminate them to other cities both in and out of the State of São Paulo. The three modules will be supported by two action plans: the Action Plan for Technology Transfer, which will seek to transpose the results and associated advances of the proposed technological research to the market and society in general; and the Action Plan for Education and Dissemination of Knowledge, which will be responsible for disseminating scientific information to society and implementing new teaching methodologies. The CISM has the potential to transform mental health research in the country by making it more consistent, purposeful and socially oriented. To this end, the present CISM proposal will invest in studies of high added value, solidify partnerships in the public and private sectors in order to develop new ideas with innovative potential, and provide systematic interventions that will have a significant impact in the real world by influencing the lives of people who are in the most need of care in our communities. (AU)