Neural Compass · 2026-07-15 · 39 min
The National Institute of Mental Health has funded 109 new research grants so far this year. By this point last year it had funded 900. That gap is not just a budget story. It is a window into something Tom Insel has spent 13 years at the top of the field, and a decade since, trying to understand: why the science keeps advancing while the outcomes for patients barely move. In this episode of Neural Compass with Mark Jacobstein, we look at what it actually takes to move the needle on mental health outcomes and why $14 billion in investment and decades of research haven't done it yet. Mark speaks with Dr. Thomas Insel, who served as director of the National Institute of Mental Health for 13 years and oversaw over $20 billion in research funding. Tom's work spans the neuroscience of social behavior, the politics of psychiatric research, and five startups built on the conviction that the system needs to be rebuilt around outcomes, not access. His book Healing examined why the mental health crisis persists despite our best efforts.
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