From The New York Times…</

Dr. Thomas R. Insel announced that he is stepping down after 13 years as director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: Sept. 15, 2015
Dr. Thomas R. Insel announced that he is stepping down after 13 years as director of the National Institute of Mental Health.

This is a potentially paradigm shifting move. Tom Insel, MD, has been a “force to be reckoned with” within the National Institutes of Mental Health, refocusing the government research agency’s efforts on basic science brain research and away from psychosocial emphases on interpersonal treatment modalities. He has been as controversial as he is piercingly intelligent and goal directed. Over four presidential administrations in Washington he has also developed considerable political expertise obtaining for the NIMH significant funding for President Obama’s major brain research initiative.

This article suggests that one area of his interest that he intends to pursue at Google is the development of much earlier diagnosis of psychotic disorders using Google’s linguistic analysis tools to recognize and identify the peculiarities of psychotic speech. However, this may be only the beginning. Being both an extremely creative brain researcher and a seasoned administrator and recruiter of top scientific talent, it would be no surprise if over the next several years Dr. Insel introduces multiple paradigm shifts combining Google’s powerful data analysis tools with the currently exploding field of basic brain research. Stay tuned….

—Mark I Levy MD