National Institute of Mental Health

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a sub-agency of the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health, funds and contracts for mental health research, treatment innovation, and supporting infrastructure across the United States and globally. NIMH operates as the principal federal funder of mental health research and the primary contracting arm for supplies, services, and studies supporting that mission.

NIMH has issued 2,889 contract awards since 1996 with a combined potential value of $910.3 million, of which $769.5 million has been obligated. Contract activity over the last five years averaged 121.8 awards per year (140 in 2022, 115 in 2023, 103 in 2024, 123 in 2025, and 128 so far in 2026), with the most recent award dated September 30, 2026. Contract competitive concentration is highly fragmented: the top five primes by award count hold 21 percent of recent awards, while the top five by potential value hold only 4 percent of combined potential value. Sterling Computers Corporation leads by count (38 awards, $2.4 million combined potential value), followed by Panamerica Computers, Inc. (36 awards, $2.5 million) and 10X Genomics, Inc. (23 awards, $831 thousand). By dollar value, Axle Informatics, LLC ranks first (6 awards, $18.3 million), followed by CDW Government LLC (19 awards, $9.3 million) and Kelly Services, Inc. (13 awards, $5.3 million). The remaining 756 distinct primes share the portfolio widely. Contract set-asides are minimal: 96 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, with small business accounting for 2 percent and 8(a) sole-source for 1 percent.

NIMH has obligated $28.94 billion in federal grant dollars across 10,508 awards since 1972, with combined federal and non-federal share totaling $30.78 billion. Grant activity over the last five years reported 882 awards in 2023, 855 in 2024, 430 in 2025, 561 in 2026, and 45 so far in 2027, with the most recently recorded grant award dated March 1, 2027. Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented: the top five recipients by award count hold 13 percent of recent awards, while the top five by federal dollars hold 4 percent of combined federal dollars. Yale University leads by federal dollars ($369.2 million across 96 awards), followed by the University of Pittsburgh ($263.8 million across 99 awards) and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ($216.5 million across 83 awards). The remaining 785 distinct recipients include universities, research hospitals, and non-profit research organizations distributed across the domestic landscape. Grants are predominantly Project Grants (86 percent of awards) with a smaller share of Cooperative Agreements (14 percent).

NIMH is the federal agency that conducts and supports research that seeks to understand, treat, and prevent mental illness. Contact NIMH for information on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, clinical trials and research. A publications ordering system is available on the NIMH website. Some publications are available in Spanish.