Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel announced the award of three grants totaling more than $850,000 to research investigators at the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

One of the grants, awarded to Helen Scharfman, PhD, will examine the role the neuroendocrine system plays in mental health and mental disease. Another grant awarded to John Sidtis, PhD will be used to learn about the role the brain plays in impairing speech among people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a degenerative brain disease that can impair speech, motor and other functions. The third grant will help support laboratory infrastructure for the multidisciplinary scientists at NKI who are conducting cutting-edge research on ways to prevent and treat brain disorders.

Rep. Engel said, “This money is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which I am proud to have voted for earlier this year. It has provided millions of dollars to our district to facilitate job growth, educational development, scientific research and an overall boost to our local and national economy. Without ARRA, our economic situation would be dire rather than one beginning to show signs of recovery.”

“These ARRA funds come at a crucial when NKI scientists are at the cusp of new discoveries because of new technologies and advances in science,” said Harold S. Koplewicz, MD, Director of NKI and Chair of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the New York University-Langone Medical Center. “We are very appreciative of Congressman Engel’s unwavering support for finding new treatments for people suffering from brain disorders.”

“This money will help the outstanding personnel at Nathan Kline continue to research the causes of mental illness and the potential cures for a variety of afflictions,” said Rep. Engel. “Mental health disorders affect millions of Americans every day, far too often going untreated. They can aversely disrupt both the lives of the people afflicted and their families. By one day preventing and finding cures for these diseases, we can not only save millions of lives, but also save millions of dollars in treatment.”
NIH funds biomedical research and research training at more than 3,000 institutions in the fifty states and territories.