Meet Dr. Thomas “Tom” Insel
Tom lnsel, M.D., a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, has been a national leader in mental health research, policy, and technology. From 2002-2015, Dr. Insel served as Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). More recently (2015 – 2017), he led the Mental Health Team at Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) in South San Francisco, CA. In 2017, he co-founded Mindstrong Health, a Silicon Valley start-up building tools for people with serious mental illness.
Dr. Insel co-founded Vanna Health in 2022 and currently serves as Executive Chair. Vanna Health is focused on the needs of people with serious mental illness and works with community partners to provide the 3 Ps (people, place, and purpose) for recovery. In 2020, he co-founded Humanest Care, a therapeutic online community for recovery. Since May of 2019, Dr. Insel has been a special advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom and Chair of the Board of the Steinberg Institute in Sacramento, California. He is the author of the book Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, published by Penguin Random House. With journalist co-founders, he recently launched MindSite News (mindsitenews.org), a non-profit digital publication focused on mental health issues. Dr. Insel is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and has received numerous national and international awards, including honorary degrees in the U.S. and Europe.
“Dr. Insel’s clinical research on OCD demonstrated that an antidepressant that targeted serotonin could reduce obsessions and compulsions. Other antidepressants were less effective. This finding presaged the development of SSRIs and introduced a medical approach to OCD.”
“Dr. Insel’s neuroscience research on oxytocin and vasopressin mapped the brain pathways for social behaviors. His work at NIMH and Emory revealed the biology of monogamy by studying the unique pattern of oxytocin and vasopressin receptors in the brains of monogamous rodents.”
“Dr. Insel served as NIMH Director during the completion of the Human Genome Project, the development of the NIH Common Fund, the creation of the National Center for Advancing Translation Sciences (where he served as founding Director 2011-2012), and the launch of the BRAIN Initiative (on which he was co-Director). His tenure was marked by unprecedented progress in neuroscience, genomics, and psychological science.”
“Dr. Insel left NIMH for Google, becoming part of the founding leadership of Verily where he led the Mental Health Team. In 2017, he co-founded Mindstrong Health with Paul Dagum and Rick Klausner. Mindstrong Health was one of the first digital mental health companies to build digital phenotyping and remote care for people with serious mental illness.”
“Dr. Insel volunteered to help newly-elected California Governor Gavin Newsom as Special Advisor on Behavioral Health. At the same time, he became Chair of the Board of the Steinberg Institute, a behavioral health policy institute in Sacramento, CA.”
“With his daughter, Lara Gregorio, Dr. Insel co-founded Humanest Care, an online psychological support system via clinically-moderated mental health communities. Offering on-demand, personalized, stepped mental-health care, Humanest works with universities and healthcare systems.”
“With Rob Waters and Diana Hembree, Dr. Insel co-founded MindSite News, a digital publication focused on mental health journalism.”
“Written by Dr. Insel, Healing: Our Path From Mental Illness to Mental Health is a bold, expert, and actionable map for the re-invention of America’s broken mental health care system. Order your copy and join him for #HealingAhead.”
“Dr. Insel co-founded Vanna Health, a new company focused on the needs of people with serious mental illness. Vanna Health will work with community partners to provide the 3 P’s (people, place, and purpose) for recovery.”