NIMH DSIR Welcomes New Branch Chief
Dr. Michael Freed
For Services Research and Clinical Epidemiology Branch
From: Heinssen, Robert
To: DSIR list serve
Subject: NIMH DSIR Welcomes New Branch Chief for Services Research and Clinical Epidemiology Branch
PLEASE join me in extending a warm welcome to Michael C. Freed, Ph.D., EMT-B, who has joined the Division of Services and Intervention Research (DSIR) as Chief of the Services Research and Clinical Epidemiology Branch. With Mike’s arrival, I want to express my deep gratitude to CAPT Lisa Colpe, Ph.D. who has ably served as Acting Chief of the Services Research Branch since November 2014. Lisa will remain with DISR as Chief of the new Population Studies Unit.
Mike comes to NIMH from the Department of Defense (DoD), where he served as Research Director for the Deployment Health Clinical Center, the psychological health center of the DoD Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. While at the DoD, Mike directed an interdisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, subject matter experts, and support staff who worked to transform behavioral health care across the military health system. Mike has served in principal and co-investigator roles on several key epidemiological and health services research studies, as well as clinical trials. He has collaborated with senior scientists on integration of mental health interventions, including collaborative care for depression and PTSD, into primary care settings. He also assisted with DoD research priority setting and helped design a system to expedite the translation of findings from high quality research into clinical practice. For over a decade, his work has focused on improving access, continuity, and quality of mental health care for Service Members, Veterans, and their families. Mike has disseminated his work through peer-reviewed publications, presentations at scientific meetings, and briefings to military leaders and policy makers.
Mike graduated from American University’s Ph.D. program in clinical psychology. He currently holds academic appointments in the Department of Psychiatry and the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and is a licensed and practicing clinical psychologist. The DSIR community is very grateful and excited to have Mike on board. His previous work aligns closely with the NIMH strategic plan, and we look forward to his leadership in shaping our services research portfolio going forward.