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The Mood and Anxiety Disorder Project When asked what has sustained his passion for the Mood and Anxiety Disorder Project, Dr. William B. Lawson, professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Howard University, responded simply, "Helping people get well." Behind this simple answer is a labor of love that has resulted in a $6.5 million endorsement from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) for the development of a five-year project that will implement research pertaining to mood and anxiety disorders, especially as they relate to the African-American population. Key administrators at the Howard University College of Medicine and NIMH have worked on the development of the collaborative project for more than two years. Participants will include adolescents and adults who have been exposed to community violence and suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder, people who also suffer depression, and children and adults with bipolar disorder. The study will concentrate on identifying barriers that have inhibited African Americans from participating in other mental health studies and, by conducting research with African Americans, reveal more culturally-sensitive treatment options. "Only Howard has the community linkages to involve our people in this enterprise," Dr. Lawson notes. "It will expose people in the community to state-of-the-art treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder." Dr. Lawson will work on the Mood and Anxiety Disorder Project with Dr. Dennis Charney, director of the mood and anxiety disorder intramural research program at NIMH. Dr. Charney, President of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, is a national authority on post-traumatic stress disorder research and the neurobiology and drug treatment of serious mood and anxiety disorders.  |
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