Researchers trying to crack one of medicine's most perplexing unsolved mysteries can now keep abreast of late-breaking developments via the Schizophrenia Research Forum, a website launched this month with funding from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Sponsored by NARSAD, The Mental Health Research Association, the site bills itself as a virtual community, where researchers can link-up with colleagues and potential collaborators, learn about new findings, meetings and funding opportunities, and critique each other's articles and ideas.
"We're hoping that the forum will become a catalyst for creative thinking that will speed the pace of discovery," said NIMH director Thomas Insel.
According to a NIH release, the site (www.schizophreniaforum.org) includes original news stories and interviews with leading scientists in the field. Among specific forums that invite contributions from the field, "Current Hypotheses" presents theory reviews, while an "Idea Lab" posts less formal treatments. Most features of the site are interactive and solicit comment. There will also be live chats with experts that will be archived for later viewing.
Citations of current schizophrenia-related papers, with links to PubMed abstracts are posted each week - the newest in a searchable database going back to 2000. Among research tools, the site offers an extensive annotated index of relevant web sites with information, downloadable software, databases, and other web-based technologies for scientists. Future plans include a searchable database called SchizophreniaGene.
Registered researchers are listed in a member directory with links to their profiles, containing affiliations, contact information and research interests. Other resources include jobs listings and links to journals and departments and institutes involved in schizophrenia research worldwide.
NIMH is providing $700,000 in initial funding for the Schizophrenia Research Forum for 2005-2007. The site's executive editor Hakon Heimer is assisted by a team of science communicators and web designers who helped develop a similar website for Alzheimer’s disease, after which it is modelled.
NIMH will be co-hosting an event during the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting Washington, D.C. in late November that will acquaint neuroscientists with the Schizophrenia Research Forum and its offerings.
NIMH and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal Government's primary agency for biomedical and behavioural research. NIH is a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services.