Skip to Content

Thomas Insel, MD

Psychiatrist, Neuroscientist, & Author, Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health (Penguin Random House, 2022)

Neuroscientist and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Insel is the national leader in mental health research, policy, and technology. He previously served as the former director of the National Institute of Mental Health from 2002 until 2015 and before joining Verily Life Sciences to lead a team to develop technology for mental health care.

Currently, he is the Chairman of the Board at Steinberg Institute as well as Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Vanna Health. Vanna Health works with community partners to help people with serious mental illness in their recovery.

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.