People across the United States are looking for better answers to mental health challenges. Nearly one out of every two people in the United States will qualify for a mental health diagnosis in their lifetime. Millions of people are affected each year by suicide risk, substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, and more. These conditions touch nearly every family and community.
Meeting this need requires new ways to study mental illness, connect research to clinical care, and accelerate discoveries. The brain is often considered the least understood organ in the body due to its immense complexity. While other organs are studied in detail, the brain’s unique structure and dynamic signaling make it challenging to fully model or understand. This complexity is exactly why the next generation of mental health research must bring experts together across disciplines and move discoveries into care faster.
The work planned for the Huntsman Mental Institute’s Mental Health Translational Research Building will have the potential to reach around the world. Opening in 2027, the Translational Research Building will bring together clinicians, researchers, scientists, educators, and community partners in one collaborative space designed to change how the world understands, treats, and heals mental illness.
What Is Translational Research?
Translational research turns scientific discoveries into real-world solutions. The process moves ideas from the lab into care settings where they can improve lives. In mental health, translational research might mean using brain imaging, artificial intelligence, biological research, clinical trials, or new treatment models to better understand a condition. This information would then be used to develop more effective ways to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat the condition.
Located adjacent to Huntsman Mental Health Institute, the Translational Research Building is unique in that it does not operate solely as a research facility. Instead, it is a place built to quickly close the gap between discovery and care. Inside the building, experts from different disciplines will work side by side to tackle the world’s most pressing mental health challenges.
That means clinicians who see patients every day can work with researchers to help them understand the most urgent needs in real time. Researchers can test new ideas and technologies more quickly, while educators can help train the next generation of mental health professionals. Together, they can accelerate progress in critical areas such as:
- Crisis care
- Suicide prevention
- Substance use and addiction
- Interventional psychiatry
- Artificial intelligence (AI) in behavioral health
- Mood disorders
- Maternal mental health
The Translational Research Building: A New Model for Mental Health Innovation
The Translational Research Building will include state-of-the-art features designed to support breakthrough research, including:
- The world’s only 7 Tesla MRI dedicated to brain research
- Wet and dry research labs
- A clinical trial space with an on-site pharmacy
- An Outreach Level designed with the dissemination of research in mind, including an auditorium, media room, conference rooms, and Café with breathtaking views of the valley.
The Population Database is housed at the University of Utah and is considered one of the richest population datasets in the world for genetics, allowing unprecedented access to identify genetic causes of disease and mental illness. Genealogy and the long tenure of families staying in Utah allow for multi-generational findings and understandings.
The Translational Research Building represents hope for faster answers, better treatments, stronger prevention, and a deeper understanding of mental health. It also positions Huntsman Mental Health Institute as both a national and global leader in mental health innovation.
Huntsman Mental Health Foundation is helping make this future possible by expanding awareness, access, and funding for solutions across research, treatment, education, and community support.
Help accelerate the future of mental health care. Support Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and bring life-changing discoveries closer to the people and communities who need them most.
