Thomas R. Insel

Thomas R. Insel is an American neuroscientist, psychiatrist, entrepreneur, and author who served as Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) from 2002 to 2015. He currently co-founded and serves as Executive Chair of Vanna Health and has co-founded several mental health startups including Mindstrong Health, Humanest Care, NeuraWell Therapeutics, and AdvocateMH. He is best known for his research on oxytocin and vasopressin, two peptide hormones implicated in complex social behaviors such as parental care and attachment, and is the author of Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, published in 2022.