Watch the recording on YouTube:

In this STARR Insider Session, Katie Sale, Executive Director of the American Brain Coalition; Catherine Gamble, Associate Director of Neuroscience Patient Advocacy at Bristol Myers Squibb; Mallory Witham, Director of Business Development at Pillar Clinical Research; and Erica Moore, Director of Operations of The STARR Coalition, gathered for a timely conversation about the state of mental health research – and what it will take to sustain it.

The discussion centered on one core idea: trust is infrastructure. The mental health research ecosystem – shaped by policy, built by sponsors and academic institutions, and carried forward by research sites and the communities they serve – cannot fully function without it. And right now, that trust is being tested.

Erica Moore set the frame for the entire conversation, making the case for why this particular moment in mental health research is both full of promise and uniquely fragile. Katie Sale offered a national-level view of the current moment, exploring how growing public awareness of mental health is running headlong into a climate of institutional skepticism – and what that means for research participation. Catherine Gamble shared how Bristol Myers Squibb is working to reduce burden and build confidence among participants, with some compelling data on what that effort is producing. Mallory Witham brought it to the ground level, describing what trust actually looks like in day-to-day site operations and community engagement.

The conversation also featured a powerful, candid contribution from a caregiver of someone living with schizophrenia – a reminder of just how unfamiliar and intimidating the world of clinical research can feel to the people it’s meant to serve.

Watch the full recording above to hear the complete discussion, including what each panelist believes is the single most important action their sector can take in the next 12 months.