Noon Edition airs on Fridays at noon on WFIU.

May marks the annual mental health awareness month. Over the past decade, the U.S. and other nations around the world have put more emphasis and funding into mental health research and studies to combat depression, mental illness, and suicide.   

The Irsay Institute at IU focuses on bettering the development of research and researchers in health and healthcare, with a particular focus on mental health. The institute was founded in 2021 with financial support from the Irsay family, which also launched its ”Kicking the Stigma” Initiative to “raise awareness about mental health disorders and remove the shame and stigma too often associated with these illnesses.”  

The Institute has three founding directors, Dr. Bernice Pescosolido, Dr. Brea Perry, and Dr. Kosali Simon, and consists of a founding faculty of 20 researchers from various IU schools including the school of medicine. The institute will be housed in Morrison Hall once renovations are completed this year.  

This Friday on Noon Edition, we will talk with members of the institute about its research, mission, and future projects.  

You can follow us on Twitter at @NoonEdition or join us on the air by calling 812-855-0811 or toll-free at 1-877-285-9348. You can also send questions for the show at news@indianapublicmedia.org.      

Guests

Bernice Pescosolido – Founding director of Irsay and Senior Research Program leader for he Stigma & Social Exclusion and Novel T1 to T4 Translational Research areas.  

Anna Mueller – Luther Dana Waterman Associate Professor of Sociology and Senior Research Program Leader on of the Section on Preventing Death & Despair at Irsay