Institute of Psychiatric Research

The Institute of Psychiatric Research (IPR) was a four-story freestanding medical research building dedicated to studying neurological and psychiatric disorders. The building worked closely with other researchers and faculty at the IU Medical Center on the IUPUI campus and the Larue D. Carter Psychiatric Hospital. IPR is now located at the Indiana University Neuroscience Research Building alongside the Starke Neurosciences Research Institute on the Academic Health Campus next to IU Health Methodist Hospital.

History
Beginning in 1953, Dr. Margaret Morgan, Indiana state commissioner of mental health, convinced Governor George N. Craig to support the construction of an Institute of Psychiatric Research located in Indianapolis. The construction would be funded using private donations and $1 million from the state. The Institute of Psychiatric Research (IPR) was a four-story building completed in 1956 by the State of Indiana to house the IU Department of Psychiatry. The IPR officially opened on December 13, 1956, with a Board of Directors, led by the first Director John Nurnberger, Sr. The goal of the institute was to research the physical causes of psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, mood and anxiety disorders, autism, dementia, and addiction.

Since its founding, the IPR has led several research projects on neurological and psychiatric illnesses. In the 1960s, IPR researchers discovered that glycine was a neurotransmitter. In the 1970s, IPR faculty published research contributing to the understanding of serotonin and how it relates to behavior. In the 1980s, the IPR led a study on psychiatric genetics and how they may lead to depression or addiction. IPR researchers led a second research study on the biological nature neurological disorders, specifically arguing that individuals may be born with a predisposition to certain disorders. In the 1990s, IPR faculty developed a model for examining panic disorder and linked certain neurological disorders directly to panic attacks and anxiety.

The IPR had an addition added sometime in the early 2000s that led to various new facilities. These facilities included a new tissue culture room and molecular genetic laboratories on the third floor. Other facilities that existed at this time included the animal surgery sweet on the fourth floor and an electronic and instrument repair facility in the basement.

The Psychiatric Building was one of the IUPUI properties included in the 2008 land swap between Indiana University and Wishard Memorial Hospital. In the fall of 2012, IU President Michael McRobie broke ground for a new neuroscience research building. The building was intended to house the Institute of Psychiatric Research and the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute in a central location. In 2014, the Institute of Psychiatric Research was demolished to make way for the construction of Eskenazi Hospital. The institute was relocated to the IU Neuroscience Building, where they now cooperate with the Stark Neurosciences Research Institute.