In 2010, the Department of Defense, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) from the Defense Health Program Enhancement (DHPe) awarded a $30 million federal grant to Florida State University (FSU) and the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Denver VAMC) to establish the Department of Defense Military Suicide Research Consortium (MSRC). In 2016, FSU and the Denver VAMC were awarded a second federal grant of up to $40 million to maintain and expand the functions of the MSRC for an additional five years. The consortium is the first of its kind to integrate DOD and civilian efforts in implementing a multidisciplinary research approach to suicide prevention.
MSRC is incorporated in the National Research Action Plan (NRAP) on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other mental health conditions, and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The plan was developed to improve the coordination of government agency research into these conditions and reduce the number of affected men and women through better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Suicide prevention research is a key theme of NRAP.
Consortium oversight is provided by CDR Christopher Steele, Director of the Joint Program Committee for the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) and chair of the MSRC Military External Advisory Board (MEAB).
Florida State's Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Dr. Thomas Joiner, an internationally known suicide researcher leads the Consortium.