Robert E. Hales, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, is the acting director of the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute during the search for a permanent director. World-renowned scientists at the M.I.N.D. Institute engage in research to find improved treatment, causes and cures for autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Hales, an internationally renowned psychiatrist who specializes in neuropsychiatry, clinical psychiatry and community mental health, oversees a staff of more than 250 employees at the M.I.N.D. Institute, plus 40 research labs and a budget of more than $30 million.