Plenary Speakers
We are proud to announce the WPA International Congress 2012 Plenary speakers and their topics:
Wolfgang Gaebel (Germany)
Plenary lecture topic: Pathways of Care and the Course of Mental Illness
Dr Wolfgang Gaebel is Professor of Psychiatry, Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Past President DGPPN; Chair of the Section on Schizophrenia of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), Co-Chair of the Section on Quality Assurance; Chair of the Taskforce on Nosology and Psychopathology of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP); Board Member of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA); Co-Chair of the EPA Section on Schizophrenia; Speaker of the German Competence Network on Schizophrenia (CNS), funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research.
Shigenobu Kanba (Japan)
Plenary lecture topic: Neuroinfl ammatory hypothesis of schizophrenia
Dr Shigenobu Kanba after graduating Keio University School of Medicine moved to Mayo Clinic Rochester USA and stayed as research fellow and resident in Psychiatry from 1982 to 1987. In 1996, he became professor at Yamanashi University School of Medicine, and in 2003 moved to Kyushu University Graduate School of Medicine. He has served for World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry as an Executive Committee member, Science Council of Japan as a Secretary of Psychiatric Committee, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as an Advisory member of Drug and Food Administration, and for International Society for Bipolar Disorder as a Council member.
Sigfried Kasper (Austria)
Plenary lecture topic: Translation of research into clinical practice
Dr Siegfried Kasper is Professor of Psychiatry and Chairman of the Department of General Psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. He was educated at the medical schools of the University of Innsbruck, Austria and the Universities of Freiburg and Heidelberg, Germany. He gained clinical and research experience in psychiatry at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany, the Psychiatric Department of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, the Clinical Psychobiology Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland/USA, and the Psychiatric Department of the University of Bonn, Germany; in neurology at the Neurological Department of the University of Heidelberg in Mannheim; and psychotherapeutic and psychoanalytic training at the Ausbildungsinstitut für Psychotherapie und Psychoanalyse in Heidelberg/Mannheim, Germany.
Charles B. Nemeroff (USA)
Plenary lecture topic: Neurobiological Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect: Implications for the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Mood and Anxiety Disorders
Dr Charles B. Nemeroff graduated from the City College of New York in 1970. He received a Master’s degree in Biology in 1973 from Northeastern University. He then earned his PhD in neurobiology in 1976 and his MD in 1981, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the Leonard M. Miller Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, Florida, since 2009. His research has concentrated on the biological basis of the major neuropsychiatric disorders, including affective disorders, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. His clinical research has recently focused on the use of neuroendocrine, neuroimaging and neurochemical methods to elucidate the pathophysiology of depression.
Donna E. Stewart (Canada)
Plenary lecture topic: Assessment and management of depression in pregnancy
Dr Donna Stewart is the Lillian Love Chair in Women’s Health at University Health Network and the University of Toronto, where she is responsible for research, education, policy and health service delivery for women’s health. She is a University Professor at University of Toronto. She is Director of the University Health Network Women’s Health Program. She is a Senior Scientist in the Toronto General Research Institute and her research interests include women’s health, women’s mental health, resilience, interpersonal violence, psychological aspects of reproductive health, psychological reaction to physical illness and international health.
Eduard Vieta (Spain)
Plenary lecture topic: Polarity index: a new tool for selecting mood stabilizers
Dr Eduard Vieta is Professor of Psychiatry and the Director of the Bipolar Disorders Program of the Hospital Clinic at the University of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. His research focuses on the neurobiology, epidemiology, and treatment of bipolar disorder. His programme examines novel pharmacological and psychological treatments, including atypical antipsychotics, antiepileptic drugs, antidepressants, novel compounds, psychoeducation, and cognitive remediation. Since 2001 his research has been funded by the Stanley Research Medical Institute (Bethesda, USA) and he is the current Director of the Bipolar Research Program at the Spanish Network on Mental Diseases (CIBERSAM), funded by the Ministry of Health and one of the leaders of the European Network on Bipolar Expert Centers (ENBREC).