Welcome
Biological Psychiatry
On behalf of the Executive Council and the Program Committee, we are delighted to welcome you to Toronto for the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. This year, the theme of the program is: Stress, Emotion, Neurodevelopment and Psychopathology. Translational research has been the primary focus of previous years’ meetings. However, this year we decided to bring that focus to bear on a more specific range of topics. The reason for doing so is that this both highlights an important domain of interdisciplinary research, but also allows us to explore in greater depth the richness of translational science. In this way, we honor the impact of basic, translational and clinical research, as well as the critical interplay between them. The plenaries this year have been organized along the lines of the theme, with investigations of fear and anxiety on day 1, stress, depression and addiction on day 2, and neurodevelopment on day 3. In all cases, the plenaries include world-class scientists representing basic science, animal models, genetics, and clinical intervention. Together, they will illustrate the challenges facing our field, but also describe key successes along the way that encourage us as we look forward. In compiling the list of speakers, we assembled a “dream team” of scientists on these topics, and are fortunate that they accepted our invitation. Complementing the plenaries are a strong set of symposia, oral abstracts, and posters, which also broadly cover translational psychiatric neuroscience. Within
the symposia are evident emerging areas of interest for the field (e.g., neuromodulation, development, etc.), which reflect the coming together of disciplines around topics relevant to this year’s theme and clinically-relevant neuroscience more generally. Of course, the annual meeting is not only about the scientific presentations but also the many conversations and meetings facilitated by the atmosphere and organization of the meeting. To enrich these interactions, the Society has also continued to increase its interest and attention towards early career scientists and clinicians, and we have several events specifically oriented to these individuals during the meeting. We hope that you will find our meeting to be as exciting as we have in putting it together. Moreover, if you are not already a member, please consider joining and contributing to the improvement of our Society and annual meeting. We wish you a wonderful meeting and look forward to seeing you in Toronto! Sincerely, Ned Kalin, M.D. President, Society of Biological Psychiatry Amit Etkin, M.D., Ph.D. Chair, 2015 Scientific Program Committee
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ISSN: 0006-3223/$36.00
& 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc on behalf of Society of Biological Psychiatry A9 Biological Psychiatry May 1, 2015; 77:A9 www.sobp.org/journal
Biological Psychiatry
On behalf of the Executive Council and the Program Committee, we are delighted to welcome you to Toronto for the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry. This year, the theme of the program is: Stress, Emotion, Neurodevelopment and Psychopathology. Translational research has been the primary focus of previous years’ meetings. However, this year we decided to bring that focus to bear on a more specific range of topics. The reason for doing so is that this both highlights an important domain of interdisciplinary research, but also allows us to explore in greater depth the richness of translational science. In this way, we honor the impact of basic, translational and clinical research, as well as the critical interplay between them. The plenaries this year have been organized along the lines of the theme, with investigations of fear and anxiety on day 1, stress, depression and addiction on day 2, and neurodevelopment on day 3. In all cases, the plenaries include world-class scientists representing basic science, animal models, genetics, and clinical intervention. Together, they will illustrate the challenges facing our field, but also describe key successes along the way that encourage us as we look forward. In compiling the list of speakers, we assembled a “dream team” of scientists on these topics, and are fortunate that they accepted our invitation. Complementing the plenaries are a strong set of symposia, oral abstracts, and posters, which also broadly cover translational psychiatric neuroscience. Within
the symposia are evident emerging areas of interest for the field (e.g., neuromodulation, development, etc.), which reflect the coming together of disciplines around topics relevant to this year’s theme and clinically-relevant neuroscience more generally. Of course, the annual meeting is not only about the scientific presentations but also the many conversations and meetings facilitated by the atmosphere and organization of the meeting. To enrich these interactions, the Society has also continued to increase its interest and attention towards early career scientists and clinicians, and we have several events specifically oriented to these individuals during the meeting. We hope that you will find our meeting to be as exciting as we have in putting it together. Moreover, if you are not already a member, please consider joining and contributing to the improvement of our Society and annual meeting. We wish you a wonderful meeting and look forward to seeing you in Toronto! Sincerely, Ned Kalin, M.D. President, Society of Biological Psychiatry Amit Etkin, M.D., Ph.D. Chair, 2015 Scientific Program Committee
SEE COMMENTARY ON PAGE
ISSN: 0006-3223/$36.00
& 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc on behalf of Society of Biological Psychiatry A9 Biological Psychiatry May 1, 2015; 77:A9 www.sobp.org/journal
