Current Psychopharmacology

Dr. Mark S. Gold is a teacher of the year, translational researcher, author, mentor and inventor best known for his work on the brain systems underlying the effects of opiate drugs, cocaine and food. Gold was an Distinguished Alumni Professor, Chairman, Emeritus Eminent Scholar during his 25 years at the University of Florida. He is an author and inventor who has published over 1000 peer reviewed scientific articles, 20 text books, popular-general audience books, and physician practice guidelines. He pioneered the use of clonidine and lofexidine in the late ‘70s and early 80s which became the first non-opioid medication assisted therapies. Since his retirement as a full-time academic in 2014, Gold has continued as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University

Silvio Bellino was born in Turin, Italy, on 27 April 1965. He graduated at the University of Turin in 1990/91 and specialized in Psychiatry in 1995/96. He became a Researcher of Psychiatry at the Department of Neuroscience in October 2001 and was charged of the Centre for Personality Disorders in January 2007. He is Associate Professor of Psychiatry from July 2015. He teaches psychiatry at the School of Medicine and at Schools of Medical Specialization of the University of Turin. His studies were focused on clinics and pharmacotherapy of personality disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and on interpersonal psychotherapy of major depression and personality disorders. He presented the results in Italian and international congresses and published many articles in Italian and international indexed journals. He has been Editor in Chief of Current Psychopharmacology since 2011. In December 2012 he became President of the Italian Society of Interpersonal Psychotherapy.

Dr Veena Kumari obtained her doctorate in psychology from Banaras Hindu University in India before moving to the Institute of Psychiatry in London, UK, where she most recently served as the Professor of Experimental Psychology. Currently, she is the Chief Scientific Officer for the Sovereign Health Group, USA. Dr Kumari has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles and served as the Associate Editor or Editorial Board Member for a number of journals including Personality and Individual Differences, Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, and the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.

Dr. Deutsch received his M.D., Ph.D. from New York University and completed his Residency in Psychiatry at Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital. Dr. Deutsch also completed a fellowship in psychopharmacology at the NIH in the laboratory of Dr. Steven M. Paul. He is a Professor and endowed Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS)in Norfolk, VA, USA. He has over 30 years of experience in preclinical and clinical research in the areas of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia and affective disorders with over 250 scholarly publications. His research has focused on characterizing stress-induced changes in endogenous GABA A and NMDA receptor-mediated neurotransmission and clinical trials of a novel α 7 –nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist strategy in schizophrenia. At EVMS, he leads a pharmacological program exploring prosocial and cognitive effects of targeted NMDA receptor (NMDAR) agonist interventions in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). He serves as an Associate Editor for the Clinical Neuropharmacology and is also a reviewer on numerous international and national psychiatry and neuropharmacology journals.

Prof. Ming Li has studied genetics and molecular biology of human diseases, especially addictive disorders for more than 20 years. During those years, Dr. Li has published more than 200 peer-reviewed publications and has trained approximately 70 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The papers he has published are very broad-ranging from molecular pharmacology, neuropsychopharmacology, molecular biology, statistical genetics, computational biology to bioinformatics. He has served as a regular and ad-hoc member of many study panels and sections in the US and other countries. Besides, he has served as an advisor for a dozen research centers/programs and ad-hoc reviewers or board member for more than 30 scientific journals. He has been invited to give more than 100 seminars or oral presentations by various national and international conferences and institutions throughout the world.

Dr. Amato is Research Assistant Professor in Department of Neuroscience Medical University of South Carolina, United States.He did his Ph.D. in Pharmacology in year 2008 from Department of Physiology and Pharmacology Sapienza, University of Rome, he has professional membership of Schizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS),European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP),The New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), International Behavioral Neuroscience Society (IBNS), European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS), International Society of Neurochemistry (ISN), Japan Neuroscience Society (JNS), His field of expertise are Molecular Psychiatry, Behavioral Neurobiology, Central and Peripheral Nervous System, Neuroscience Pharmacology.He is IBNS Newsletter Editor-in-Chief and IBNS European Councillor as well.

Dr. Hiroyuki Arakawa obtained his Ph.D. degree (in 2006) in Experimental Psychology from Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. Dr. Arakawa is currently affiliated with University of Maryland School of Medicine (Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology), Baltimore, United States. His skills and expertise mainly lie in the subject areas/fields of Immunohistochemistry, DNA Gel Electrophoresis, Genetics, Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Brain Physiology, Behavioral Neuroscience, etc. Dr. Arakawa, as an author/co-author, has published more than 35 articles in various journals, having over 915 total citations.

Murat İlhan Atagün MD is working as an associate professor of psychiatry in Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University School of Medicine. He has been performing research on psychiatry and psychopharmacology with neuroimaging modalities. He is a versatile researcher and has been working in the fields of molecular genetics, biochemistry, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), electroencephalography (EEG) and neuropsychology. His studies involve neurobiology and treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Dr. Joseph Ben-Sheetrit obtained his MD degree from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel. He is a psychiatry resident at the Geha Mental Health Center in Petah Tikva, Israel. He is a member of the Israel Society of Biological Psychiatry. He focuses on ADHD and psychopharmacology and has published studies about ADHD-related impairment and persistent side effects of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs).

Domenico De Berardis works as Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist in the "real world" clinical practice at the NHS Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital “G. Mazzini”, Teramo, Italy. He collaborates independently with the Institute of Psychiatry of G. d’Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Italy. He completed a post-graduate course in “Addiction Medicine” at the University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti, has attained a Ph.D. in “Functional Neuroimaging” at the Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB) of the University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti and achieved a master in “Clinical Psychopharmacology” at the Scientific Institute and University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan.

Professor Filippo Bogetto was Director of the postgraduate School in Clinical Psychology of the University of Turin, Chief Director of Department of Neuroscience of University of Turin.He was Director of the Psychiatric Unit of the AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Chief Director of the Mental Health Department ASL TO1 - AOU Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino and Head of the PhD School in Neuroscience at the University of Turin.He is a member of various scientific societies, like the Italian Society of Psychopathology (of which he was President).Professor Bogetto's scientific activity has appeared in hundreds of publications on international and italian scientific journals, in several books, and in proceedings of italian and international congresses and meetings. He has been chairman and organizer of various Italian and international Congresses.

Michel Bourin has held the position of Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Nantes since 1985. After completing his pharmacist and medical training at Tours University he was awarded degrees in neuropsychopharmacology, clinical pharmacology and general pharmacology in Paris and completed his psychiatric training in Nantes. Since 1988, Professor Bourin has been Head of Research : Neurobiology of Anxiety and Depression. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Edmonton (Alberta) since 1995 and visiting Professor at University of Craiova (Romania). He is Doctor Hononoris Causa of the University of Tartu (Estonia) and University of Craiova (Romania) He is now Psychiatrist in a centre for mental handicapped adults in Montredon (near Narbonne) He has published more than 3000 original papers in the field of psychopharmacology and more than 250 educational/review papers both in French and English.

Dr. Boyd graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1977 with a BS in Physiology. He received a Ph.D in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1986. After working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego and the Salk Institute for 4 years, he moved to Ohio State in 1990. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience. Dr. Boyd has also been involved in undergraduate and graduate education for most of his career. He served on the Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program Graduate Studies Committee.

Robert Carey received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Chicago. He has been a Professor in the Psychiatry department at Brown University and he is currently a Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Upstate Medical University of New York. Dr. Carey has published approximately 200 peer reviewed research articles. He has received peer reviewed funding for this research from the National Institutes of Health and the Veteran's Administration Merit Review Grant Program.Currently he serves on the editorial boards of several International scientific journals namely, Behavioral Brain Research, the Journal of Neuroscience Methods and Pharmacology , Biochemistry and Behavior.

Paul R. Carney, MD is Child Neurology Division Director at The University of Missouri School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree at the University of Valparaiso, completed his internship in pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University and completed both his neurology residency and epilepsy fellowship at the University of Michigan. Dr. Carney began his academic career at the University of Florida, where he was the Wilder Professor and conducted innovative research in epilepsy and computational neuroscience. His laboratory is currently investigating how genetic modifiers influence the epilepsy phenotype. Dr. Carney serves as a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the Epilepsy Foundation and has been named among the Best Doctors in America for the past twelve years.

Dr. Carrasco Perera is a Professor of Psychiatry at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. His field of expertise is Psychiatry. Dr. Perera’s publications are in the topics of Clinical Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Health Psychology, Neuropsychology, Counseling Psychology, Geriatrics, Public Health, Psychiatry, and Psychosomatic Medicine.

Dr. Comai is Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the San Raffaele Vita-Salute University, Milan, Italy, and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Dr. Comai is interested in understanding the role of tryptophan metabolism via serotonin and melatonin but also kynurenine in brain functioning, and subsequently, to determine the extent to which these systems are involved in the etiology and treatment of mental disorders, particularly depression, anxiety, insomnia, and aggressive behaviour. Dr. Comai has received several awards, including the “2015 New Investigator Award” by the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology and the NARSAD Young Investigator Award.

Bill Downs, a nutritional biochemist and nutritionist in a medical practice in the suburbs of Philadelphia, developed an approach to nutritionally managing the functions of biological systems called “Behavioral Biology.” This resulted from his investigations into the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases. This paradigm ultimately encompassed nutrigenomic principles and the ‘behaviors’ of biological systems and overall health. He has authored and co-authored numerous published papers and chapters in academic texts and has patents-pending on nutraceutical technologies.

Dr. Duman is Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology, Director of the Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, and the Jameson Professor of Psychiatry at Yale. Studies from Dr. Duman’s laboratory have contributed to characterization of the molecular and cellular actions of stress, depression, and antidepressant treatments, providing the basis for the neurotrophic and synaptic hypothesis of depression. Dr. Duman has received several awards, including the Anna-Monika Prize, Nola Maddox Falcone Prize, Janssen Prize, NIMH MERIT Award, and a NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award. He is author of over 300 original articles, reviews and chapters and has given over 250 invited lectures.

Dr. Samer El Hayek acquired his medical degree from the American University of Beirut. He is currently undergoing his training in psychiatry at the Department of Psychiatry at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. Dr. El Hayek is the founder and current chair of the Early-Career-Psychiatrists and Residents Section of the Lebanese Psychiatric Society. He is also an active member of the Early-Career- Psychiatrists Section of the World Psychiatric Association. Dr. El Hayek is one of the recipients of the 2019 Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations Fellowship Award for Young Psychiatrists. He has more than fifteen published peer-reviewed publications, including book chapters.

Dr. Haleem obtained a doctorate (PhD) in Neurochemistry from the Institute of Neurology, London University. Currently she is working as Meritorious Professor Neuroscience, PCMDICCBS University of Karachi. Actively engaged in teaching and research, Prof Haleem is author of over 200 publications in high impact factor journals, has supervised over 40 PhD & M Phil students and has written text books on topics of neuroscience. Her research centers on the Molecular and Neural basis of stress, depression, anorexia, addiction and memory. Currently, she is Editor-in-Chief of the ‘Journal of ADHD and Care’ and member editorial board of many neuroscience journals.

Dr. Hollander is Director of the Autism and Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Program and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Montefiore Medical Center. He is also Director of the Spectrum Neuroscience and Treatment Institute, and Chair of the Advisory Council, ICare4Autism. Formerly, he has served as the Esther and Joseph Klingenstein Professor and Chairman of Psychiatry, Director of the Seaver and Greater NY Autism Center of Excellence, and Director of the Compulsive, Impulsive and Anxiety Disorders Program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Prior to then, he was Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Compulsive and Impulsive Disorders Program at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Peter Illes studied medicine and has been an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology of the University of Freiburg. Later, he became a Full Professor and Director of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Leipzig, Germany. He has received numerous honors, awards and recognition for his contributions to science overall. Dr. Illes is a neuroscientist with special emphasis on two types of ATP-sensitive receptors, belonging to the P2X3 and P2X7 class.

Lantie Jorandby, M.D. is the Chief Medical Officer of Lakeview Health. Dr. Jorandby graduated with honors from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience. She attended medical school and completed her residency at the University of Florida. For seven years, Dr. Jorandby worked as a staff psychiatrist and mental health supervisor at the Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Viera, Florida. After completing her Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship at Yale University, Dr. Jorandby became Medical Director for the dual diagnosis unit at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, which is ranked the top psychiatric hospital in the United States. She also served as faculty at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry. She is one of less than 200 physicians in the United States who is dual board certified in addiction medicine, and psychiatry and neurology.

Robert Lalonde completed post-doctoral studies at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal in 1982- 85 on the psychopharmacology of phenytoin after PhD (1979-1982) and MSc (1977-1979) studies concerning the effects of biogenic amines on learning. Since then, he has published in various subfields of psychopharmacology, mostly comprising exploratory activity in mice and rats as well as motor coordination and spatial learning.

Dr. Hsien-Yuan Lane, M.D., Ph.D., is currently serving as Distinguished Professor and Director (Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine) and also as Director (Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine) at China Medical University (CMU), Taiwan. Dr. Lane obtained his Ph.D. in 2000 from National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan. To date, he has published more than 100 papers in international journals of good repute. His scientific contributions include 3 book chapters and more than 15 patents addressing treatment and diagnostic options for dementia, Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

Dr. Christine Leong did her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) from Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada. She did her Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) in 2010 and Bachelor of Science (General) in 2006 from University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at College of Pharmacy, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada.

Vladimir Lerner MD, PhD is Head of the Psychiatric Department in Be’er Sheva Mental Health Center (Israel) and Associate Professor of Psychiatry in Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He emigrated from the former Soviet Union in 1990. The sphere of his scientific interest involves creativity and psychopathology, the treatment of schizophrenia and of tardive dyskinesia and the use of vitamins in psychiatry. He is the author of more than 120 scientific publications, 10 chapters and two edited books with co editor C. Miodownik ‘New Hope for Mental Disturbances’ published by Nova Science Publishers Inc, New York, 2009 and ‘Vitamin D Deficiency’ published by Nova Science Publishers Inc, New York, 2011. He published together with Professor Witztum the books titled: ‘Genius and Madness – The complicated relationship between creativity and psychopathology’ (in Hebrew 2009) and ‘Genius and Insanity. Outlines concerning the analysis of the relationship between psychopathology and creativity as shown in the examples of separate individuals in Russia of the XIX century’ (in Russian 2011).

Dr. Heresco-Levy obtained a doctorate (M.D.) from Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. Currently, he is full professor of psychiatry at Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University, Jerusalem and serves as director of the psychiatry department at Herzog Memorial Hospital, Jerusalem. He is a member of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology and Fellow of Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum. He conducted pioneer studies focusing on the role of glutamatergic neurotransmission in neuropsychiatric disorders, has published more than 150 scientific publications and is inventor of patents involving the use of NMDA receptor – based treatments for movement disorders, depression, and autoimmune types of encephalitis.

Dr Lolait obtained a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Pathology and Immunology, Monash University in Melbourne, Australia in 1984, and was awarded a C.J.Martin Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia to do postdoctoral work at the National Institute Mental Health (NIMH) in Bethesda, MD, USA. Dr Lolait spent about 11 years at NIMH, also supported by grants and fellowships from the McKnight and Stanley Foundations (USA), and as a Visiting Scientist. In 1997 he continued his studies at the University of Bristol, UK where he is currently a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Clinical Sciences. He has published over 100 scientific articles, principally on the cloning, expression, regulation and function of neuropeptide G protein-coupled receptors.

Dr. Kenneth Maiese is an internationally recognized physician-scientist whose investigations are designed to translate basic science into successful therapeutic treatments. He maintains therapeutic and scientific expertise in multiple areas that include translational medicine, neurology, neuroscience, oncology, immunology, diabetes, psychiatry, cardiovascular disease, renal disease, biomarkers, and epigenetics. Dr. Maiese graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Summa cum Laude with Distinction and was a Teagle Scholar, Grupe Scholar, and Joseph Collins Scholar at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He trained as a physician-scientist at Cornell, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and senior executive at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Maiese has been fortunate to receive recognition with outstanding teaching awards and election to America's Top Physicians, and The Best of U.S. Physicians. He has extensive experience in academic medicine, healthcare delivery, the pharmaceutical industry, business management, and publishing.

Professor Mario Manto is a Neurologist at the CHU-Charleroi (Belgium). He is an expert in clinicalneurology, especiallycerebellardisorders. He is a Professor of Neuroanatomy at the University of Mons (Belgium). He isauthor or co-author of more than 170 peerreviewedscientific articles. He is editor of 7 books on cerebellardisorders.

Dr. Roger McIntyre is currently a Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology at the University of Toronto and Head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network, Toronto, Canada. Dr. McIntyre is also Executive Director of the Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation in Toronto, Canada. Dr. McIntyre was named by Thomson Reuters in 2014 and 2015, as one of “The World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds”. This distinction is given by publishing the largest number of articles that rank among those most frequently cited by researchers globally in 21 broad fields of science and social science during the previous decade.

Juan Antonio Micó, graduated in Medicine from the University of Cádiz (Spain) in 1981. Professor Micó obtained a doctorate PhD in Medical Sciences (1985, Cádiz, Spain) and another doctorate PhD in Biology Humaine Mention: Neuropsychopharmacology. (1998, University Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France) He is Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology at the University of Cádiz (Spain) and Director of the Department of Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Psychiatry also Director of Spanish Mental Health Network (University of Cadiz Unit/Node G18), CIBER of Mental Health, CIBERSAM. He has published 116 articles in JCR, reviews and book chapters related to the pharmacological mechanisms of action of psychopharmacological drugs.

Dr. Mehdi Mirzaei-Alavijeh from the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran in 2006 with a BS in Public Health. He received a Ph.D in Health education & promotion from the Tarbiat Modares University in 2015 and also received a MPH of Health policy from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran in 2014. After working as a researcher at the Maastricht University, Netherlands, he moved to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2016. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health. Dr. Mirzaei-Alavijeh has also been involved in undergraduate and graduate education for most of his career. He is author of over 100 original articles, reviews and chapters and has given invited lectures

Dr. Modestino is a lecturer of psychology at Curry College in Milton, MA, USA. He is a cognitive neuroscientist that specializes in using multimodal neuroimaging (fMRI, SPECT, DTI) and psychophysiological (EEG, NI-photoplethysomography, SC) techniques to examine differences related to attention, wakefulness and cognition in relation to psychiatric and neurological disorders. He is currently expanding his work to include genetic screening using the GARS in concert with neuroimaging.

Paula Moran received a PhD from the National University of Ireland, Galway. She spent six years as a senior scientist in the pharmaceutical industry at the Marion Merrell Dow Research Institute, Strasbourg, France and was involved in a number of drug discovery projects for Alzheimer's‐Disease and Schizophrenia. She was subsequently awarded a EU Human Capital and Mobility Fellowship at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK. Since then she has continued work on animal models of abnormal information processing in schizophrenia. She has received awards for research from the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research (ICOSR), British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) and Collegium Internationale Neuro‐ Psychopharmacologicum (CINP). She is preclinical external affairs officer of the British Association for Psychopharmacology (BAP) has been a member of the scientific advisory panel for psychotic disorders for the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP).

Dr. Müller obtained a PhD in Psychology from the University of Düsseldorf, Germany. He worked as a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, UK, before he joined the Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. Currently, he is Professor of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Müller has published more than 120 scientific papers and book chapters.

I graduated in Pharmaceutical Biotechnologies in 2004, and obtained my PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2008, at the University of Milan (IT). I then worked as Postdoctoral Associate in the Laboratory of Neuropsychopharmacology and Functional Neurogenomics, headed by Prof. Popoli from 2009 to 2015 (University of Milan). Between 2010 and 2011, I spent 1 year at the University of Aarhus in the labs of Profs Gregers Wegener and Jens Nyengaard. I am now Assistant Professor at the University of Milan. My main research interests are: 1- Investigation of the regulation of synaptic function and gene expression with regard to acute/chronic stress, pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric/neurodegenerative disorders, mechanisms of psychotropic drugs. 2-Identification of new targets for diagnosis or treatment.

P.A. Nakonezny is an Associate Professor of Biostatistics in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW). He also holds a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Psychiatry at UTSW. Dr. Nakonezny has considerable experience in statistical methods and application of such methods to clinical research, including clinical trials, observational, and epidemiologic studies. His Field of expertise include Design and analysis of clinical studies and outcomes research.Statistical methodology in clinical trials, observational, and epidemiologic studies.Antipsychotic Medication Adherence.Clinical research spanning theory, methodology, and application mainly to brain illness in such patients (child/adolescent/adult) with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Schizophrenia, ADHD, and Substance Use Disorder. Dr. Nakonezny has collaborated on an array of funded projects spanning theory, methodology, and application mainly to brain illness in such patients with major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and substance use disorder. His work has been published in a variety of prominent peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Dr. Nonogaki (MD, PhD) has worked as a Postdoc Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco and the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla. He has studied the central serotonin network in the regulation of appetite and energy homeostasis. Lorcaserin (Belviq), a selective 5-HT2C receptor agonist, which is used for the treatment of obesity, is based on the original research works by Dr. Nonogaki et al. Current studies are to determine the physiological mechanisms and potential treatment for obesity, type 2 diabetes and their complications. Dr. Nonogaki is also developing novel medical devices for hypertension and diabetes.

Dr. Orsolini Laura is M.D., MSc Criminol, PGCert, Psychiatrist, Senior Researcher Assistant at Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse and Novel Psychoactive Substances Research Unit, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK. She is also Clinical Manager, Consultant Psychiatrist at Neomesia Mental Health, Villa Jolanda Hospital, Maiolati Spontini, Italy. She is also attending the MSc in Affective Neuroscience at Maastricht University. Dr. Orsolini research fields of expertise are Addiction Medicine, Addiction Psychiatry, Forensic Psychiatry, Psychopharmacology, Drug Misuse, Addiction, Novel Psychoactive Substances, Behavioral Addictions and Perinatal Psychopharmacology and Psychiatry.

Klaus Peter Ossenkopp is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychology at Western University, London, Canada. His general research interests are in behavioral neuroscience with an emphasis on brain behavior relationships. These interests have been guided by psychology as well as zoological perspectives, grounded in an evolutionary framework. His research program has focused on biological defense mechanisms related to dealing with environmental toxins or infectious agents at both the physiological as well as behavioral levels. He also has been interested in developing animal models of psychopathology, including rodent models of autism spectrum disorder.

Stefano Pallanti is Full Professor at the University of California Davis, Visiting Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London and Adjunct Associate Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he served as the Founder and Director of the Center of Excellence for OCD, Impulsive and Behavioural Addiction. He is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Florence in Italy where he has been Chair of Education and Director of the Residency Program of Psychiatry since 2010. He is an Executive Committee Member and a Scientific Board Member of the ECNP(European College of Neuropsychopharmacology) and serves in its Educational Committee He is a member of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Psychiatry and of the CNS Spectrums, where he is also a columnist and an International Editor. He is an International fellow member of American Psychiatric Publishing Inc.

MP is Professor of Pharmacology at University of Milano (Italy). He was trained in Biochemistry/Cell Biology at University of Naples and received postdoctoral training at Int. Inst. Genet. Biophysics (Naples), and Dept. of Psychiatry at Washington University, (St. Louis, MO). His studies have contributed to characterization of cellular/molecular mechanisms involved in pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders and psychotropic drug action. He received a NARSAD Independent Investigator Award, and funding from national and international agencies, including the EU. He is author of 120 publications, and currently field editor or editorial board member of neuropsychopharmacology/biological psychiatry journals.

Dr. Puri obtained his medical qualifications (M.A., M.B., B.Chir.) from St. John’s College, University of Cambridge and holds a doctorate (Ph.D.) from Imperial College London. He also holds an undergraduate (B.Sc. (Hons) MathSci, DipStat, DipMath) and postgraduate (PG Dip Maths, M.Math.) qualifications in mathematics and is an Adjunct Professor in Neuroimaging and Spectroscopy at UL. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. He has published more than 190 scientific publications. Dr. Puri is an Associate Editor of the journals BMC Psychiatry, BMC Research Notes (for Biochemistry, Medical Imaging, Neuroscience and Psychiatry), Medical Hypotheses, and Journal of Biomedical Graphics and Computing.

Mark M. Rasenick, Ph.D distinguished Professor of Physiology & Biophysics and Psychiatry University of Illinois Chicago, College of Medicine and Research Service, Jesse Brown VAMC. Dr. Rasenick’s work has focused on G protein signaling in the nervous system. He has been particularly interested in how G proteins and the cytoskeleton work in concert to modify synaptic shape and to form a molecular basis for depression and the action of antidepressant drugs. He is also founder of Pax Neuroscience, a company designed to develop and utilize depression biomarkers for diagnostics, treatment and drug development. He is an elected fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Cuban Academy of Sciences. In addition to research and teaching, Dr. Rasenick is active in public policy. He currently chairs the Advocacy Committee for the American Brain Coalition. While a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow (1999-2000), he was a staff member with the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, (D Mass.). He is also involved in international outreach for neuroscience.

Prof. Dr. Osman Sabuncuoglu has acquired his basic medical proficiency from the Medical School of Ankara University in 1992. He then completed his specialization in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Medical School of Marmara University. He is the first consultant in his field from Turkey who has gained registration in the UK via the application of Article 14, Medical Act. He has identified the relationship between Traumatic Dental Injuries and suggested a descriptive model. He has made pioneering studies on mother-infant psychiatry. His scientific article where he summarized the contributions of Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu, was headlined on the cover of American Journal of Psychiatry. Osman Sabuncuoglu’s studies were backed by the international “Donald Cohen Fellowship '' for two times. Since psychiatric disorders in childhood are heavily interrelated, Dr. Sabuncuoglu carries out his scientific studies in all fields that may be relevant.

Dr. Frank M. Schmidt obtained his M.D. from University Leipzig, Germany, in 2010. Since 2017, he is board certified in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy with a focus on cognitive behavioural therapy. His main research areas are inflammatory and neurophysiological markers in the diagnosis and prediction of therapeutic response in affective disorders.

Dr. Shah obtained his medical degree (MD) from Gujarat University, India. Subsequently, he completed residency in psychiatry from Harlem Hospital Center, New York and fellowship in pain medicine from the University of Washington, Seattle. He also holds a Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston. Currently Dr. Shah is an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry & behavioral sciences at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School, Houston. He is currently a member of the editorial board of journal CPSP, published by Bentham Science Publishers.

Carl Stevenson received his PhD from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and he obtained a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship to conduct his post-doctoral research at the University of Nottingham, UK. While there he also obtained a NARSAD Young Investigator Award to conduct research on early environmental programming of corticolimbic function and fear learning and memory. After a post as a Lecturer in Pharmacology at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK, he returned to Nottingham to become an Assistant Professor in Neuroscience. He has since become an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Nottingham. His current research investigates the neurobiological basis of fear learning and memory in rodents.

Dr Li Su is a Principal Investigator at the University of Cambridge. He leads the Computational Psychiatry theme in the Department of Psychiatry and the NeuroTechnology theme in the Institute for Neuroscience. He is also a visiting professor and the founding director for the Sino-Britain Centre for Cognition and Ageing Research in Southwest University in China. He has a distinguished track record in the development of innovative and original methods of multimodal imaging analysis and their applications to psychiatric and late-life degenerative disorders, and has expertise in MR, PET, EEG, MEG and computational modelling.

Dr. Tampi is a Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and the Vice Chairman for Education and Faculty Development, Residency Program Director and the Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry at MetroHealth, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Tampi also maintains his appointment as an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Tampi was a recipient of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, 2013-Clinician of the Year Award. He is a Distinguished Fellow at the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Tampi is the President of the International Medical Graduates (IMG) Caucus of the American Psychiatric Association.

I started working on the implication of postsynaptic density genes in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric diseases in 2002, first as a student, then as a resident student in psychiatry, studying the involvement of Homer family proteins in molecular responses to antipsychotic and psychotomimetic drugs, and their implication in the pathophysiology of the main psychiatric disorders (Schizophrenia, Major Depression, and Bipolar Disorder). In January 2010, I earned my Postgraduate Degree of Specialist in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy with honours, defending a thesis titled “Role of the Post-Synaptic Density Proteins in the mechanisms of action and side-effects of psychotropic drugs”.

Dr. Matteo Tonna is Professor of clinical psychiatry and psychopathology at University of Parma and at the post- graduate school of Psychiatry. He did Specialization in Psychiatry in the year 2006. His field of expertise includes Psychopathology – Schizophrenia, Psychotic Disorders, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. He is a Medical Doctor at the Psychiatric Clinic of the University Hospital of Parma. Dr. Tonna has numerous national and international publications to his credit. He is also a registered member of Italian Alpine Club, section of Parma and instructor of Mountaineering at the Italian Alpine Club in Parma.

Prof. Divya Vohora obtained her doctorate in Pharmacology in 2000 from Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi and is currently Professor of Pharmacology and In-charge of Pharmaceutical Medicine Programme in Faculty of Pharmacy. She is also Assistant Dean Students Welfare at Jamia Hamdard. She has 19 years of teaching/research experience with >100 publications in reputed national and international journals with >1100 citations. She has received grants and worked as Principal investigator for various research projects funded by AICTE, ICMR, UGC, CSIR and DST, Government of India. Thirty nine (M.Pharm: 29 and Ph.D: 10) degrees are awarded under her supervision. Her major areas of research interests are Neurobehavioral Pharmacology particularly epilepsy, neuropsychiatric diseases, cognitive functions, histamine and osteoporosis.

Vincent Van Waes graduated from the University of Lille, France, with a Master degree in Cognitive Science. He earned the PhD degree in Neuroscience from the University of Lille, France, in collaboration with the Sapienza University of Roma, Italy, in 2008 (European Label). Following postdoctoral work at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology of the Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, USA, he joined in 2010 the University of Bourgogne-Franche Comté, France as a Research Assistant Professor (Maître de Conférences) in the Laboratory of Integrative and Clinical Neuroscience and was appointed Professor in 2017.

Prof. Abraham Weizman obtained his MD degree from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel and subsequently spent 2 years as a visiting scientist at NIMH in Bethesda, MD. He is a Professor of Adult and Child Psychiatry, the Head of the Research Unit at Geha Mental Health Center and Director of the Felsenstein Medical Research Center, all affiliated with the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University. Professor Weizman investigates brain mechanisms of mental disorders. In recent years he focuses on neurodevelopmental disorders, the development of new strategies for the treatment of psychotic disorders and psychopharmacology of mental disorders.

Dr. Robert Christian Wolf obtained his M.D. from Ulm University, Germany, and became board certified in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy in 2009. Currently, Dr. Wolf is Assistant Medical Director at the Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, where he is also head of the “Cognitive Neuropsychiatry” working group. He has published more than 150 scientific publications, with an internationally well-documented track record in behavioral neuropsychology and neuroimaging. Dr. Wolf is a member of several national and international professional and scientific associations and serves as an ad-hoc referee for internationally renowned journals within the field of clinical psychiatry and cognitive neuroscience.

Dr. Hammond is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and Assistant Professor at The Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences with a joint appointment in the Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit (Substance Abuse Services). He is a clinician and researcher with expertise in the fields of developmental psychopathology, youth substance use, neuroimaging, and psychopharmacology. At Johns Hopkins, Dr. Hammond heads overlapping clinical and research programs unified around a central theme of understanding the mechanisms underlying and improving prevention, early intervention, and treatment outcomes for substance use/addictions in youth and families.

Dr. Habibullah Khalilullah is currently working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry & Pharmacognosy, Qassim University, Saudi Arabia. He did his post-graduation and doctorate in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from Hamdard University, India. Previously, he worked as an Assistant Professor in Alwar Pharmacy College, RUHS, India and S.D College of Pharmacy and Vocational Studies, UPTU, India. Dr. Khalilullah has years of pharmaceutical research and teaching experience in the areas of Medicinal Chemistry, Phytochemistry, Molecular Modelling and Drug Design. He has also published more than 40 research and review papers and attended many national and international conferences for presentation of research paper.

Dr Mukesh Kripalani is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is a full time practicing clinician and works as Consultant Adult Psychiatrist and Adult ADHD specialist and Medical Lead for the ADHD centre in the UK. He qualified in both India and the UK and holds the titles of MBBS, MD, FRCPSYCH, S12(2) and AC. His clinical practice in the NHS has included adult inpatient psychiatry, community psychiatry, Rehabilitation and Early Intervention in psychosis. He has actively been involved with clinical research as principal investigator in a variety of randomised trials in the NHS and is dedicated to evidence based practices.

Dr.D.Sivaraman is a Pharmacologist who received his Ph.D in the field of neurodegenerative disease from The Tamil Nadu Dr.M.G.R. Medical University. He is currently serving as a distinguished Scientist at the research and development unit of Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai. Dr.D.Sivaraman is a recognized expert on Toxicological and Pharmacological profiling of synthetic molecules, new drug entities, herbs and other AYUSH formulations in selective preclinical animal models. He is an accomplished researcher in neurodegenerative disorders. Having excellent skills in Experimental Pharmacology, Animal research, In-vivo, In-vitro and In-Silico screening models for the evaluation of safety and efficacy of investigational molecules. Further, his expertise widely covers Alzheimer’s research, Molecular biology, Novel Drug Delivery Systems and Phytomedicine. As a passionate researcher so far he has published more than 50 research publications in various international peer reviewed journals including two book publications in the field of Alzheimer’s disease and ulcer research. He is a reviewer and editorial board member of several National and International Journals. Dr.D.Sivaraman is a life member of various professional bodies like Indian Pharmacological Society, Laboratory Animal Scientist Association of India, Indian Pharmacists Association, Asian Council of Science Editors and Tamil Nadu state Pharmacy Council. In 2018, he received the International council for lab animal science award for young investigator (ICLAS) and highest accreditation for lab animal scientist followed by the Sir C.V.Raman National Award for excellence in research. In 2017 he bagged Har Gobind Khorana Best Young Scientist Award. In 2015 he received the most prestigious Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Young Scientist Award. In 2013 he received the Motivation of Excellence Award from Governor of Tamil Nadu and in the same year he has received the Dronacharya Award from Rotary club of ERA, Chennai. In 2012 he received the highest blood donor award from the Indian Red Cross society.

Dr Karthick Subramanian is a consultant psychiatrist working as Assistant Professor, in the Department of Psychiatry, in Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (MGMCRI), from Puducherry, India. He has been practicing both academic and clinical psychiatry since 2015. His main research interests would include study of bipolar disorder, substance abuse, suicide, and community psychiatry. He has more than 25 international publications across major scientific journals to his credit. In addition to research methods, he is also interested in clinical teaching focusing on psychopathology and history-taking in patients. His current projects are focussed on research in suicide, caregiver burden in suicide survivors, caregiver burden in substance use disorders, and academic psychiatry.

Dr. Shaolei Teng is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Biology at Howard University. He received his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Clemson University, and completed his postdoctoral training in Bioinformatics and Genomics at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Dr. Teng’s research interests are to develop and apply bioinformatics approaches for analyzing the genetic variations associated with human diseases and discovering biological knowledge hidden in the massive data sets. Dr. Teng has published more than twenty papers in the peer-reviewed journals such as Molecular Psychiatry, BMC Genomics, Amino Acids and Biophysical Journal.