February 19, 1999
NIMH Track to Help Clinicians Learn Latest Research Findings
Many psychiatric clinicians attending APA's annual meeting find themselves hard pressed to select among sessions designed specifically to meet providers' immediate information needs and may neglect sessions focused exclusively on research. For these psychiatrists in particular, a special series of submitted and invited sessions in a variety of formats will be held at this year's annual meeting. The series was planned collaboratively by APA and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). It will highlight the relevance and excitement of breaking research while respecting the competing demands on audience members' time.
Inspired by the priority that NIMH Director Steven E. Hyman, M.D., attaches to "translational research," the new research track is an outgrowth of discussions between the APA Scientific Program Committee, chaired by Pedro Ruiz, M.D.; APA's Office of Research, directed by APA Deputy Medical Director Harold Pincus, M.D., and the leadership at NIMH.
Their aim was to provide a psychiatric "research sampler" that would encourage attendance on the part of APA members and guests who, unlike their research colleagues, have not spent major portions of their professional careers examining fluctuations in an ion channel or keeping pace with the latest twists and turns in genomic science.
David Shore, M.D., associate director for clinical research at NIMH, challenged NIMH program heads from particularly fast-moving, high-priority areas of research to put together sessions designed to familiarize audience members with scientific terms and concepts to improve understanding of psychiatric disorders in the near future.
The resulting NIMH Research Track will consist of a lecture and four three-hour symposia in which presenters will focus on the implications of research for the frontline practice of psychiatry, as well as a number of other sessions.
A sixth session is for psychiatrists who plan to do more than simply view the current research vista. This session, jointly hosted by NIMH, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, will offer a how-to course in research grantsmanship. Walter Goldschmidt, Ph.D., associate director for research training and development in the Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science, will represent NIMH and be on hand to assist those interested in applying for research grants, seeking training and career development funds, or getting in touch with other staff of NIMH or the National Institutes of Health.
Here is a brief description of the scientific sessions in the track:
How Neuroscience Continues to Change Psychiatry
In this lecture, Steven E. Hyman, M.D., director of the National Institute of Mental Health, will discuss the importance of neuroscientific research in unlocking the secrets of mental illnesses and devising effective treatments and prevention strategies. All mental illnesses investigated to date result from the interaction of multiple vulnerability genes with nongenetic factors.
The Neuroscience of Severe Mental Disorders
This symposium, organized by NIMH's Steven Zalcman, M.D., and Douglas Meinecke, Ph.D., will consider, among other topics, the implications for understanding and treating mental disorders of new information about brain development, the molecular and cellular components of neural pathways, and plasticity as the basis of learning and memory.
Genetic Dissection of the Nervous System and Its Disorders
This symposium, organized by Steven Moldin, Ph.D., will present an overview of methodologies, tools, and technologies being applied to dissect the genetic basis of the nervous system, complex behaviors, and severe brain disorders in humans and experimental animal systems. Among the genetic and genomic technologies now being used by psychiatric investigators are new quantitative methods to identify disease-susceptibility genes and techniques for high-throughput behavioral phenotyping in the mouse.
The Psychopharmacology of Severe Mental Disorders
Despite the broader response profiles and generally more favorable risk-benefit ratios available with new generation medications now being used to treat depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders, gaps in knowledge persist to the detriment of physicians and patients. A significant number of patients do not respond to the "best available treatments," yet it is unclear how to determine the best alternatives. Fundamentally new information and medications are needed for children and the elderly. This session, organized by Matthew Rudorfer, M.D., will review new developments and the next steps in psychopharmacology research.
Cultural Factors in Severe Mental Disorders
A new generation of cross-cultural psychiatric research is continuing to underscore the profound influence of culture on the experience and expression of symptoms, creating idioms of distress and behavioral patterns unique to societies and subcultures. Delores Parron, Ph.D., former director of the NIMH Office of Special Populations and recently appointed deputy assistant secretary for program systems in the Department of Health and Human Services, organized a symposium that will include presentations from several perspectives, running the gamut from anthropology to pharmacodynamics. Presentations will emphasize the many, often subtle ways in which the cultural competency of clinicians and researchers can make a difference both for patients and for an understanding of severe psychopathology.
The dates and times for all components of the NIMH Research Track will be published in a future issue of Psychiatric News and will be identified in the annual meeting program.
