Women's Mental Health - Keynote Speakers
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Keynote Presenters include:
Dr Donna Stewart Canada
Topic: Gender Inequities In The Global Village:
The International Women’s Mental Health Consensus Statement And Our Role At The U.N.
Biography - Professor Donna Stewart is an international pioneer in women’s health research. Her research contributions fall into three main areas of women’s health: public health, the relationship between the body and mind (psychosomatics) and mental health.
Professor Stewart is also a leading researcher in women’s mental health. She has published important works concerning the psychological aspects of various aspects of a woman’s life cycle to include psychiatric aspects of infertility, pregnancy, abortion and miscarriage. She has defined the prevalence and treatment of common psychiatric disorders that occur during a woman’s reproductive life such as post-partum mood disorders, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and depression during perimenopause.
Professor Stewart is an advisor to Health Canada and sits on the Ontario Women’s Health Council. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Psychiatrists, the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine as well as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. She is President of the International Association of Women’s Mental Health and Chair of the Section of Women’s Mental Health of the World Psychiatric Association.
Dr Marta Rondon USA
Topic: Social Determinants Of Women's Mental Health
Biography: Psychiatrist, assitant professor at Cayetano Heredia University. Founder of the Peruvian Association for Women's Mental Health in 1997, Chair of the Section of Women's Mental Health of the World Psychiatric Association, author of several papers and book chapters. First woman to be President of the Peruvian Psychiatric Association. Formerly Director General of the Office for Older People, Ministry of Women and Social Development in Peru. She currently sits on the National Committee on Mental Health and the High Level Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Peruvian College of Physicians. Honorary Member of the World Psychiatric Association and recipient of the Medal of Honor of the Peruvian College of Physicians.
Currently working at the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins Hopsital, where Marta is in charge of supervision of services for chronic psychiatric patients whom have a liason unit with Obstetrics (Chritical Care Unit). Marta also sits on the hospital's committee against gender based violence.
Dr Uriel Halbreich USA
Topic: Culturally-Sensitive Diagnosis Of Affective Disorders In Women
Prof Helen Hermann
MD (Melbourne), MBBS, BMedSc, FRANZCP, FFPH(UK), FAFPHM
Helen Herrman is Professor of Psychiatry at ORYGEN Youth Health, University of Melbourne and Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for mental health in Melbourne. From 1992 to 2005, she was Professor and Director of Psychiatry in St. Vincent’s Mental Health Service Melbourne. For a year in 2001-2002 she was acting regional adviser in mental health for the WHO’s Western Pacific Region. She is Secretary for Publications, World Psychiatric Association, and Vice-President of the International Federation of Psychiatric Epidemiology. She is Regional Vice-President Oceania, World Federation for Mental Health.
Prof Anita Riecher-Rössler Switzerland
Topic: Estrogens And Women's Mental Health
Biography: Anita Riecher-Rössler, M.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Head of the Psychiatric Department at the University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland. She is specialised in psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. In 1998, she was the first woman to be appointed to a full chair for psychiatry in a German speaking country.
Her research interests are the field of schizophrenia and that of gender differences in mental disorders and mental disorders in women. Her work in the field of schizophrenia has mainly been on the onset and the early detection of these psychoses, but also on late onset schizophrenia with a special emphasis on late onset in women. A further focus is on psychoneuroendocrinology in schizophrenic women and on mental disorders related to women's reproductive functions.
Prof Anne Buist Australia
Topic: Maternal Mental Health: Finding The Key To Prevention Of Mental Ill Health For Women And Children
Biography: Anne Buist is a leading clinician and researcher in the area of postpartum psychiatric illnesses and women's mental health.
In 2006 she was appointed Professor Director of Women’s Mental Health, a joint Austin Health – Northpark Private hospital position, in conjunction with the University of Melbourne.
In 2001 she received a $4 million dollar grant from beyondblue, for which she was the National Director, for an Australian wide study looking to increase awareness, decrease stigma and promote early detection and intervention in postnatal depression, which concluded in mid 2005.
From 1993 to 1997 she was Director of Psychiatry at the Mercy Hospital and was appointed Associate Professor, University of Melbourne in 1997 when she moved to the Austin Health, where she is Deputy Director of Psychiatry. She was a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Women's Health from 1996 to 1999, past Secretary of the Australian Society of Psychosomatic Obstetrics and Gynaecology and is past President of the Australasian Marcé Society.
Professor Buist was awarded the Annual Travelling Fellowship by ASPOG in 1999, and the AMA National Women’s Health Award in the same year.
She completed the first follow up study of infants exposed to antidepressants in breastmilk and has an international reputation for her studies of antidepressants in breastfeeding women. Other research areas include the long-term effects of childhood abuse and parenting, for which she received her MD at the University of Melbourne in 1999, antenatal prevention of postpartum depression and intervention studies in improving postnatal outcomes.
Dr Teri Pearlstein USA
Topic: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: Diagnosis And Treatment Options
Biography: Teri Pearlstein, M.D. is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. She has been Director of the Women’s Behavioral Health Program at Women and Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island since 1996. She was the Director of the Women’s Treatment Program at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island from 1990-2000. Dr. Pearlstein received her B.A. in Mathematics from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and her M.D. from New York University School of Medicine. She completed both her internship in internal medicine and residency in psychiatry at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
Dr. Pearlstein is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, and is a member of several professional societies including the International Association for Women’s Mental Health, American Psychiatric Association, North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology, Rhode Island Medical Women’s Association, and the Rhode Island Psychiatric Society. She is the current Treasurer of the International Association for Women’s Mental Health and the current Secretary-Treasurer of the North American Society for Psychosocial Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has served as principal investigator on numerous research studies, is a member of several journal editorial boards, and is a frequent presenter at national and international meetings. She has published over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts in her areas of research interest which include premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum disorders, perimenopause, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and other mental health disorders in women.
Prof Lorraine Dennerstein Australia
Topic: Menopause, Sexuality And Mood
Biography: Professor Dennerstein holds a Personal Chair at The University of Melbourne, Australia, where she is Foundation Director of the Office for Gender and Health and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry. She established and directed the first academic centre for teaching and research in women’s health and also the first inpatient mother-baby psychiatric unit in an obstetrics hospital. Her contribution to women's health was recognised by the award of the Order of Australia in 1994. She has been a consultant to the Commonwealth Secretariat (London), the World Health Organisation, the Global Commission on Women's Health (WHO) and the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO. For over 30 years she has researched the relationship of ovarian steroids to women’s mood and sexual functioning. Studies included effects on women’s moods and sexual functioning of: changes in endogenous hormones with menstrual cycle, pregnancy and postpartum, and menopause; hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy; oral contraceptive pill and hormone therapy. Her population based study of women through the menopausal transition has been able to document prospectively the relative importance of hormonal to psychosocial factors in women’s sexual functioning.
Prof Susan Davis Australia
Topic: Menopause
Biography: Susan R. Davis, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, is the Professor of Women’s Health, Monash University, and Director of the Monash University National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Women’s Health, Victoria, Australia.
She is a leader in women’s health research and education. Her research is focused on the consequences of sex steroid deficiency in women and identifying modifiable factors that will improve the health and wellbeing of women in middle and later life.
Professor Davis is a member of Monash University Council and is the immediate past President of the Australasian Menopause Society. She has published over 180 peer reviewed manuscripts and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including an NHMRC Research Scholarship from 1986 to 1988, the Robert Greenblatt Prize for Research of the International Menopause Society 1993, the Glenn Aging Award of the US Endocrine Society 2000, the Glaxo-Welcome Diabetes Education Award 2000, the Barbara Gross Award of the Australasian Menopause Society 2002, the inaugural North American Menopause Society Androgen Research Award 2003 and the Australasian Menopause Society Annual Scientific Award 2006.
Dr Susan Kornstein USA
Topic: Depression - Influence Of Gender And Menopausal Status
Biography: Susan G. Kornstein, M.D. is Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Virginia Commonwealth University, where she serves as Executive Director of the VCU Institute for Women's Health, designated a National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. She is also Director of Clinical Research for the Department of Psychiatry and Executive Director of the VCU Mood Disorders Institute.
Dr. Kornstein is a nationally recognized researcher and thought leader with expertise in women’s mental health and depression. She has been a principal investigator on over 50 research studies in the areas of depression, anxiety disorders, and premenstrual syndrome. She has authored numerous scientific journal articles and book chapters and serves on a number of editorial boards and national advisory boards. She is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Women's Health, and editor of Women's Mental Health: A Comprehensive Textbook (Guilford Press, 2002), which is the first comprehensive textbook on women’s mental health. She has given numerous invited presentations and has chaired symposia at many national and international meetings.
Dr. Kornstein attended college and medical school at Brown University and completed her residency training and a fellowship in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry at the Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Prof Jayashri Kulkarni Australia
Topic: Psychotic Disorders
Biograhy: Jayashri KULKARNI commenced her appointment as Professor of Psychiatry, The Alfred and Monash University in 2002. She directs a large psychiatric research group, the Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (APRC), with approximately 64 staff and students. Funding for this group comes from a number of national and international project grants plus industry collaboration.
Dr Unaiza Niaz Pakistan
Topic: Women's Mental Health In The Face Of Disaster
Biography: Dr Unaiza Niaz M.D., D.P.M., F.R.C. Psych. is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist. She is the Director of The Psychiatric Clinic & Stress Research Center Karachi and former Senior Lecturer for the Faculty of AKU. She is the President & Founder Member of Pakistan Society of Truamatic Stress Studies.
Unaiza was trained in centers of excellence at The Royal Free Hospital, the Tavistock Clinic Hampstead London and The Johns Hopkins University, U.S.A. She has to her credit numerous scientific publications in both national and international journals. Her research interests are Stress Management, Women’s Issues, Medical Health Policy and Post- Graduate Education. She has authored several books including “Emerging Images of Pakistani Women", “Stress Management” and “The Psychosocial Profile of Pakistani Women”.
Prof Mark Creamer Australia
Topic: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Women
Biography: Mark Creamer is Director of the Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health and Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne. The Centre works to improve the recognition, prevention and treatment of mental health problems in survivors of trauma. Mark is a clinical psychologist and has worked with individuals, groups, and communities following trauma and disaster of both natural and human origin. Mark's research focuses on acute and chronic posttraumatic stress, and he has numerous publications in scientific journals and books. He is on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.
Dr Meir Steiner Canada
Topic: The Interface Of Psychiatry And Primary Care
Biography: Meir Steiner, MD, PhD, FRCPC graduated magna cum laude receiving his MD from the Tel Aviv University in 1968 and his PhD in Neurosciences in 1979 from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Professor Steiner’s primary areas of research and publications have been the pathophysiology and psychopathology of mood and anxiety disorders related to women’s reproductive cyclicity. He has received continuous research funding both peer-reviewed and industry sponsored since 1971, and has been involved in or directly responsible for more than 800 publications, abstracts, preliminary communications and panel discussions. He regularly supervises medical, graduate and postgraduate students, residents, interns and postdoctoral fellows at McMaster University as well as the University of Toronto.
He serves on the editorial or advisory boards of several professional journals and has co-authored and edited several books related to mood disorders in women. He is the editor-in-chief of the Archives of Women's Mental Health.
He acts as a medical consultant, as an advisory board member and is on the speakers bureau of several major pharmaceutical companies.
A/Prof Steven Ellen
Steven Ellen is a psychiatrist based at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. He is Head of the Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Department and a Clinical Associate Professor at Monash University. Steve works in the area of psychiatry and physical illness, with special interests in HIV and Trauma. Steve has worked in HIV since 1995, researching mania, depression and cognitive functioning in HIV and risk factors for the transmission of HIV. Steve completed his masters thesis on the topic of secondary mania in HIV and has provided advice to state and national committees related to HIV research and management.
Steve’s other interest is trauma, where he is involved in clinical research addressing psychological morbidity following trauma, and has completed a doctorate examining the role of benzodiazepine receptors in post traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder using positron emission tomography.
Craig H. Kinsley, Ph.D
“Dr. Craig H. Kinsley is Professor of Neuroscience and holder of the MacEldin Trawick chair in Neuroscience at the University of Richmond. He conducts research on brain-behavior relationships, in particular, the formation, maintenance, and persistence of the Maternal Brain. The work and its implications were recently summarized in a January, 2006 Scientific American article. Dr. Kinsley holds a B.A. from the State University of California, Sonoma (1979); and a Ph.D. from the State University of New York, University Center at Albany (1985). From 1985 to 1989, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate in the Laboratory of Human Reproduction and Reproductive Biology, Department of Anatomy, at Harvard Medical School, and an Instructor at Harvard University. He joined the University of Richmond and its Department of Psychology in 1989. He and colleague Kelly Lambert recently published the textbook, Clinical Neuroscience: The Neurobiological Foundations of Mental Health (Worth, 2006). His research is funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and by private foundations such as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Keck Foundation, and Arnold O. Beckman Foundation."
Assoc. Professor Steven EllenMB, BS. M.Med(psych). MD. FRANZCP
Head, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry,
The Alfred.