March 24, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will host an interactive live conference on schizophrenia, depression and other psychiatric conditions from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 10 in the UAB Margaret Cameron Spain Auditorium.
UAB is one of 45 local host sites for this national event, "Healthy Minds Across America." Presented by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), it is designed to educate the public about U.S. research conducted into schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.
Conference attendees will have the opportunity to participate in the national discussion of new and exciting research in mental health fields with scientists and clinicians working to better understand and treat these illnesses. The Birmingham venue is sponsored by the UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology in conjunction with the UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center.
The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited and reservations are recommended. Call 877-460-2003 or go online at www.psychiatry.uab.edu for more information and to register.
The conference will feature live and video presentations examining the current status of psychiatric research and innovative treatments on the horizon. Three UAB researchers will present: Adrienne Lahti, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry, will demonstrate how brain imaging helps understand the activity of antipsychotic drugs; F. Cleveland Kinney, M.D., professor of psychiatry, will present an update on Alzheimer's disease research; and Karen Gamble, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry, will discuss circadian rhythms and mood disorders.
UAB psychiatrists Jacqueline Feldman, M.D., Daniel Dahl, M.D., and Rachel Fargason, M.D., will join those three for an expert panel on mental health research; conference attendees will interact with all of them during research-poster session.
Moderators of the UAB conference are James Meador-Woodruff, M.D., chair of the UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, and Xiaohua Li, M.D., Ph.D., vice chair for research of the UAB Department of Psychiatry.
About the UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology
The UAB Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology provides a broad spectrum of psychiatric services in child/adolescent psychiatry; adult psychiatry, including core areas such as medical-surgical psychiatry, consultation/ER psychiatry and neuropsychiatry outpatient treatment; geriatric psychiatry; and a high-quality addiction-recovery program. The Community Psychiatry Program (CPP) is a comprehensive community mental health center that serves as one of three catchment areas in Birmingham for the seriously mentally ill patient.