The Australian Society for Psychiatric Research

Bulletin 18.07.08

1. Message from President
2. ASPR Committee Contacts
3. ASPR Matters
4. Conferences and Related
5. Scholarships
6. Positions Available

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1. Message From President

Planning towards the 2008 ASPR Conference in Newcastle is proceeding well and you will be aware that the new deadline for Abstracts is 31 July 2008.

I am following up on several issues arising from the Mental Health Council meeting on 12 June 2008.

Also, I hope to be able to announce the location of the 2009 ASPR Conference in the next Bulletin.

Australian Rotary will not be sponsoring an international speaker at this year’s ASPR Conference as they have done for the last 2 years. Instead there will be an Award in the area of Knowledge Dissemination. I thank Eoin Killackey and Tony Jorm for putting together this proposal which has been accepted by Australian Rotary. I am awaiting the final sign off from Rotary; essentially this involves approval of the wording of the conditions of the award. I hope we can advertise this very soon and we will put this out as a separate email to all members.

All the best
Henry

2. ASPR Committee Contacts

Professor Henry Jackson (President)                    henryjj@unimelb.edu.au
Associate Professor Trevor Norman (Secretary)   trevorrn@unimelb.edu.au
Professor Andrew Mackinnon (Treasurer)            Andrew.Mackinnon@anu.edu.au

ACT: Dr Peter Butterworth                   Peter.Butterworth@anu.edu.au
NSW: Dr Helen Stain                           Helen.Stain@newcastle.edu.au
NZ:    Dr Caroline Bell                         caroline.bell@chmeds.ac.nz
NZ:    Dr Sunny Collings                       sunny.collings@otago.ac.nz
QLD: Dr Geoff Waghorn                    geoff_waghorn@qcmhr.uq.edu.au
SA:    Professor Cherrie Galletly            cherrie@drgalletly.com
VIC:   Professor Graham Burrows         gdb@unimelb.edu.au
WA: Ms Giulietta Valuri                       giulietta.valuri@uwa.edu.au
TAS: Ms Kristy Sanderson                    kristy.sanderson@utas.edu.au
Dr Clair Kelly (coopted)                       ckel@unimelb.edu.au
Associate Professor Brian Dean (coopted) bdean_mhri@iprimus.com.au
Dr Elizabeth Scarr (coopted)                     elscarr@unimelb.edu.au
Dr Eoin Killackey (coopted)                      eoin@unimelb.edu.au
Associate Professor Amanda Baker (2008 Conference Organiser) amanda.baker@newcastle.edu.au

3. ASPR Matters

* Member for Tasmania nominated – Kristy Sanderson has been nominated as ASPR representative for Tasmania.

*Second member for New Zealand co-opted - Sunny Collins has been co-opted as a second member to represent New Zealand. North and South Islands are now both represented, and ASPR committee were in agreement that increased representation in NZ will enhance the potential opportunities for links to government and for increased membership. In order for this position to become permanent a rule change in the ASPR constitution will have to be approved by ASPR members at an AGM.

* Call for nominations – ASPR treasurer and Secretary. Trevor Norman and Andrew MacKinnon will be retiring from their positions in accordance with the ASPR constitution, which requires retirement following 9 years on the committee. This shall remain a standing item until nominations close prior to the AGM at the Newcastle Conference. Nominations should be directed to the President, Henry Jackson: henryjj@unimelb.edu.au

MENTAL HEALTH GROUPS UNITE TO CALL FOR COAG ACTION

In an unprecedented move in the history of mental health, the four national mental health consumer and carer advocacy peak bodies submitted on 26th May, 2008 to the Senate Community Affairs Committee - Inquiry into Mental Health a call for a high level taskforce as a matter of urgency, to look at a number of critical issues including the correlation between childhood sexual abuse, trauma and neglect and the development in some people of mental illness as a result. A key task requested by the coalition for the Taskforce was to investigate the diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder and the dismissive and disparaging attitudes held by many health professionals. The investigations need also to address the lack of and underfunding of appropriate services. We know that many doctors choose not to label their patients with this diagnosis knowing that attitudes held by many health professionals will be counter productive to their care.

With the media coverage very recently of the severe neglect and abuse of children across Australia, the coalition feels the timing has never been more relevant to call on COAG, through the Senate Community Affairs Committee in the best interests of children and adolescent and adult survivors, than to act now. A number of key organisations have written letters of support for the coalition's call, and we thank them for their strong support. This is an issue which has united mental health in recent days and hence my approach to you now, through the MHCA's members mailing list.

I am asking for your/your organisation's support for the coalition's call for a Taskforce to immediately investigate these critical issues. This could be done as simply as writing to the Committee in support of the coalition's call. Time is of the essence as a Final Report is currently being drafted and your responses should be sent off as soon as possible. The electronic address for letters of support is:
community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au

For a full report please contact:

Janne McMahon OAM email: jmcmahon@senet.com.au

08 8336 2378, mob: 0417 893 741

4. Conferences And Related

To submit an abstract, log onto the ASPR Conference website at www.willorganise.com.au/aspr2008 follow the links to the abstract submission.

Abstracts will be published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry - hence the early deadline needed to allow time for allocation of abstracts and preparation for publication.

Registration is also open for the conference, and you can now register at the earlybird rate.

If you have any questions in relation to the conference, please do not hesitate to contact the Conference Secretariat.

Tel: 02 4973 6573
Email: aspr2008@willorganise.com.au
Website: www.willorganise.com.au/aspr2008

ASPR CONFERENCE
2- 5 December 2008
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

The annual ASPR conference is being held in Newcastle, NSW, Australia - planning is underway to bring you an exciting, varied and innovative program.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Early April: Call for Abstracts Open, Registration open

31st July Close of Abstract Submission

1st September: Early Bird Deadline for Registration Closes.

For more information, log onto the conference website at: www.willorganise.com.au/aspr2008
Or contact the conference secretariat for more information (details below).

ASPR Conference Secretariat
PO Box 180
Morisset NSW 2264
Tel: 02 4973 6573
Fax: 02 4973 6609
Email: aspr2008@willorganise.com.au

10th Biennial Australasian Schizophrenia Conference
Recovery in Schizophrenia - The Great Open Road,
October 23-24, 2008, Lorne

The Australasian Schizophrenia Conference promises an enlightening programme of international and local speakers presenting the latest research in a variety of areas including cognition, neurodevelopment, neuroscience, psychosocial treatments, drug therapies and epidemiology.

Abstracts from all fields of schizophrenia research are welcome. Fellow professionals in all health streams, consumers and carers are welcome and encouraged to attend this important and exciting conference to foster further international collaboration and reform. We look forward to you joining us in the picturesque Victorian coastal town of Lorne for a conference which promises to open the road towards recovery in schizophrenia.

Venue          Mantra Erskine Beach Resort, Lorne Victoria
Date             22 to 23 Oct 2008
Email            info@asc08.com
Website       www.iepa2008.com/RelatedMeetings.html
Tel:               (03) 9682 0500

6th International Conference on Early Psychosis
Early Intervention – The Next Wave
October 23-24 2008, Melbourne

In 2008 national and international speakers will come together to:

Highlight the latest progress in research and clinical care in early psychosis
Focus on linkages across diagnostic groups in early intervention
Consider the relationships between different stages of illness
Promote further international collaboration and reform

Under the leadership of Professor Patrick McGorry, a scientific programme is being developed by leading mental health experts from around the world to ensure the content is stimulating, groundbreaking and highly educational.

Venue          Melbourne Convention Centre (Crn of Spencer St and Flinders St)
Date             20 to 22 October 2008
Email            info@iepa2008.com
Website       www.iepa2008.com
Tel:               (03) 9682 0500

4th AH & MR Congress, 16-21st November 2008, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre

Please visit the meeting website: www.ahmrcongress.org.au

The second Annual National Dementia Research Forum will be held at the Wesley Conference Centre in Sydney 18-19 September 2008. This year, we have been able to engage four international speakers and the program will include a variety of sessions: plenaries, workshops, poster sessions, a hypothetical, a breakfast with the experts and a working lunch for emerging researchers.

A program, registration form and call for poster abstracts are available from our website http://www.dementia.unsw.edu.au/DCRCweb.nsf/page/Forum.

If you'd like to know, what last year's delegates said about the Forum, please have a look at our October 2007 DCRC Newsletter at: http://www.dementia.unsw.edu.au/DCRCweb.nsf/resources/News2006/$file/Newsletter+-+Dementia+CRC+-+Issue+4.pdf

The 8th Annual Scientific Meeting of the International College of Geriatric Psychoneuropharmacology will be held at UNSW Scientia on 3rd to 6th September 2008.
This landmark meeting serves to foster cross-fertilisation of scientific knowledge among clinical and preclinical scientists from different related disciplines. The theme for the 2008 meeting is “Protecting and Repairing the Ageing Brain”. The program will include healthy brain ageing and the full range of neuropsychiatric disorders in the elderly, including dementias, MCI, late onset schizophrenia, mood and anxiety disorders of late life, sleep disorders, Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, stroke and cerebrovascular disease.
For further information please email: icgp2008@unsw.edu.au
Lauren Norton: 02 9382 2094
Website: www.icgp.org

Author Tour, September 2008
THE BRAIN THAT CHANGES ITSELF
stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science
by DR NORMAN DOIDGE

Psychiatrist and researcher Norman Doidge, M.D., travelled around the United States to meet the brilliant scientists championing neuroplasticity, and the people whose lives they’ve transformed. Dr Doidge has written an immensely moving, inspiring book that will permanently alter the way we look at our brains, human nature, and human potential.

Sally Rosevear
Events & Marketing Coordinator
Scribe Publications

595 Drummond St
(PO Box 523)
North Carlton
VIC 3054

ph: 03 9349 5955
fax: 03 9348 2752
email: marketing@scribepub.com.au
website: www.scribepublications.com.au

Psychogenic Cardiovascular Disease Conference
3-5 September 2008
Prato, Tuscany

The Baker Heart Research Institute inaugural “Heart and Mind” conference will be held in the delightful Tuscan town of Prato, Italy, from 3-5 September, 2008. The Baker Heart Research Institute is Australia’s highest profile and most productive cardiovascular research institute.

The conference will have as its centrepoint the link between psychological medicine and cardiovascular disease, delineating the relationship between stress, mental illness, and the development and course of heart disease and hypertension. It will showcase the crucial epidemiology, mediating neural and other mechanisms, and social and psychological measures applicable to prevention and treatment. There will be invited addresses by international leaders in the field. The target audience will be general practitioners, cardiologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, epidemiologists and social scientists.

For program details, registration and abstract submission visit www.heartandmind.prato2008.com

National Dementia Research Forum
18 – 19 September 2008
Sydney Masonic Centre
http://www.dementia.unsw.edu.au
email: dementiacrc@unsw.edu.au

5. Scholarships

ASMR is pleased to announce the 2008 ASMR Professional Development Program to be held in five major cities:
Melbourne                  12 August
Brisbane                    14 August
Sydney                        18 August
Perth                           20 August
Adelaide                     22 August

The ASMR Professional Development Program is designed to fill what is currently a gap in executive training for mid-career Australian medical researchers.

Ongoing professional training is not available to the majority of medical researchers who while they may have excelled scientifically, still need to develop the management skills that will enable them to successfully run their own laboratories, attract funding and progress in the National Health and Medical Research Council Fellowship scheme.

Health and Medical Researchers who are between 5-12 years postdoctoral are invited to participate.

Topics covered will include:

How to set up, run and maintain a successful research group
I have great ideas; how do I fund them?
Work/Life balance
Master class in professional skills

For full program and registration details go to: http://www.asmr.org.au/breakingnews.html

Research and Practice (CPNRP) at the University of Melbourne, and the Australian Mental Health Consumer Network (AMHCN) are extremely pleased to announce the Partnerships in Wellbeing Awards 2008

The Partnerships in Wellbeing Awards, inaugurated in 2001, recognise and
support innovative programs to help people with a mental illness to optimise their lifestyle and improve quality of life.
Major awards up to $6000 each and recognition awards up to $1000 each will support the development and continuation of existing programs. The programs can be delivered within a mental health service or by voluntary community groups.
Applications will be judged by a panel of representatives from ACMHN, CPNRP and AMHCN.
Awards will recognise:
- The existence of an evaluation process, and any evidence from such a process. This will be highly regarded, as it will demonstrate the effectiveness of the program
- A focus on optimising consumers’ quality of life
- A multidisciplinary approach with involvement of mental health nurses and other allied mental health professionals
- An innovative approach that has not attracted significant funding from other sources

Application forms will be available in April, and can be obtained from www.mindbodylife.com.au
or by contacting Dr Mike Exton at Eli Lilly Australia at m.exton@lilly.com.

Winners will be announced at the ACMHN Conference, Melbourne, October,6th-10th, 2008.

The 2008 LIFE Awards are now OPEN FOR NOMINATION!!!

The LIFE Awards are a prestigious national annual event which acknowledges the vital work that is being undertaken in the prevention of suicide across Australia.

The LIFE Awards are held in conjunction with World Suicide Prevention Day, 10th September. The theme for this year is "Think Globally, Plan Nationally, Act Locally".

.The 'LIFE' AWARDS acknowledges great contribution to suicide prevention. Awards are in nine categories:
*       Business
*       Youth
*       Community
*       Indigenous
*       Public Sector
*       Media (print)
*       Media (non-print)
*       Research - Lifetime
*       Research - Emerging

Please visit www.suicidepreventionaust.org/Awards.aspx for more information including a description of each award category.

SPA would encourage nominations to be sent in as early as possible, but no later than COB Thursday 28th August 2008.

Please note, you are able to self nominate for a LIFE Award.

The Australian Society for Medical Research
The ASMR Research Awards

The Australian Society for Medical Research invites applications for “The ASMR Research Awards”.

Each award ($5000 international or $2000 domestic) will support a postgraduate student member of the Society nearing completion of their studies or a recently graduated postdoctoral member to undertake a short period of research in a laboratory outside their home city.

The award specifically excludes support for conference attendance and travel for an extended period of postdoctoral studies.

Applicants for “The ASMR Research Awards” must have been members of the ASMR for at least 12 months immediately preceding the year in which the Award application is to be considered. Applicants must have conducted no more than 3 years active research post their highest degree (career interruptions will be considered). The Award must be taken up during the first 6 months of the following
year.

The recipients of the Award will be announced at the National Scientific Conference of the Society. A condition of receipt of the Award is that the recipients will be available to present their data at the National Scientific Conference of the Society in the year of the Award. Further, the recipients will provide an article about their research for inclusion in the November issue of the newsletter of the Society in the year of the Award. Any publications resulting from work supported by the Award should acknowledge the financial contribution of “The ASMR Research Award”.

For more information go to: http://www.asmr.org.au/Awards.html

Applications must be received by the closing date (5:00 pm, Tuesday September 30, 2008). Facsimiles will not be accepted.

An original application form and four copies should be sent to:
The Honorary Secretary, ASMR,
145 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000

The Australian Society for Medical Research ACN 000 599 235 -ABN 18 000 599 235
145 Macquarie Street. Sydney, 2000 Ph: (02) 9256 5450, Fax (02) 9252 0294

Email: asmr@world.net, Website: www.asmr.org.au
Enquiries should be addressed to :Snr Executive Officer: Catherine West

Have you heard about Alzheimer's Australia Research's 2008 Dementia Grants Program?

AAR is happy to be offering a wide range of research grants in 2008, including travel grants, grants focusing on dementia care, and grants for new researchers, and is encouraging quality applications from all around Australia:

Research Grants

4 x AAR Dementia Research Grants for new researchers of $20,000
Hazel Hawke Research Grant in Dementia Care of $20,000

Travel Grants

Rosemary Foundation Travel Project Grant of $10,000
Rosemary Foundation Travel Stipend Grant of $5,000

Postgraduate Scholarships

Hunter Postgraduate Research Scholarship into the Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease ($23,000 per year for 3 years)

Postdoctoral Fellowships

AAR Post-doctoral Fellowship ($90,000 per year for 2 years)
4 x Viertel Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowships in Dementia ($45,000 per year for 2 years with payments matched by applicants’ institution)

Applications for Research and Travel Grants will close on 25 April 2008. Applications for the Postdoctoral Fellowships are now open and close on 28 April 2008. Postgraduate Scholarship applications open in September 2008 and will close on 31 October 2008.

Application forms and further information can be found at http://www.alzheimers.org.au/content.cfm?topicid=250 .

If you have any questions please contact:

Dinusha Fernando
Email: aar@alzheimers.org.au
Phone: (02) 6254 4233
Alzheimer’s Australia Research
PO Box 4019
Hawker ACT 2614

6. Position Vacant

**VICSERV Employment for People with Mental Illness

Psychiatric Disability Services of Victoria (VICSERV), the peak body for psychiatric rehabilitation and support services in Victoria, is conducting an employment campaign for people with mental illness. The VICSERV campaign focuses on the following issues:

develop a national mental health employment strategy to adequately address employment issues for people with mental illness seeking work,
review and overhaul the Job Capacity Assessment process, which currently acts as a disincentive and barrier to people with mental illness seeking work, and
recognise the need for a system that is sufficiently flexible and supportive to meet the needs of people with mental health issues in accessing and retaining work.

Organisations can participate in this campaign by opting-in and ordering postcards from VICSERV, who will provide full-colour postcards (printed with the organisation’s logo) and a pdf kit (created with the organisations logo and contact details) outlining the issues and the actions to involve members/supporters. Individuals and organisations can also participate in the campaign by signing-up and receiving information including postcards and a kit.

Information on the campaign is available through the VICSERV website at http://www.vicserv.org.au/

This is a very worthwhile campaign being undertaken by VICSERV and MHCA members should contact or seek further information from VICSERV if they are interested in taking part.