Bulletin 22.05.08

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

________________________________________

1. Message From President

 We are now convinced that we have an accurate record of our membership (that is fully paid up members). The Society has a little over 200 people. We need to turn our attention to how we can increase this membership and attract younger people to the Society. We will be discussing this at the forthcoming Executive teleconference meeting in June.

I will be representing the Society at the meeting of the Mental Health Council of Australia also to be held in June.

Australian Rotary will not be bringing out an International Speaker this year and from now on. Instead they will be offering an award in Knowledge Dissemination through ASPR. This will be offered this year. Tony Jorm and Eoin Killackey and the Society’s Knowledge Dissemination group are working on guidelines and timelines for this new Award. A separate email will be sent to all members as soon as these details are available and approved by Rotary.  

All the best,
Henry

3. ASPR Matters

4. Conferences And Related

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

 The annual ASPR conference is being held in Newcastle, NSW, Australia from the 2 – 5 December planning is underway to bring you an exciting, varied and innovative program.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Early April:          Call for Abstracts Open, Registration open

7th 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

MHCA MEMBERS POLICY FORUM
Canberra, 12 June 2008

The Mental Health Council of Australia’s next Members Policy Forum will be held on the 12th of June, coinciding with the Grace Groom Memorial Lecture. 

Professor Henry Jackson will be attending as representative of the ASPR.

All enquiries should be forwarded to:

Stephanie Way
Corporate Support Officer
Email:    Stephanie.way@mhca.org.au
Fax:        02 6285 2100

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.

KEY DATES

• Registration Open                               30 April 2008
• Early Bird Registration Close             20 August 2008
• Call for Abstracts Open                      30 April 2008
• Call for Abstracts Close                      30 June 2008

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.

KEY DATES

• Abstract Submissions Close       25 April 2008
• Notification to Abstract Authors   16 June 2008
• Early Bird Registration Open       January 2008
• Early Bird Registrations Close    11 July 2008

 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 is available from our website ttp://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

Please note that the call for abstracts will close 13 June and early bird registrations close 16 June.

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 IN SEPTEMBER 2008

THE BRAIN THAT CHANGES ITSELF
stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science

by DR NORMAN DOIDGE

An astonishing new scientific discovery called neuroplasticity is overthrowing the centuries-old notion that the adult human brain is fixed and unchanging.

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
dementiacrc@unsw.edu.au

5. Scholarships

The Research Trust Fund of the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW invites applications from individuals or research teams in the field of psychosocial research in schizophrenia for funding of up to $30,000 per annum.
Funding is usually provided for one year only however multiyear
finding will be considered contingent upon satisfactory annual reports and a second application.

Objectives of the Research Trust Fund
• To provide financial support for research projects examining psychosocial factors and how they relate to schizophrenia
• To provide financial support to pilot novel psychosocial treatments in schizophrenia
• To support programs that examine the role of clubhouses in the provision of
recovery services in schizophrenia
Eligibility Criteria
• Researchers must be based in NSW
• The project must address the research aims of the research trust funds
• The project must be completed within 2 years
• Joint funding with other funding organisations would be considered
Applications
Only one application from anyone organisation will be accepted.
All applications should be forwarded to:
The Secretary,
Research Trust Fund of the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW
Locked Bag 5014
Gladesville 1675

Closing date – 30th June 2008.
Late applications will not be considered.

For more information :
http://www.sfnsw.org.au/pdfsrfs/Research/Research%20Trust%20Fund.pdf

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.