Chairs
Professor Russell Foster CBE FRS, University of Oxford
Professor Russell Foster CBE FRS, University of Oxford
Russell Foster is the Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology, the founder and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Research Institute and is a Fellow of Brasenose College Oxford. His research addresses how circadian rhythms and sleep are generated and regulated and what happens when these systems fail as a result of societal pressures or disease. A key finding was the discovery and characterization of an unrecognized light-detecting system within the eye that regulates circadian rhythms and sleep, and most recently, the translation of this work to the clinic.
For his work, Russell was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 2008 and the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2013. In 2015 he received the Order of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Science. He is a member of the Governing Council of the Royal Society; he established and led for six years the Royal Society Public Engagement Committee, and is a Trustee of the Science Museum. Russell has published over 250 scientific papers and has received multiple national and international awards. He has also written four popular science books.
Innovations in The Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Professor Barbara Rothbaum, Emory Healthcare Veterans Program
Abstract
The pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy literatures for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will be succinctly reviewed and discussed, focusing on cognitive behavioral treatments (CBT) and specifically exposure therapies. Innovations in the treatment of PTSD will be broadly divided into 1) Medium of Delivery of Exposure Therapy; 2) Enhancing Exposure Therapy with Pharmacological Agents; 3) Timing of Exposure Therapy, and 4) Treatment Delivery Schedules. The medium of delivery of exposure therapy will focus on Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRE). Some of the pharmacological enhancing agents will include cognitive enhancers such as D-Cycloserine and psychedelics such as 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). The timing of exposure therapy will discuss early interventions administered within hours of trauma exposure. Finally, massed prolonged exposure (PE) treatment delivery will be presented using the example of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program intensive outpatient treatment model and pilot data will be presented.
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Professor Barbara Rothbaum, Emory Healthcare Veterans Program
Professor Barbara Rothbaum, Emory Healthcare Veterans Program
Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD is Executive Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. She is a Professor and Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Research at Emory School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program and holds the Paul A. Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmcology. Dr Rothbaum specializes in research on the treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly PTSD. She was a member of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Study on Assessment of Ongoing Efforts in the Treatment of PTSD, and briefed the DOD, VA, House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs and Armed Services Committees on the IOM report results (June 17-18, 2014).
Dr Rothbaum has been studying PTSD treatments since 1986 and has developed, tested, and disseminated some of the most innovative and effective treatments available for PTSD. She is an inventor of virtual reality exposure therapy. She was a pioneer in applying it in the treatment of PTSD in combat veterans. She has authored over 350 scientific papers and chapters, has published 11 books on the treatment of PTSD and edited 4 others on anxiety, and received the Diplomate in Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. She is a past president of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), is currently on the Scientific Advisory Boards for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA), National Center for PTSD (NC-PTSD), and the executive committee of the Warrior Care Network. She is a fellow of the ACNP (American College of Neuropsychopharmacology), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), and American Psychological Association’s Division 56 (Division of Trauma Psychology) and was awarded the 2010 “Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Trauma Psychology” for APA Division 56 and the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). Her outreach efforts include training community clinicians in evidenced based treatment for PTSD.
How to sleep well – understanding the causes and cures for a bad night after trauma
Dr Kirstie Anderson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Abstract
Better nights for better days? Normal quantity and timing of sleep is vital for normal brain function. If sleep is interrupted for any reason it affects mood, memory and metabolism. Therefore improving sleep after a physical or mental health problem should be thought of as a key tool for recovery. The talk will cover the different causes of sleep disturbance after trauma and the evidence for effective therapies. Our research and sleep clinic work focuses upon the impact of sleep upon mental health and the benefits and sometimes side effects of the therapies and in particular medications used during and after major trauma. Education of health professionals, patient and families about sleep and sleep disorders is needed for health after injury.
Improving lives for people following traumatic brain injury
Professor Melinda Fitzgerald, Curtin University and the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) arises as a result of a physical injury to the brain and dramatically impacts the lives of both the patient involved and the people around them. There is a desperate need for new options to improve lives following TBI and give patients and their families hope for the future. TBI arises from a range of circumstances, such as concussion from playing sport, an elderly person having a fall or severe injury arising following a road accident. The resulting injuries vary in severity, ranging from mild to moderate or severe trauma to the brain. Symptoms also span a spectrum of severity, such as deficits in cognition through to vegetative states, varying degrees of lack of emotional control, poor mental health, disrupted balance and sleep disturbances. These can lead to dramatic, often long-lasting, impacts on patients and their families and a substantial financial drain on society.
The Australian Mission for TBI is a large scale federally funded initiative in Australia, providing 10 million AUD over 10 years. The Expert Advisory Panel for the Mission will define priorities for research funding that will improve outcomes for people following TBI of all severity, from concussion through to severe injuries. It is likely that the approach will include a large scale research registry that will enable the prediction of outcomes following injury. In addition, nationwide clinical trials of promising treatments will be conducted. The research of the Australian Mission for TBI has the potential to be transformative and lead to substantially improved outcomes for people who have experienced a TBI.
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Professor Melinda Fitzgerald, Curtin University and the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science
Professor Melinda Fitzgerald, Curtin University and the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science
Melinda Fitzgerald is Professor of Neurotrauma and Deputy Director of the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, jointly appointed by the Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science. Professor Fitzgerald’s research goal is to improve outcomes for patients who have experienced traumatic injury to their central nervous system. She leads her pre-clinical research team in studies to understand how damage spreads following neurotrauma, and uses findings from these fundamental studies to design and test treatment strategies. She is working with her collaborators and clinical research team to facilitate translation of her pre-clinical findings, focusing on prediction of persisting post-concussion symptoms, in order to identify suitable patients for treatment.
The work is part of a broader national initiative to improve outcomes following traumatic brain injury of all severities, which has led to the establishment of a federally funded Mission for Traumatic Brain Injury, for which she is the provisional Chair of the Expert Advisory Panel. She has published over 85 scientific papers, including in discipline leading journals such as J Neuroscience, Nature Nano, ACS Nano, and Biomaterials. She is a Handling Editor for the Journal of Neurochemistry, the Australian representative for the Asia Pacific Regional Committee for IBRO and serves on NHMRC and MS Australia grant review panels as well as a range of scientific advisory committees and steering groups.
Using Virtual Reality (VR) to deliver engaging, efficacious, and fast psychological intervention
Professor Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford, UK
Abstract
Mental health disorders are very common, but far too few people receive the best treatments. Much greater access to the best psychological treatments may be achieved using automated delivery in virtual reality (VR). With virtual reality simulations, individuals can repeatedly experience problematic situations and be taught, via evidence-based psychological treatments, how to overcome difficulties. A key advantage of VR is that individuals know that a computer environment is not real but their minds and bodies behave as if it is real; hence, people will much more easily face difficult situations in VR than in real life and be able to try out new therapeutic strategies. VR treatments can also be made much more engaging and appealing for patients than traditional therapies. A systematic programme of work developing and testing automated VR psychological treatments will be described, with a particular focus on the gameChange (www.gameChangeVR.com) project for schizophrenia.
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Professor Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford, UK
Professor Daniel Freeman, University of Oxford, UK
Daniel Freeman is an NIHR Research Professor, Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, a consultant clinical psychologist in Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, a fellow of University College Oxford, and leads the Oxford Cognitive Approaches to Psychosis (O-CAP) research group at the University of Oxford. Daniel has been working with virtual reality (VR) since 2001 and is a co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer of Oxford VR, a University of Oxford spinout company.
Major General (Rtd) Nick Caplin, Blind Veterans UK