Event Program

December 6, Virtual

*all times listed in PST

Interested in this program? Click here to get your free ticket!

8:00-8:30am               Opening Remarks

                  • Dr. Tony Phillips, University of British Columbia
                  • Dr. Martha Ignaszewski, University of British Columbia/BC Children’s Hospital
                  • More speakers will be added shortly

Block 1: Successes and challenges in translational neuropsychiatry research 

8:30-9:10am               Keynote Presentation

        • Dr. Trevor Robbins, Cambridge University

Dr. Robbins is a renowned expert in cognitive neuroscience and related fields. His work focuses on the roles of the frontal lobes in various psychiatric conditions. He is a co-recipient of the Brain Prize, amongst other prestigious awards.

 

9:10-9:20am               Break

9:20-10:20am             Workshops

Attendees can select one workshop per block. Workshops typically include a presentation or discussion followed by time for audience questions and engagement.

1. Ketamine or “special K” – what makes a drug a medication?   

          • Dr. Christian Schütz, University of British Columbia
          • Dr. Raymond Lam, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Dr. Lily Aleksandrova, University of British Columbia

2. Cannabinoids and the stress response – a clinical tool? 

          • Dr. Leah Mayo, University of Calgary
          • Moderator: Karina Thiessen, University of British Columbia

3. Clinical perspectives and experiences inspiring neuroscience research: Learning from both sides 

          • Dr. Trevor Robbins, Cambridge University
          • Dr. Tony Phillips, University of British Columbia
          • Dr. Mark Geyer, UCSD
          • Moderator: Dr. Fiona Choi, University of British Columbia

4. How do drugs become regulated?: Innovation in the face of roadblocks 

          • Dr. Dean Regier, BC Cancer/University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Dr. Samantha Pollard, BC Cancer

5. How to strengthen female leadership in translational and clinical research? 

          • Dr. Lynn Raymond, University of British Columbia
          • Dr. Shernaz Bamji, University of British Columbia
          • Dr. Emma Morton, University of British Columbia
          • Sneha Singh, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Tanvi Puri: University of British Columbia

6. Nothing about us without us- Lessons in patient oriented research

          • Dr. Larry Mroz, BC SUPPORT Unit, BC Academic Health Sciences Network
          • Dr. Erin Michalak, BC SUPPORT Unit/University of British Columbia
          • Victoria Maxwell, Speaker, Performing Artist and Workshop Leader
          • Kristi Coldwell, Senior Advisor for Transplant Research Advocacy, Transplant Research Foundation of BC
          • Moderator: Tanisse Teale, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Morgan Towriss, University of British Columbia

7. Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization 

          • Dr. Edward Slingerland, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Ryan Tomm, University of British Columbia

8. Respecting autonomy – coerced treatment and human rights 

          • Quinn Boyle, University of British Columbia/Neuroethics Canada
          • Moderator: Anna Nuechterlein, University of British Columbia/Neuroethics Canada

10:20-10:35am             Break

Block 2: Innovative Treatments for Substance Use Disorders & Pain

10:35-11:15am             Keynote Presentation

        • Dr. Andreas Heinz, Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Dr. Heinz is the Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité, Campus Mitte, Berlin. His research focuses on dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmission and their respective effects on reward-dependent learning, positive and negative mood states and decision making.  He was the President of the German Society for Biological Psychiatry from 2010 to 2014.

11:15-12:15pm             Workshops

Attendees can select one workshop per block. Workshops typically include a presentation or discussion followed by time for audience questions and engagement.

1. Onsite assessment of opioids and the potential clinical consequences

          • Dr. Pouya Azar, Vancouver General Hospital
          • Dr. Glen Sammis, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: James Wong, Vancouver General Hospital

2. Traditional medicine as potential game changer in withdrawal management- TGIR

          • Dr. Michael Krausz, University of British Columbia
          • Dr. Tony Phillips, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Tam To, University of British Columbia

3. Pain management and models of hyperalgesia 

          • Dr. Fiona Choi, University of British Columbia
          • Dr. Lukas Linde, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Dr. Maximillian Meyer, Universitäre Psychiatrische Kliniken Basel

4. Holistic approaches in substance use care – the Redfish healing center in BC

          • Dr. Nick Mathew, BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services
          • Dr. Jane Sun, BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services
          • Moderator: Arash Hoseyni Moghadam, University of British Columbia

5. Advocacy and research: informing movements

          • Leslie McBain, Moms Stop the Harm
          • Dr. Vijay Seethapathy, BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services
          • Dr. Jennifer Russel, BC Children’s & Women’s Hospital
          • Moderator: Raha Masoudi, University of British Columbia

6. The risk of death by overdose in adolescents – the necessary change in the clinical pathway

          • Dr. Martha Ignaszewski, BC Children’s Hospital
          • Moderator: Jean Westenberg, University of British Columbia/ University College Cork

7. Youth advocates in the overdose crisis

          • UBC FentaNIL Project
          • Moderator: Morgan Towriss, University of British Columbia

11:15-12:15pm              Lightning Talks: Translating Research into Health Solutions

          • Daria Oleinichenko, An analgesic approach to addiction treatment: Efficacy of l-THP in withdrawal-induced hyperalgesia
          • Tashia Petker, Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for opioid tapering in chronic pain
          • Karina Thiessen, Acute cardiac and pulmonary depression following diamorphine administration in patients undergoing heroin substitution therapy
          • Milad Zamany- Egypt Electronic Mental Health (EMH) Strategy
          • Cassandra Choles- Variation in glutamatergic activity and induced pain: a MRS comparison
          • Jane Kim- Long-term consequences of early onset homelessness
          • Moderator: Dianah Hayati, University of British Columbia

12:15-1:15pm               Lunch Break

 

12:45-1:45pm               Meet & Greet with the MATRIX-N Cluster                                                                

1:15-1:45 pm                  Live e-Poster presentations

          • Yuexiaoxi (Cecilia) Yu, Developing An EEG Assay of Anticipatory and Consummatory Reward Sensitivity in Anhedonia
          • Pranjal Garg et al., Stimulogenetics: Redefining neuromodulation in neuropsychiatry
          • Andy Tai, The Application of Machine Learning and Predictive Modelling to Understand Risk of Overdose
          • Juana Ayala Castaneda, Stepping back from diagnosis: using eye movements to delineate trait impulsivity in the bipolar disorder spectrum
          • Skyla Witt, Investigating the Impact of a Neurodevelopmental Disease-Linked Mutation in TOP2B On Early Brain Development
          • Liz Kalenteridis, Comorbid depression and anxiety symptoms impair active but not inhibitory avoidance in the presence of motivational conflict
          • Milad Zamany et al., Egypt Electronic Mental Health (EMH) Strategy
          • Sneha Singh, Somatostatin promotes neurite formation and regulates anterograde translocation of synaptophysin from trans-Golgi to neurites in amyloid-beta-induced toxicity
          • Marie Johns, Developing a transcriptomic atlas of Alzheimer’s Disease progression in the Tg2576 mouse model using single-cell RNA-sequencing technology.
          • Min Kyung Chong, Validation of a digital algorithm for clinical staging to support demand management and triage in youth mental health services: Proof of concept study
          • Serline Coelho, Parent Laterality Quotient as a Predictor of Infants’ Risk-Taking Behavior
          • Grief and Suffering in Families following Drug-Related Deaths: A Scoping Review, Jenifer Davis

Block 3: Psychedelics: Promises and Pitfalls in Translational Research

 

1:45-2:20pm                   Keynote Presentation

        • Dr. Gabriella Gobbi, McGill University

Dr. Gobbi is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University where she holds the Canada Research Chair in Therapeutics for Mental Health. She leads a laboratory in basic neuropsychopharmacology while working as a Psychiatrist at the McGill University Health Center. She won several prizes in the field of neuropsychopharmacology including the 2022 CINP Sumitomo/Sunovion Brain Health Basic Research Award and the CCNP Innovation in Neuropsychopharmacology.

2:20-3:20pm                    Workshops

Attendees can select one workshop per block. Workshops typically include a presentation or discussion followed by time for audience questions and engagement.

1. Psilocybin against alcohol dependence?

          • Dr. Christian Schütz, University of British Columbia
          • Moderator: Dr. Elena Argento, University of British Columbia

2. Roles of academia and industry in psychedelic research

          • Dr. David Olson, University of California, Davis/Delix Therapeutics
          • Dr. Alex Kwan, Cornell University
          • Dr. Roger McIntyre, University of Toronto/Braxia Scientific
          • Moderator: Dr. Lily Aleksandrova, University of British Columbia

3. Roots to Thrive program: community-based psychedelic-assisted therapy 

          • Dr. Shannon Dames, Vancouver Island University/Roots to Thrive
          • Elder Geraldine Manson, Vancouver Island University/Roots to Thrive
          • Moderator: Todd Haspect, Roots to Thrive

4. Canadian research efforts to establish ketamine/psychedelic therapy

          • Dr. Zach Walsh, University of British Columbia- Okanagan
          • Dr. Ishrat Husain, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
          • Moderator: Tatiana Sanchez, University of British Columbia- Okanagan

5. Balancing excitement and caution in the public eye? Psychedelics in the media 

          • Shayla Love, Freelance writer
          • Dr. Manoj Doss, Johns Hopkins University
          • Moderator: Omar Mosleh, Toronto Star

6. Marginalized and mainstream history of medicine and madness

          • Dr. Erika Dyck, University of Saskatchewan
          • Dana Strauss, University of Ottawa
          • Moderator: Dr. Sara de la Salle, University of Ottawa

7. Use of Ayahuasca in substance use and mental illness in Latin America

          • Dr. Brian Rush, The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)
          • Dr. Olivia Marcus, New York University

8. Making access to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy legal

          • David Wood, Therapsil
          • Spencer Hawkswell, Therapsil
          • Moderator: Dr. Michael Haichin, Psychedelic Pharmacists Association

3:20-3:30pm                Break 

3:30-4:00pm                Open Forum

              • Dr. Tony Phillips, University of British Columbia
              • Dr. Tamara Vanderwal, University of British Columbia

 

4:00-4:10pm               The last word

              • Dr. Pouya Azar, Vancouver General Hospital