Professor Suresh Sundram and psychiatric neuroscience: Find out more on 30 Sep 2015

Professor Suresh Sundram at Monash Health

The School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health welcomes Professor Suresh Sundram, Unit Head for adult psychiatry at Monash Medical Centre. Prof Sundram will be speaking at the forthcoming 30 Sep Translational Research symposium hosted by Central Clinical School. See detail below.

Prof Sundram plans to establish a psychiatric neuroscience research program in the Department of Psychiatry at SCS, focussing on psychotic disorders. “I have a particular interest in schizophrenia, with a broad translational approach,” he says.

“We study cellular and molecular aspects of post-mortem human and animal brain relevant to psychotic disorders; animal behaviour studies using transgenic models of psychosis; and biomarker studies in clinical samples using genetic, protein and electrophysiological measures.”

Prof Sundram will also establish a clinical trials research group evaluating new treatments for these disorders. He says, “I hope to build a unique translational research program in psychotic disorders that utilises clinical and biomarker data to understand the molecular bases of psychotic disorders, and in turn generate novel treatments and diagnostics for this patient group".

Of his decision to join Monash, Prof Sundram says, “It was the opportunity to integrate my research vision into one space and the exceptional platform technologies that are available through the Monash Health Translation Precinct.”

Beyond his research and clinical work, Prof Sundram has a strong interest in asylum seeker mental health and mental health service system development in low and middle income countries. “In addition to running a pro bono psychiatric clinic for asylum seekers, I provide and have provided expert advice to national governments and human rights and non-government organisations.”

Prior to joining Monash Health and Monash University, Suresh was Director of Clinical Services for Northern Area Mental Health Services, Head of Molecular Psychopharmacology and the Psychotropic Drug Advisory Service at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and the Director of the Northern Psychiatry Research Centre.

Prof Sundram will be speaking at the Central Clinical School's Translational Research Symposium Wednesday, 30 September 2015, on the topic of "Evidence for biomarker development in schizophrenia sub-groups".

All welcome, see details:

• Time: 8.00 am registration for 9.00 am start. Drinks and canapes from 6-8 pm
• Venue: AMREP Lecture Theatre, adjacent to the BakerIDI Institute at 85 Commercial Road, Melbourne 3004, 200 metres east of the main Alfred Hospital entrance. See map.
• Cost: Free
• RSVP by Friday 25 September for catering purposes
• Enquiries: Catherine.Wong@monash.edu ph +61 3 9903 0640

Prof Jayashri Kulkarni: Psychiatry in the 21st century. Find out more on 30 Sep 2015

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni is a Professor of Psychiatry and the director of Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc) – one Australia’s largest and most innovative centres for clinical mental health research.

She is internationally recognised for her expertise in the treatment of mental illness, particularly in women’s mental health. She has pioneered the use of estrogen as a treatment in schizophrenia and has developed many other innovative treatments for mental illnesses.

Jayashri will be speaking at the forthcoming 30 Sept Translational Research symposium hosted by Central Clinical School. See detail below.

Prof Kulkarni graduated from Monash Medical School and became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1989.

She is a passionate advocate of patient-focused mental health research. With more than a third of mental illness sufferers not responsive to current treatments, she believes there is an urgent need for investment in clinical psychiatry research so as new and effective treatments for mental illness can be developed. She is a regular media commentator on mental health related issues.

Participants sought: auditory verbal hallucinations

Participants are sought for study on auditory verbal hallucinations in relation to mood in bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.

Have you heard voices when no one else was nearby? To the person hearing the voice, it seems like someone is talking to them, but others around them do not actually hear the voice. These experiences tend to be more common amongst people with a mental illness, but also affect a proportion of people without a mental illness. 

Please find out more from the study coordinator, Dr Wei Lin Toh:
Email: wei.lin.toh@monash.edu
Phone: (03) 9076 5172
Website: www.maprc.org.au/cognitive-neuropsychiatry