Media Advisory

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Mark Your Calendars, APA Annual Meeting, May 3-8, 2008

What: National Institute of Mental Health science track symposia, lectures, press conferences at the American Psychiatric Association 161st Annual Meeting.

Why: Opportunity to hear latest research on mental disorders and their treatment.

When: May 3-8, 2008

Where: Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC. The APA annual meeting communications center/press room serves as a media briefing room and a working press room. The location will be Room 206, Level 2, of the Washington Convention Center. Press room hours of operation are Saturday, May 3, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Sunday-Wednesday, May 4-7, 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; and Thursday, May 8, 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. All hours are Eastern Standard Time.

More Information: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will sponsor 18 symposia and 4 major lectures at this year’s American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting. NIMH also plans five press conferences with leading experts who will talk about the latest research on the topics of post-traumatic stress disorder; psychiatric risk and the developing brain; mental disorders, metabolism and cardiovascular risks; brain mechanisms of bipolar disorder and major depression; and epigenetics and prospects for new treatments for depression.

In addition, we plan "press availabilities" with major lecturers including Helen Mayberg (Emory University) on "How Neuroimaging has Changed Our View of Depression;" and Husseini Manji (NIMH) on "Cellular Plasticity Cascades:  Genes to Behavior Pathways in the Pathophysiology and Treatment of Severe Mood Disorders" and Thomas Insel (NIMH director) on "Rethinking Mental Disorders: How Research Will Change Practice." 

These NIMH press events will occur Monday, May 5 through Wednesday, May 7.

Who Should Attend: Science writers who cover psychiatry, behavior, and neuroscience.

Host: Thomas Insel, MD, NIMH director, and NIMH-supported scientists.

Note to Editors: Members of the press are encouraged to pre-register at http://www.psych.org/MainMenu/Newsroom/OnlinePressRoom.aspx.

For questions about the NIMH symposia, lectures and press events, please e-mail or call the NIMH press office at nimhpress@mail.nih.gov or 301-443-4536.

The National Institute of Mental Health is the largest scientific organization in the world dedicated to research focused on the understanding, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders and the promotion of mental health. More about NIMH can be found at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/index.shtml.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

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