Department of Psychiatry Hosts Annual Conference

By Dirk Hoffman

Steven L. Dubovsky, MD, professor and chair of psychiatry, says the yearly gathering is intended “to enhance knowledge and competence in practitioners and to inculcate the ability of practitioners to assess new information critically.”

“Other conference goals are “to display clinical, educational and research accomplishments of our faculty, and to enhance personal interactions between nationally prominent investigators and local clinicians and academicians,” he adds.

Dubovsky says the conference’s topics are often suggested by attendees of previous conferences or by local practitioners.

“Some topics are chosen by national speakers who are known for their excellent accomplishments and communication abilities,” he says. “Although most attendees are local practitioners, faculty members, residents and students, people attend this conference from as far away as Australia and Japan.”

Along with Dubovsky, this year’s speakers were:

• Michael Gendel, MD, medical director emeritus of the Colorado Physician Health Program and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado.
  
  He has authored many articles and book chapters on physician stress and physician health and illness and has been an active speaker on these subjects nationally and internationally.
  
  The title of Gendel’s speech at the conference was “Physician Stress and its Management: What We Know and What We Don’t Know.”
  
• Mark Komrad, MD, a psychiatrist on the teaching faculty of Johns Hopkins University and a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland and Tulane University
  
  He was named “National Exemplary Psychiatrist” and “Mental Health Professional of the Year” by the National Alliance on Mental Health.
  
  Komrad spoke on “Vulnerable Ethics: The Role of Leading Psychiatrists in U.S. Eugenics and Forced Sterilization Movement and Nazi Holocaust.”
• Roger McIntyre, MD, a professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Toronto and head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network in Toronto.
  
  He is involved in multiple research endeavors which primarily aim to characterize the phenomenology, neurobiology and novel therapeutics of mood disorders. McIntyre has been especially interested in identifying innovative, rapid acting psychotropic treatments for mood disorders.
  
  The title of McIntyre’s speech was “Innovative Treatment for Adults with Treatment Resistant Depression.”
• James Waxmonsky, MD, division chief of child adolescent psychiatry at the Hershey Medical Center, the university chair in child psychiatry at Penn State University and a professor of psychiatry at the Penn State College of Medicine.
  
  His research focuses on the integration of medication and behavioral treatments targeting both children and their parents to improve the long-term efficacy and tolerability of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) treatments.
  
  He also has a particular focus on the assessment and treatment of irritability in youth with ADHD. Waxmonsky spoke on “Irritability/Aggression in Children.”

Dubovsky’s research is in the areas of disaster response, intracellular signaling in mood disorders, the pathophysiology of psychiatric illness, development of new treatments, and interactions between medical and psychiatric illnesses.

He has published over 250 journal articles, chapters and books and he has lectured internationally on a variety of topics.

The topic of Dubovsky’s speech was “New Psychiatric Medications and Instrumental Therapies.”

The lectures were followed by workshops and small group discussions.

Josie L. Olympia, MD, associate professor of clinical psychiatry and chair of the Department of Psychiatry’s Continuing Medical Education (CME) committee, was co-program director for the conference.

“I solicited input from participants of our previous annual conferences and grand rounds to identify their CME needs and interests,” she says. “Our team works with Alicia Blodgett, director of the Office of Continuing Medical Education, in all aspects and we encourage participants to fill out evaluation surveys following the conference.”

Olympia says they also try to offer fun activities for attendees to participate in outside of the conference.

“In the past we have offered jet boat rides, tickets to concerts at Artpark and tours of the architectural treasures of the region,” she says. “This year, as an incentive to early registration, we offered a two-hour sunset cruise on a catamaran. Our conference promotes learning, camaraderie and enjoying life.”

The conference was held Sept. 8-9 at The Mansion on Delaware in Buffalo. It was sponsored by the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, the Department of Psychiatry and the Western New York Psychiatry Society.