2022 Keynote Speakers

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Thursday Opening Keynote Address

Leadership in Times of Crisis and Beyond
Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA

Thursday, March 17, 2022, 4:45 pm - 6:00 pm MT

Dr. Harris will address the current multiple public health crises, their intersections and connectedness to health and health inequities and review the factors underlying understanding of the social and structural determinants of health from both an historical and contemporary perspective. An emphasis will be placed on how these issues affect the mental health of youth and in particular youth from communities of color and other minoritized and marginalized communities. A view into the work of organizations that have offered solutions to the current state of health, the promise and perils of technology in addressing health inequities, including the importance of integrating mental health care into overall care, the value of a diverse physician workforce and a critical understanding of the role of childhood trauma. Finally, the critical need for leadership and innovation in times of crisis and beyond will be reviewed.

Learning Objectives

  1. Discuss the impact of COVID-19 on health inequities.
  2. Describe the specific impact of COVID-19 on mental health.
  3. Discuss necessary approaches for a future focused delivery system.
  4. Discuss the intersection of technology and innovation and the care delivery system.

Dr. Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA Biography

Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA is the CEO and Co-Founder of eMed, a digital point of care platform on a mission to democratize healthcare by expanding access to verified and validated at-home diagnostics. Dr. Harris was the 174th President of the American Medical Association and the first African American woman elected to that position. She is a board-certified psychiatrist from Atlanta and has diverse experience as a private practicing physician, county public health officer, patient advocate and in policy, legislative and government affairs. Dr. Harris is a visiting professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

 

Special Address from Rogers Behavioral Health

What the Past Can Tell Us About the Future: Impact of Telehealth on Access During COVID-19
Stephanie Eken, MD

 

 

Dr. Stephanie Eken, MD Biography

Stephanie C. Eken, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist, adult psychiatrist and pediatrician. Dr. Eken serves as the regional medical director for the Rogers Behavioral Health System. In addition, she provides medical leadership for Rogers’ pediatric OCD and Anxiety services.

Dr. Eken is a regular faculty member of the Behavioral Therapy Training Institute, sponsored by the International OCD Foundation. She has lectured throughout the United States to professional, academic and lay audiences on a range of topics related to pediatric psychiatry. Her clinical interests include OCD and related disorders (hair-pulling disorder, skin-picking disorder, Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders), anxiety disorders, eating disorders, ADHD, and depression. She is also interested in how the integration of technology can improve the quality of care. Dr. Eken has received a number of awards in recognition of her commitment to psychiatry and mental health advocacy. In 2006, she was named a Laughlin Fellow by the American College of Psychiatry. In 2008, Dr. Eken received the “Catcher in the Rye Award for Advocacy” from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as a leading member of the Kentucky Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which was recognized for its advocacy efforts in the passage of anti-bullying legislation.

Educational Support for the Opening Keynote Address is provided by Rogers Behavioral Health

 

Saturday Morning President's Keynote Selection

Some Thoughts on the Genetic Tsunami in Psychiatry
Daniel R. Weinberger, MD

Saturday, March 19, 2022, 9:30 am - 10:30 am MT

The past decade has witnessed a tsunami of genetic studies of psychiatric disorders and related traits, with literally thousands of genes putatively identified as risk factors.  This talk will review some of this work, with special emphasis on selected inconvenient truths, specifically that genome wide association studies (GWAS) do not find genes per se, that actionable biology is far off despite all the data, and that the environment is increasingly emerging as the elephant in the room. 

Learning Objectives:

  1. To inform about the state of results from large scale genetic studies of psychiatric disorders
  2. To illustrate what is not clear from these studies
  3. To address the missing environmental component in these studies

Daniel R. Weinberger, MD Biography

Dr. Weinberger is the Director and CEO of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development (LIBD) and a Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, Neuroscience and Genetic Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is regarded worldwide as one of the preeminent scientists in psychiatry research, having been at the forefront of scientific investigation of schizophrenia and related disorders for a generation. He attended college at the Johns Hopkins University, medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, and did residencies in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and in neurology at George Washington University. He is board certified in both psychiatry and neurology.

Educational Support for the President's Keynote Select provided by VistaGen Therapeutics

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