The research of Dr. Miller, a psychotic disorders fellow at MCG, includes paternal age as a risk factor for schizophrenia and mortality in offspring.

MCG Psychiatry Department has unprecedented presence at international schizophrenia meeting
AUGUSTA, Ga. th The Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior will have a significant presence at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research, a biennial gathering set for March 28-April 2 in San Diego.





(Media-Newswire.com) - AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Medical College of Georgia Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior will have a significant presence at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research, a biennial gathering set for March 28-April 2 in San Diego.

"We are privileged to be making significant contributions to better understanding and treating such a devastating disease," says Dr. Peter Buckley, department chair and associate dean for leadership development in the MCG School of Medicine. "We are excited about the substantial strides the department is making in all aspects of psychiatry," adds Dr. Brian Kirkpatrick, department vice chair.

Dr. Buckley is an advisory board member for the Congress where MCG faculty and staff will make 15 presentations on research findings from a potential cause for widespread central nervous system problems found in patients to the benefits of an innovative education program in which patients help in the education of psychiatry and psychology residents.

MCG's Brian Miller and Anilkumar Pillai are among 30 Young Investigator Travel Award Recipients to be honored at the meeting. The program, supported by the National Institutes of Health, is designed to stimulate research careers in the field of schizophrenia.

"The young investigator awards are highly competitive and they recognize their potential to be leaders in their field," says Dr. Buckley, a former award winner. "We are very proud of them.

" The research of Dr. Miller, a psychotic disorders fellow at MCG, includes paternal age as a risk factor for schizophrenia and mortality in offspring. He will present findings showing that having an older father is a risk factor for suicide in schizophrenia while an older mother is associated with decreased risk. Dr. Miller is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Medicine and will serve as chief resident in psychiatry at MCG beginning in July. He is working on a doctoral thesis in psychiatric epidemiology in collaboration with Finland's University of Oulu's Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Pillai, a neuroscientist, studies cell-nourishing tropic factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor or BDNF. Dr. Pillai is collaborating with Dr. Buckley on studies to see if BDNF levels are a good predictor of the common problem of relapse in schizophrenia. At the meeting, Dr. Pillai will discuss a potential cause for down regulation of BDNF in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. He earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Baroda in India and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Rockefeller University in New York and MCG before joining the MCG faculty in 2006.

Also at the meeting, the MCG Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior will host:

A presentation of the first Public Advocacy Leadership Award given to a physician scientist in recognition of broad, sustained efforts to improve care and service development for patients and families. "We want to foster great science that will improve what we can do for patients in the future but also to recognize great patient and family advocacy that is making a sustained difference in their quality of life today," Dr. Buckley says.

Science to Service: Progress in Schizophrenia Research from Around the Globe, a symposium for patients, families and other advocates to hear about the latest findings in schizophrenia.

An editorial board breakfast for Clinical Schizophrenia & Related Psychoses. Dr. Buckley is the journal's editor-in-chief and Dr. Kirkpatrick is associate editor.