1-WPS-Presidential Symposium Meeting Space

J. John Mann is The Paul Janssen Professor of Translational Neuroscience (in Psychiatry and in Radiology) at Columbia University and Director, Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Division at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Co-Director of the Columbia Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression. He is a Past President of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, the International Academy of Suicide Research and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Dr. Mann received his medical degree from the University of Melbourne, and then completed his internship and residency at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He was trained in Psychiatry and Internal Medicine and has a Doctorate in Neurochemistry. His research employs functional brain imaging, neurochemistry and molecular genetics to probe the causes of depression and suicide. Dr. Mann has published over 850 peer-reviewed papers and edited 11 books on the subjects of the biology and treatment of mood disorders, suicidal behavior and other psychiatric disorders.

Dr. Stephen O’Connor is Chief of the Suicide Prevention Research Program in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Division of Services and Intervention Research. Dr. O’Connor manages a portfolio of grants that includes projects on youth and adult-related suicide risk detection and interventions to reduce suicide ideation, attempts, and deaths. Prior to joining the NIMH, Dr. O’Connor conducted research focused on early intervention for suicide attempt survivors in trauma centers; group-based treatment for suicidal Veterans; a stepped, collaborative care approach to reduce posttraumatic stress, depression, substance use, and suicide risk in hospitalized trauma patients; and other health services-oriented efforts to improve screening, assessment, and treatment of suicidal individuals in both traditional and non-traditional behavioral health settings. Dr. O’Connor completed his doctoral training in clinical psychology at the Catholic University of America, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Washington Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center. He has a small private practice in Bethesda, MD where he provides individual psychotherapy.

As the Special Advisor to the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) on Suicide Research, Dr. Pearson leads the NIMH Suicide Research Team, overseeing the development of suicide research initiatives, including the development of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Prioritized Research Agenda. She is an adjunct associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, and has authored papers on suicide research needs, and the ethical challenges of suicide research.

Dr. LaVome Robinson is a Professor of Psychology and affiliated with the Community Psychology program at DePaul University. A licensed psychologist and past Director of Clinical Training at DePaul University, she also is a member of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP). Spanning more than four decades, Dr. Robinson has an extensive record for the successful development, implementation, and evaluation of culturally sensitive, cognitive-behavioral school-based prevention interventions for urban African American youth.

Over her career, Dr. Robinson has served as PI and Co-I for multiple federal and foundation grants. Most recently, Dr. Robinson was awarded $6.6M from the National Institute of Mental Health to continue her prevention and health promotion research with African American youth, with a particular focus on suicide prevention.

Dr. Robinson is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Community Research and Action, the Society of Clinical Psychology, and the Society for the Study of Ethnic Minority Issues. Additionally, she has served on review committees for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Spencer Foundation.

Dr. Robinson received her AB and MS in Psychology, and her PhD in Psychology and Public Administration, from the University of Georgia.

Matthew V. Rudorfer, M.D., DLFAPA is Chair of the Washington Psychiatric Society Continuing Medical Education Committee and maintains a small private practice in psychiatry and psychopharmacology in Montgomery County, Maryland. A longtime program officer at the National Institute of Mental Health, specializing in clinical trials and studies of personalized treatments, Dr. Rudorfer currently serves on the editorial boards of CNS Drugs and the Journal of ECT. He is a former Member and Chair, and ad hoc voting member of the FDA Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee. Board Certified in Psychiatry and Clinical Pharmacology, and a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Rudorfer received his medical degree from the State University of New York – Downstate Medical Center, where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, and trained in psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Schechter is the Chair of Psychiatry at Mass General Brigham Salem Hospital. He is an Instructor in Psychiatry, part-time, at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute. He is also a member of the Boston Suicide Study Group. Dr. Schechter has published widely in the areas of suicide risk assessment and psychotherapy with suicidal patients. He teaches about suicide at the MGH/McLean residency program as well as at the Boston psychoanalytic Society and Institute and has lectured nationally and internationally.