Home
Society News- February 2010
 

 




Conference Itinerary Planner
The 2010 Schizophrenia International Research Conference is 6 short weeks away, and the scientific program for the conference is complete. To see the conference schedule, all abstracts, and build your itinerary, please click here. If you submitted an abstract, you should use the username and password you created. If you did not submit an abstract, please click on “new account.” You will need to enter your name and email address to see the meeting schedule and abstracts.



Conference Deadlines:

Delegates


Presenters

  • - Registration Deadline:  1 March.

Session Chairs
  • - Session abstract and disclosure reviews:  1 March.


 

Poster Presenter Deadlines and Information:
If you are presenting a poster at this year’s conference, please pay attention to the following important information and deadlines.

- Monday, 1 March – Deadline to register for the conference.  Go to www.schizophreniaconference.org, to register and make your hotel reservations.

- Friday, 5 March– Upload your presentation for e-publishing of your abstract by Elsevier.

- Monday, 29 March – Deadline to upload your abstract for e-publishing of your abstract.

- Thursday, 1 April – E-posters open for viewing

- 10:00 a.m. on date of presentation – Presenters must have poster secured to board.

- 8:00 p.m. on date of presentation – Presenters must remove poster from board or it will be discarded.

- Poster panels are .94m wide x 2.39m tall.  Stickpins are not allowed for use on the panels.  We will have a limited supply of double-sided adhesive to secure your poster to the panel.  Presenters are encouraged to bring additional double-sided adhesive.

- Use lightweight material to mount your presentation.  Heavy poster stock will stay affixed to the poster panels with the adhesive tape.



Hotel and Travel Information

Conference registration, hotel and travel reservations are now available on the conference website.  Click here to connect with the Registration and Housing site.  We have contracted with many hotels in Florence to accommodate the needs of all conference attendees.  There is a broad range of hotel room rates available to fit everyone’s budget.  Most of the hotels offered are within walking distance to the congress center.  The congress center is just a few meters from the Santa Maria Novella central railway station and a short walk from the many of Florence’s great monuments.

SIRS is working with Caldwell Travel this year to assist conference attendees in making travel arrangements.  Caldwell Travel has secured discounted airfares on Lufthansa, Delta and American Airlines.  The travel professionals at Caldwell are experienced, and available to help our conference attendees make travel arrangements to and from Florence.  Click here to connect to the Caldwell Travel website.




SIRS Officer and Board of Directors Election Results
Schizophrenia International Research Society held elections in December for Officer and Board of Director positions.  The Society recorded 253 votes cast by the membership.   Congratulations to the elected officers and Board members.  They will be installed at the SIRS Business meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 14 April in the Auditorium at the Firenze Fiera Congress Center, at 12:00pm.

OFFICERS:

President
Robin Murray, M.D

.Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London
Term:  April 2010 – April 2012

President Elect
John Kane, M.D.
Zucker Hillside Hospital
Term:  April 2010 – April 2012
President
Term: April 2012 – April 2014

Secretary
Lynn DeLisi, M.D.
Harvard VA
Term:  April 2010 – April 2012

Treasurer
René Kahn, M.D., Ph.D.
University Medical Center Umbrecht
Term:  April 2010 – April 2012

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Jean Addington, Ph.D.
University of Calgary

Mary Cannon, Ph.D.
Royal College of Surgeons Ireland

Wolfgang Fleischhacker, M.D.
Medical University Innsbruck

Philip Harvey, Ph.D.
Emory University

Shitij Kapur, M.D., Ph.D.
Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London

Steve Marder, M.D.
University of California, Los Angeles

John McGrath, M.D., Ph.D.
University of Queensland

Alison Yung, M.D.
University of Melbourne



Call for Committee Members
SIRS Members are invited and encouraged to serve on a committee for the coming term, April 2010 – April 2012.  We hope you will consider donating your time and leadership skills to one of the many committees looking for volunteers.  Please contact Lyn Hopmayer at Lhopmayer@schizophreniaresearchsociety.org to volunteer and indicate your committee preference.  The following committees are looking for member involvement:

- Awards Committee- This committee will decide on the presentation of annual scientific awards and scholarships for meeting attendance.

- Education Committee- This committee will focus on broader issues of education other than those dealt with in national and international scientific meetings. They will address the education of the public, press and professionals in clinical practice across cultures and internationally in the latest advances in schizophrenia research. A portion of their work will be devoted to the exchange of information to third-world impoverished countries where obtaining new medications and knowledge about them is lacking.

- Ethics Committee- This committee will address all ethical issues pertaining to schizophrenia research and develop guidelines for the field. From time to time ethical conduct issues may also arise about individual members and this committee will develop responses as needed.

- Finance Committee- composed of the treasurer and at least two other members, to be appointed by the president. This committee shall have the power to plan and implement fiscal procedures in the best interests of the corporation and its members. The treasurer is authorized and empowered to execute on behalf of the corporation all fiscal procedures when so directed by the finance committee in conjunction with the Executive Secretary or executive staff. The finance committee shall report to the Board at regular intervals, and a complete report on the society’s finances should be sent annually to all officers and Board members. The committee shall consider the details of the budget that is prepared by the Treasurer and presented to the Board along with the Finance Committee's recommendations. The Executive Board voting in an official meeting shall determine the budget for the corporation.

- Membership Committee- This committee will review the appropriateness of all new membership applications and decide on the appropriateness of each.

- Program Committee- will consist of a chairman (Article XV1 2) and committee members selected by the Chairman from the general membership plus the officers of the corporation will automatically become members of each program committee.

- Publications Committee- This committee will form a Liaison with the journals affiliated with the society and serve as advisors to the editors as needed. They will oversee announcements and other materials concerning the society to be published in the journal. This would include special issues, meeting reports, abstract issues from meeting and any other information the committee sees as important for publication. This committee will also consider contractual arrangements with the journals as appropriate relevant to the membership and negotiate such contracts that will then require majority vote of the Executive Board for approval.



Society News- September 2009 (PDF)
Society News- June 2009 (PDF)

Society News- March 2009 (PDF)