Welcome Letter.

Abstract

Welcome to Sydney On behalf of the Program Committee for the 21st Annual ISBD Conference: Global Advances in Bipolar Disorder and Depression, we would like to welcome you to the dynamic City of Sydney, Australia, home to stunning beaches, the famous Sydney Opera House and the magnificent Darling Harbour. As the Chairs for the conference, we have worked diligently to put together an outstanding scientific and social program and trust you will enjoy your time in Sydney. We have put together a truly special program for ISBD 2019, with some outstanding keynote presentations by recognized leaders in the field and some rising stars. We are proud to open the meeting with a presentation by Greg de Moore, acclaimed author of Finding Sanity: John Cade, Lithium, and the Taming of Bipolar Disorder, who will discuss the unknown history of Cade's work on lithium. This will be followed immediately by a presentation from Matthew Johnston, and author, artist, and illustrator living with depression. The presentations will be followed by our traditional welcome reception, which will offer a chance to catch up with colleagues as you take in the beautiful view of Darling Harbour from the newly renovated International Convention Center Sydney (ICC Sydney), our venue for the 2019 meeting. We have taken a new approach to our ISBD Awards Ceremony this year, which will take place during a ticketed dinner cruise of the Sydney, Harbour on Thursday, March 21st (space limited). As a special treat, we will also have music from one of this year's Mogen Schou Award Winners and a person with lived experience of bipolar disorder, Emily Maguire, who along with her partner will perform a few of her songs at the Awards dinner. The main days of the meeting will feature keynotes spanning topics from neurobiology, youth depression, and genomics. Our distinguished keynote speakers include Prof. Eduard Vieta, Prof. Sophia Frangou, Dr. Ana Andreazza, Prof. Helen Christensen, Prof. Allan Young and Prof. Patrick McGorry, in addition to our opening night keynotes. Other popular talks are sure to include a presentation by Prof. Martin Preisig on the Evolution of core features and manifestations of bipolar spectrum disorder, a review of the Asian experience and suggestions for the CANMAT/ISBD Guidelines for Bipolar Disorder by Prof. Kyooseob Ha, a talk on the effects of inflammation on brain changes associated with bipolar disorder and depression by Dr. Katherine Burdick, and a discussion of what successful treatment of bipolar disorder looks like with insights from multiple professionals thriving with bipolar disorder by Dr. Andrew Nierenberg. We have also decided to repeat the successful integration of our popular case-based workshop model into the main meeting, which will again feature sessions on both adult and pediatric bipolar disorder. In addition, the ISBD will also host again the popular Women's Initiative Luncheon session (by invitation), and a reception for early and mid-career clinicians and researchers hosted by ISBD's Australasian chapter, ASBDD (registration is limited). Finally, we will host an advocacy program on Saturday morning that will feature popular local television personality Ms. Jessica Rowe who will discuss living with postnatal depression, as well as retired state politician Mr. Neil Cole, who will address his experience living with bipolar disorder. In addition, a Q&A with a caregiver, researcher, clinician, and person with living experience of bipolar disorder will follow the main morning conference keynotes. We hope you will enjoy the program but also encourage you to get out and enjoy some of the sites in and around Sydney, which are sure to please. Best wishes,