Overview
This webinar will discuss NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative and its potential to inform (and be informed by) global mental health research. RDoC is a research framework that encourages the investigation of mental disorders from a perspective of basic functional dimensions (e.g., cognitive control), using many types of information – from genomics and neuroscience to behavior and environmental measures. The webinar will include an introduction to the RDoC framework and will feature presentations from two research groups whose work incorporates RDoC approaches in a global context.
Speaker
Supriya Bhavnani, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator
Child Development Group
Dr. Supriya Bhavnani is a Co-Principal Investigator in the Child Development Group at Sangath, India. She leads a translational neuroscience research program to develop and validate innovative digital tools, including eye tracking, gamified neuropsychological tasks and electroencephalography, to assess brain development through the crucial preschool years of early childhood at scale to identify children faltering in their developmental trajectories and enable early interventions. Her research also investigates the determinants of development in childhood, with a focus on the impact of psychosocial adversities on children’s well-being. She has been a recipient of the prestigious INSPIRE faculty award and Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award from the Government of India.
Speaker
Lerato Majara, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Dr. Lerato Majera is a postdoctoral research fellow on the Neuropsychiatric Genetics in African Populations (NeuroGAP) project, and member of the Global Initiative of Neuropsychiatric Genetics Education and Research (GINGER) programme at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her research interests are the genetics of psychiatric disorders and transferability of polygenic risk scores across and within African populations.
Speaker
Vikram Patel, Ph.D.
The Pershing Square Professor of Global Health
Harvard Medical School
Dr. Vikram Patel is The Pershing Square Professor of Global Health at the Harvard Medical School where he chairs the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. He leads the Mental Health for All Lab which focuses on the social determinant of mental health problems and the use of community resources for their prevention and treatment. He is a co-founder of Sangath, an award-winning Indian NGO which has pioneered approaches to achieve mental health equity. He is a Fellow of the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences and member of the US National Academy of Medicine.
Speaker
Dan J. Stein, M.D., Ph.D., DPhil
Professor & Chair
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health
University of Cape Town
Dr. Dan J. Stein is a Professor & Chair of the Dept of Psychiatry & Mental Health at the University of Cape Town, and Director of the South African Medical Research Council’s Unit on Risk & Resilience in Mental Disorders. He is interested in research on anxiety and related disorders, in building mental health research capacity in the African context, and in work at the intersection of philosophy and psychiatry.
Speaker
Olivia Wootton, M.D.
PhD candidate
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health
University of Cape Town
Dr. Olivia Wootton is a medical doctor and Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health at the University of Cape Town. Her research is focused on the contribution of common genetic variants to cognitive function in the general population as well as in people with schizophrenia. Olivia is particularly interested in the clinical relevance of neurogenetic research, including the potential impact of molecular genetics on prognostic and diagnostic assessments as well as treatment strategies.
National Institute of Mental Health: Research Domain Criteria (RDoC)
The NIMH RDoC Unit is dedicated to furthering the goals of the RDoC initiative and overseeing various RDoC-related activities. Unit members include Bruce Cuthbert, Ph.D. (Head), Sarah Morris, Ph.D. (Associate Head), Rebecca Berman, Ph.D., Jenni Pacheco, Ph.D., and Syed Rizvi (MPH). Their collective experience spans clinical psychology, public health, cognitive neuroscience, and psychopathology. Together, they collaborate with the RDoC working group and partnering organizations to promote new research approaches to improve mental health.