Presenter Biographies

Speakers:
Cardiac Health: What becomes of the broken hearted?

Professor Martin Than

Martin is the Director of Emergency Medicine research in Christchurch and will talk on emergency assessment of possible heart attack in the ED. The development of more sensitive troponin blood tests opened opportunities to revolutionise assessment of patients with chest pain presenting to ED. Our Christchurch team were instrumental in implementing pathways for accelerated diagnosis of heart attacks, providing clarity to patients presenting to ED with chest pain within hours, not days, and saving precious bed/clinical resource in cardiac wards. These pathways are now in routine clinical practice in ED’s throughout New Zealand and the world. He will describe current research by the team pioneering the use of bedside blood tests to help assessment.

Associate Professor Phil Adamson

Phil is a Cardiologist and Christchurch Heart Institute (CHI) Clinical Researcher and will talk on "A New Procedure to Prevent Stroke in Atrial Fibrillation". He will dive into the innovative left atrial appendage (LAA) occlusion procedure, a revolutionary approach designed to significantly reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. As atrial fibrillation remains a major cause of stroke worldwide, he will provide an expert overview of how LAA occlusion works, its clinical benefits, and how the Christchurch Heart Institute has contributed to a world-first procedural research study supporting its effectiveness. Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of the procedure, patient selection criteria, and the potential impact on patient outcomes.

Dr Nicola Scott

Nicola is a Senior Research Fellow and will talk about pre-clinical studies on potential new drug therapies for heart failure. CHI’s track record is impressive – recently we were first in the world to demonstrate PDE-9 inhibitors have therapeutic benefit in congestive heart failure. These inhibitors promote the activity of the beneficial heart hormones called natriuretic peptides. The good news is that because of our major contributions this field, these inhibitors are now going to two Phase 2B clinical trials with our local CHI research team participating – Canterbury patients involved in addition to recruitment sites around the world. In a world of increasingly complex guideline directed medical therapy for patients with heart failure what can we look forward to with respect to streamlining and refining the many pills we prescribe.

Associate Professor Anna Pilbrow

Anna is from the Christchurch Heart Institute (CHI) Omics Laboratory team. The world is moving fast on genetic advancements for the heart. Can information in our DNA identify people at impending risk of a heart attack or who might have a worse prognosis? Does understanding epigenetics – how our environment affects our genes - allow us a greater opportunity for precision medicine? When might Individualised, tailored heart treatment be a reality and what will it look like for patients? Come along to find out the answers to these questions and learn what we’re discovering about heart disease risk in the genetic code.

Speakers:
Mental Health: AI, psychedelics and your brain

Dr Matthew Tennant

The future of AI for treating depression, anxiety and phobias.
Grants for 2 large trials have been applied for to use AI to treat cognitive problems, using virtual reality “characters” to support people between psychiatric medical appointments. Pre-trial work is underway right now. In collaboration with UC and UoA, and Soul Machines (providing the virtual characters). How will they work? How will this help manage mental health problems? What else is happening internationally in this AI field which holds fresh hope for the future? Join us to find out.

Associate Professor Ben Beaglehole

Psychedelics for Depression - from tripping to sipping; moving from the hype of psychedelics to longer term management of mood and anxiety disorders.
Hear about the use of psychedelics in treating depression, including the hype and hope of new treatments for everyone involved. The larger evidence base suggests benefits of ketamine for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorder with a focus on research trying to address some of the gaps in the field. Join us to hear more.

Associate Professor James Foulds

Driven to distraction: life in the ADHD age and what can be done about it
Are Ritalin and other drug treatments working? What else is being looked at internationally? Is the new awareness of spectrum disorders and ADD lifting awareness and support? And are they being more accepted in the education sector and workplaces too? Join us to find out.

Dr Katie Douglas

Over-thinking and anxiety – can my brain be “trained” to help?
Over-thinking and ruminating are key signs of anxiety and depression – with these disorders particularly prevalent in young adulthood and at major transition points in adult life (menopause). But can you lessen its effects? We have drug treatments, we have psychological therapies (e.g., CBT), but can we also “train the brain’ and exercise it to maintain our mental wellness? Katie will talk about her ongoing HRC-funded project which is helping teens who ruminate with brain training technologies. She will also talk about more intensive brain training and rehabilitation strategies to help recovery from depression and bipolar disorder, and to support women in getting through the cognitive fog of menopause. Hear about practical strategies and examples, and findings from brain imaging research.