WFSBP 2019
4
Dear Colleagues,
We are delighted to invite you to attend the 14
th
World Congress of Biological Psychiatry, a
biennial conference of the World Federation of the Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP),
in Vancouver, Canada, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, from 2 to 6 June, 2019.
The theme of the congress “Neuroscience Discoveries and Translation to Clinical Practice” was
chosen to address two major challenges plaguing the field of mental health i.e. slow progress
in new discoveries and barriers to evidence based application of new discoveries in day to day
clinical practice to improve patient care. The congress will be structured to include a neurosci-
ence discovery track and a clinical track. Within each track, plenaries, round table debates,
workshops, symposia and short oral presentation sessions will address cutting edge topics.
Priority will be given to symposia and workshop proposals that report on new methods and
tools in biological psychiatry and psychopharmacology and their translational aspects.
Several promising new technologies and discoveries are on the horizon in biological psychiatry
and this congress will provide an ideal forum to exchange knowledge related to these innova-
tions in order to advance the field. Some of the key topics that will be addressed in the keynote
lectures, plenaries and debates will include leveraging technology to advance discoveries in
neuroscience, machine learning and big data, precision medicine and biomarkers, bioinfor-
matics, innovations in clinical trial designs, drug discovery and neuroinflammation.
Educational sessions and courses will be offered on pragmatic topics that are of immediate
relevance from research and clinical practice perspective to trainees and clinicians.
In addition to state of the art science, Vancouver offers many wonderful tourist activities. Stroll
the seawall, explore Stanley Park, shop the Granville Island market, enjoy the downtown
museums and galleries, and sample the local seafood specialties – all these experiences and
many more are within a few minutes walk of the conference centre.
We look forward to welcoming you to the congress!
Prof. Masatoshi Takeda
WFSBP President
Prof. Lakshmi N. Yatham
Chair, International Scientific
Programme Committee,
President-Elect
Prof. Raymond Lam
Chair of the Local
Organising Committee
(LOC)
Invitation to the 14
th
World Congress of Biological Psychiatry
Masatoshi Takeda
Lakshmi N. Yatham
Raymond Lam