Abstracts of the 11th International Congress on Schizophrenia Research

Abstract

The International Congress on Schizophrenia Research began meeting in April 1987, as part of the National Plan for Schizophrenia. It developed as the U.S. sister meeting of the Winter Workshop on Schizophrenia held in Europe every other year, organized by Steven Hirsch and Tim Crow. At the time of its nception, there was no scientific group in the U.S. which was organized around the discovery of mechanisms and treatments for schizophrenia. The meeting's goals were to allow scientists to exchange ideas, plan research projects, and see new treatment developments.The first meeting was small, numbering only 187, and each subsequent Congress has grown in attendance, to more than 1,500. The goals of the meetings are to provide a forum for active investigators from around the world from academia, government, and industry to exchange information, be exposed to new ideas in neuroscience, and socialize. Ultimately we want the Congress to promote research activity and provide a scientific base and technical breadth to the field of schizophrenia research. Several practical goals are of utmost importance in this pursuit, first among which is to foster growth and interest among young scientists so they will invest their careers in this field. To this end, we began the Young Investigator Award Program in 1987, and have to date, including those awardees for our 2003 meeting, sponsored more than 281 young scientists to attend the Congress. Many of these scientists and clinicians are now established investigators in the field and devoted Congress participants. Another goal is to have a mixed group of basic and applied scientists, so that a true opportunity for informed translational research can transpire. At each of the recent meetings, approximately one third of the scientists are bench experimentalists and two thirds are clinical scientists. A third goal is to have scientists attend from around the world, since schizophrenia is an illness of worldwide incidence andconcern. That goal is gradually being met, with 45 countries being represented at our last Congress and greater than 50% of attendees being outside the U.S. The Congress has facilitated collaborations across countries and continents and helped increase the scientific stature of research around the world. To facilitate all of these goals, the setting for the International Congress is a matter of serious consideration