Division of Mental Health and Addiction Medicine
Introduction |
Mission |
Advisory Committee
|
Research Topics |
Achievements |
Members
Introduction
Mental illnesses and addictive problems affect large segments of any society, whether "developed" or "developing," "East" or "West". They cause enormous suffering and dysfunction in afflicted individuals, and represent major sources of morbidity and mortality as well as loss in productivity at the societal level. Pathogenesis of psychiatric problems as well as therapeutic responses to mental health interventions are complex phenomena significantly influenced by ethnic, cultural and other "local" factors. The establishment of this Division represents a major milestone in the development of clinical psychiatry and neuroscience in Taiwan, in addressing mental health and other behavioral problems with high local priorities, and at the same time contributing to the knowledge base at the global level. To carry out its mission, the Division will work actively with leaders in clinical and academic psychiatry as well as in other biomedical research fields. The division sees its primary role as a facilitator, catalyst, capacity builder, not as an insulated institution.
At this stage of its development, the guiding principles for the Division include the following:
- (1) the coordination and integration of research across institutions and disciplines, such that resources and talents in Taiwan could be more effectively pooled, resulting in synergy in our work and a greater sense of mission and direction in the field;
- (2) an emphasis on translational research that is bi-directional (not only from bench to the bedside, but also from the bedside to the bench), which could only be accomplished with ongoing dialoguing and partnering among clinicians, clinical researchers, neuroscientists and other life science researchers; and,
- (3) the utilization of state of the art, cutting edge tools, technologies and methodologies to address research questions confronting the field in Taiwan and worldwide.
The Division is currently in the process of setting up its clinical and laboratory research and research training programs, be based at the Taipei City Psychiatric Center (TCPC), an academically oriented public psychiatric hospital with unique contributions in clinical services, program development, research and training in Taiwan in the past several decades. The Division also will have major collaborative arrangements with major academic and psychiatric clinical centers in Taiwan. Working together, the Division aims at establishing clinical, translational and basic research infrastructures and networks, enabling researchers to work collaboratively to tackle clinical and theoretical issues of central import and high relevance to the understanding and care of psychiatric patients. Programs to be established include inpatient research ward, research laboratories, an outpatient research network, and training programs fostering the growth and career development of generations of committed and fully equipped researchers capable carrying on the mission.
Research themes to be emphasized at this stage of the Division's development include:
- (1) clinical application of recent progress in pharmacogenomics, leading to the development of "individualized medicine;"
- (2) clinical application of neuropsychoimmunopharmacology;
- (3) systematic exploration of innovative intervention strategies; and
- (4) utilization of national health care database and/or other unique database available in Taiwan to address important issues in the area of pharmacoepidemiology.
These programs will be further described in the next section.
Mission
The mission of the Division of Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Research is to conduct clinical, translational and basic scientific research with the purpose of enhancing our understanding of mental health and psychiatric disorders, as well as improving the field's ability to provide increasingly effective intervention, rehabilitation and prevention strategies for our populations.Major tasks to be pursued by the Division include the following:
- Establishing ongoing mechanisms for consensus building and for enhancing inter-disciplinary, cross-institutional collaborations.
- Recruiting and retaining a cadre of high-caliber clinician-scientists and neuroscientists capable of working independently as well as collaboratively, with other members of the Division, within NHRI, as well as with other researchers, nationally and cross-nationally.
- Searching for innovative intervention and prevention strategies for major psychiatric and addictive problems; developing innovative research approaches including clinical pharmacogenomics and pharmacoepidemiology.
- Establishing a multi-step and multi-dimensional training system to attract clinicians and basic researchers to pursue careers in psychiatric and neuroscience research.
Advisory Committee
-
Ming T. Tsuang, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc. (Chairman)
- University Professor, University of California,
- Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, and Director, Center for Behavioral Genomics, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego
- 9500 Gilman Dr., Mail Code 0603
- Medical Teaching Facility, Room 453
- La Jolla, CA 92093-0603, USA
-
Horace H. Loh, Ph.D.
- Frederick and Alice Stark Professor and Head, Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota
- 6-120 Jackson Hall, 321 Church Street S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
-
De-Maw Chuang, Ph.D.
- Chief, Section on Molecular Neurobiology, National Institute of Health, NIMH
- Bldg. 10, Rm 4C206, 10 Center Drive MSC 1363
- Bethesda, MD 20892-1363, USA
-
Yuan-Tsong Chen, M.D., Ph.D.
- Director and Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Science, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
- 128 Yen-Chiu-Yuean Rd. Sec.2. IBMS. Taipei, Taiwan
-
Siu-Wa Tang, M.D., Ph.D.
- Head of Department, Dept. of Psychiatry, Hong Kong University, NCB,
- Queen Mary Hospital, Pokfulam Rd., Hong Kong
-
Hai-Gwo Hwu, M.D.
- Professor, National Taiwan University Medical College
- Joint Appointed Professor, National Taiwan University Department of Psychology
- 1, Ren'ai Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan
-
Wei-Jen Chen, M.D., Sc.D.
- Dean, Vice President, National Taiwan University School of Public Health
- Room 1154, 15Fl., 1, Ren'ai Road, Taipei 100, Taiwan
- Room 537, 17, Xuzhou Road, Taiwan 100, Taiwan
-
Kung-Yee Liang, Ph.D.
- Department of Biostatistics Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University
- 615 N. Wolfe Street Baltimore, Maryland, 21205-3179 USA