SPEAKERS
Dr Maria-Clemencia Hernandez (Roche)
GABA modulators for treatment of intellectual disability: Lessons learnt from the Roche preclinical and clinical studies

Dr Nigel Blackwood (KCL)
Research priorities in violent antisocial men

ABOUT FANS
FANS is one of Europe’s largest research groups and one of the few teams in the world bringing together leading experts in brain development and pro and antisocial behaviours across the lifespan.

We are part of the IOPPN, world-renowned for the quality of its research and for producing more highly cited publications in psychiatry and mental health (Scopus, 2016) than any other university in the world

Talk 1: Increased GABA-mediated inhibition has been proposed as a mechanism underlying cognition deficits in Down syndrome (DS).Basmisanil is a novel, highly selective GABAA α5 negative allosteric modulator that successfully completed preclinical and Phase I clinical studies and is now entering a Phase II trial for treatment of intellectual disability associated with DS. Maria-Clemencia will present key results and lessons learnt from these studies. Maria-Clemencia is an Expert Scientist at Roche. Her research focus is on inhibitory neurotransmission in neurological and psychiatric disorders. She has identified a number of novel GABAA subtype selective modulators some of which are currently in clinical development.

Talk 2: Violent crime is a major public health problem (even if you’re a Pinker-esque optimist). Forensic inpatient services consume 1/5 of the NHS mental health budget, but this still leaves the majority of antisocial men poorly understood and under-treated. Nigel will review his group’s work to ‘get the phenotype right’; consider whether psychopathy is a neurodevelopmental disorder; and outline the importance of understanding its neurobiology  to help to develop new treatments. Nigel is a clinical academic in forensic psychiatry who (together with D. MacManus) leads the Forensic Research Group at KCL. His work to date has typically used cognitive psychological and neuroimaging methods to explore antisocial behaviour in adults.