Barbara Dicker orations Swinburne University of Technology

The 2022 Barbara Dicker Oration augmented the work of the Barbara Dicker Brain Sciences Foundation, and its mission to contribute to the wellbeing of individuals and communities by supporting research in the areas of dementia, depression and other brain sciences.This year we were delighted to welcome guest speaker Professor Michael Berk, an internationally recognised leader in mental health and the understanding and treatment of psychiatric disorders, to discuss his research on the Development of Novel Therapies.Taking us from science lab bench to patient bedside, Professor Berk presented his innovative approach to developing novel therapies for some of the world’s most challenging mental health disorders. By using medications that were initially used for other disorders or identifying potential candidate medicines using stem cells and biomarkers, his team are finding new ways to inform clinical care for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and a range of other mental health conditions.

The experiences that we see, hear, and feel as a child affect us. But just how much? And in what ways is our brain changed by these childhood traumas? The eighth annual Barbara Dicker Oration was presented by Dr Gustavo Turecki (McGill University, Canada). Dr Turecki has devoted his life’s work to understanding how childhood harm can impair brain development and leave adults more vulnerable to psychiatric disorders. Dr Turecki is a Professor of Psychiatry; Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University; Scientific Director of the Douglas Institute; and Director of the McGill Group for Suicide Studies. His work and contributions to the field have been recognised through numerous awards and he has authored over 450 publications in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Nature Neuroscience, Nature Medicine, and The Lancet.

The 2018 Barbara Dicker Oration was presented by Professor Iris Sommer. Professor Sommer is a best-selling author and Professor of Cognitive Aspects of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorder at the Department of Neuroscience at the University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands. Entitled The phenomenon of hallucinations, Professor Sommer offered a holistic view into the research and experiences of hallucinations. It’s actually more common than you might think but what happens in our brains when we hallucinate? And what does this mean for new treatments and interventions? This Barbara Dicker Oration was held on 13 September, 2018.

In the 2017 Barbara Dicker Oration Professor Sheri L Johnson, a distinguished professor at the University of California, Berkley, gave us a unique insight into exploring the links of rewards with mania and depression and understanding the relationship between reward pursuit and mood disorders. This Barbara Dicker Oration was held on 11 October 2017.

The fifth annual Barbara Dicker Oration presented by the Barbara Dicker Brain Sciences Foundation features a presentation by Dr Michael Rugg from the University of Texas on Memory and Dementia. Memory is one of our most important mental abilities. It allows us to learn from the past, to plan for the future, and to maintain our sense of selfhood. It is also fragile. Memory ability declines in later life even in people free from age-related disease, and it is catastrophically impaired in Alzheimer's Disease, the most common cause of dementia. What we have learned about the brain regions and networks that support memory? How do these differ in their function across the lifespan? How can this knowledge be leveraged to improve the early detection of Alzheimer's Disease and other age-related disorders? This Barbara Dicker Oration was held on 15 September 2016.

'Sleep Matters' presented by Professor Shantha Rajaratnam, Deputy Head of School, Monash University School of Psychological Sciences. Professor Rajaratnam presents on recent advances in understanding the role of the brain clock in controlling sleep and wake processes, and talks about various approaches to treating sleep loss.