Jehannine Austin | |
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Born | Jehannine Claire Austin London, England |
Academic background | |
Education | |
Thesis | Optimisation of DHPLC and the study of Candidate Genes for Schizophrenia |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of British Columbia |
Jehannine Claire Austin FCAHS is a British and Canadian neuropsychiatric geneticist and a genetic counselor. They are a professor at the University of British Columbia and Executive Director of the Provincial Health Services Authority's BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Research Institute. In 2012,Austin founded the world’s first specialist psychiatric genetic counselling service.
Austin was born in London,England but raised in Swansea,Wales. [1] They graduated from Bishop Gore School in 1993 [2] and enrolled at the University of Bath. [3] Following their undergraduate degree,Austin completed their PhD in neuropsychiatric genetics from the University of Wales College of Medicine. They then travelled to North America to complete their Master of Science degree in genetic counselling at the University of British Columbia (UBC). [4]
Following their training,Austin became an assistant professor of psychiatry at UBC in 2007. [5] During their early tenure at UBC,Austin received the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) New Investigator Award [6] and a Scholar Award from the Michael Smith Health Research BC Foundation. [7] In 2010,Austin was appointed a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Translational Psychiatric Genetics to assist in their research for developing new counseling-based treatments and biologically based treatments for people with mental illness and their families. [8] One of their first actions as a CRC involved creating the world’s first specialist psychiatric genetic counselling service (Adapt Clinic). Within the first year of the program,Austin co-counselled over 250 people. [9] They also received the inaugural Psychiatry Research Award from Pfizer Canada to support their "research into the effect of genetic counseling on adherence to psychotropic medication in serious mental illness." [10] By 2014,their program provided services to over 300 families across British Columbia and branched out into the United States and the United Kingdom. [11] As such,Austin received the 2013 International Leadership Award and became the first non-American president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. [12]
In July 2016,Austin was appointed the Acting Head of UBC's Department of Psychiatry until December 31,2016. [5] While serving in this role,Austin was one of seven UBC faculty members named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars,Artists and Scientists. They were specifically recognized for "pioneering genetic counseling research,showing that genetic counseling has meaningful benefits for people with psychiatric disorders and their families." [13] Upon stepping down as Acting Head of UBC's Department of Psychiatry,Austin was appointed the Executive Director of the Provincial Health Services Authority's BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services Research Institute. [4] In this role,Austin oversees mental health and substance use professionals across the province and focuses on many different facets of mental health and substance use beyond genetic counselling. [14] Their efforts into "influencing health services worldwide " were recognized in 2017 with an election to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. [15]
In 2019,Austin was featured in a documentary about former Labour Party member Alastair Campbell. In the documentary,Campbell spoke openly about his depression with Austin,who used a "jam jar" analogy to explain how genetic and environmental factors influence mental illnesses. [16] They also received the 2019 Dr. Samarthji Lal Award for Mental Health Research for their work in genetic counselling. [17] During the COVID-19 pandemic,Austin was the co principal investigator on a study entitled "Impact of social determinants of mental health on child and parent risk,resilience and support access in the COVID-19 era:A nested mixed-methods study of short and long-term outcomes." [18]
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Michael Smith was a British-born Canadian biochemist and businessman. He shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kary Mullis for his work in developing site-directed mutagenesis. Following a PhD in 1956 from the University of Manchester,he undertook postdoctoral research with Har Gobind Khorana at the British Columbia Research Council in Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada. Subsequently,Smith worked at the Fisheries Research Board of Canada Laboratory in Vancouver before being appointed a professor of biochemistry in the UBC Faculty of Medicine in 1966. Smith's career included roles as the founding director of the UBC Biotechnology Laboratory and the founding scientific leader of the Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence (PENCE). In 1996 he was named Peter Wall Distinguished Professor of Biotechnology. Subsequently,he became the founding director of the Genome Sequencing Centre at the BC Cancer Research Centre.
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Lisa Dixon is a professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the Director of the Division of Behavioral Health Services and Policy Research within the Department of Psychiatry. Her research focuses on improving the quality of care for individuals diagnosed with serious mental illnesses. She directs the Center for Practice Innovations (CPI) at the New York State Psychiatric Institute,where she oversees the implementation of evidence-based practices for individuals with serious mental illnesses for the New York State Office of Mental Health. She leads OnTrackNY,a statewide treatment program for adolescents and young adults experiencing their first episode of psychosis.
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A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a name for community personnel who worked in the new community mental health agencies begun in the 1970s to assist individuals moving from state hospitals,to prevent admissions,and to provide support in homes,jobs,education,and community. These individuals were the forefront brigade to develop the community programs,which today may be referred to by names such as supported housing,psychiatric rehabilitation,supported or transitional employment,sheltered workshops,supported education,daily living skills,affirmative industries,dual diagnosis treatment,individual and family psychoeducation,adult day care,foster care,family services and mental health counseling.
Assertive community treatment (ACT) is an intensive and highly integrated approach for community mental health service delivery. ACT teams serve individuals who have been diagnosed with serious and persistent forms of mental illness,predominantly but not exclusively the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. ACT service recipients may also have diagnostic profiles that include features typically found in other DSM-5 categories. Many have histories of frequent psychiatric hospitalization,substance abuse,victimization and trauma,arrests and incarceration,homelessness,and additional significant challenges. The symptoms and complications of their mental illnesses have led to serious functioning difficulties in several areas of life,often including work,social relationships,residential independence,money management,and physical health and wellness. By the time they start receiving ACT services,they are likely to have experienced failure,discrimination,and stigmatization,and their hope for the future is likely to be quite low.
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British Columbia Children's Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver,British Columbia,and is an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. It specializes in health care for patients from birth to 16 years of age. It is also a teaching and research facility for children's medicine. The hospital includes the Sunny Hill Health Centre,which provides specialized services to children and youth with developmental disabilities aged birth to 16 years.
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Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis,prevention,and treatment of deleterious mental conditions. These include various matters related to mood,behaviour,cognition,perceptions,and emotions.
Claude Robert Cloninger is an American psychiatrist and geneticist noted for his research on the biological,psychological,social,and spiritual foundation of both mental health and mental illness. He previously held the Wallace Renard Professorship of Psychiatry,and served as professor of psychology and genetics,as well as director of the Sansone Family Center for Well-Being at Washington University in St. Louis. Cloninger is a member of the evolutionary,neuroscience,and statistical genetics programs of the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Washington University,and is recognized as an expert clinician in the treatment of general psychopathology,substance dependence,and personality disorders. Dr. Cloninger is currently professor emeritus.
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