Journalist, Distinguished Scientists and Advocacy Group Receive Top Honors at International Conference on Bipolar Disorder

At the Seventh International Conference on Bipolar Disorder being held this week in Pittsburgh, three distinguished individuals and one advocacy group will be honored for their contributions to bipolar disorder research, education and service.

The Mogens Schou Awards were named in recognition and appreciation of Mogens Schou, M.D., Dr. Med. Sci., honorary president, International Society of Bipolar Disorders, and emeritus professor, The Psychiatric Hospital, Risskov, Denmark, whose groundbreaking research 50 years ago proved lithium’s significant mood stabilizing effects for the treatment of bipolar disorders.

“This year’s Mogens Schou Awards continue the strong tradition of honoring those heroes who are making major advances that bring hope to those suffering from bipolar disorder,” said David J. Kupfer, M.D., the Thomas P. Detre Professor and chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

John McManamy, L.L.B., will receive the Mogens Schou Award for Public Service. A former financial journalist, Mr. McManamy was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1999. As a means of coming to terms with his illness, he began researching and writing about bipolar disorder. He writes and publishes the email newsletter, McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Report, a free service committed to helping patients and loved ones manage their illness and build productive partnerships with their clinicians. He is the author of the book Living Well with Depression and Bipolar Disorder: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You That You Need to Know, the first mood disorders book written by a patient that covers both the clinical and scientific issues from a patient’s perspective. Mr. McManamy also publishes the Web site McMan’s Depression and Bipolar Web, www.mcmanweb.com.

The Brazilian Association for Affective Disorders (ABRATA) will receive the Mogens Schou Award for Education and Advocacy. Adriano Camargo, president of ABRATA, will accept the award on the organization’s behalf. A non-governmental organization, ABRATA has made great strides in educating consumers, their families, health professionals and the public about the nature and treatment of affective disorders; working toward eliminating stigma and discrimination; advocating for and supporting patients and families, and encouraging research in affective disorders.

Francesc Colom, Psy.D., M.Sc., Ph.D., and Eduard Vieta, M.D., Ph.D., will receive the Mogens Schou Award for Research. Dr. Colom is the head of the psychoeducation and psychological treatments area at the Bipolar Disorders Program of the Hospital Clinic at the University of Barcelona, which conducted the largest psychoeducation controlled single-blind trial with bipolar patients. Designed by Dr. Colom and colleagues, the Barcelona Psychoeducation Program is the strongest evidence-based psychoeducational program for patients with bipolar disorder.

Dr. Vieta is the director of the Bipolar Disorders Program of the Hospital Clinic at the University of Barcelona and director of research at the university’s Clinical Institute of Neuroscience. He has been at the forefront of research in the area of novel treatments, both pharmacological and psychological, for bipolar disorder.

The Mogens Schou Awards ceremony takes place at 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 8, at The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh in Oakland.

The Seventh International Conference on Bipolar Disorder, which is being sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, is the only venue in the world devoted exclusively to highlighting new research into bipolar disorder. The disease affects both adults and children, devastates families and work relationships, accounts for nearly half of all suicides in the United States and costs billions in medical bills, missed work and lower productivity.