Experts to explore implications of mental disorders at 12th EMBL | EMBO conference

You are invited to attend the 12th joint EMBL | EMBO Science and Society Conference - Making sense of mental illness: biology, medicine and society. The conference takes place 4-5 November 2011 at the EMBL Advanced Training Centre, Heidelberg, Germany. Press registration is free.

Neurological and behavioural disorders present a major global health problem and are prevalent among all age groups, social groups and cultures. The World Health Organization estimates that 25 percent of individuals develop one or more mental and/or behavioural disorders in their lifetime. Depression alone affects about 121 million people worldwide. The 2011 EMBL | EMBO Science and Society Conference draws together experts from a wide range of disciplines to explore the implications for society of mental disorders and explain the latest scientific knowledge about their causes and treatment.

Speakers include:

• Nikolas Rose, London School of Economics - Psychiatry, neuroscience and society in the twenty-first century
• Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim - Schizophrenia - from maps to mechanisms to treatments
• Sir Michael Rutter, King's College, London - Gene-environment interdependence
• Donna Franceschild, award-winning UK television writer - Living with bipolar disorder