UEL Psychology Seminar Series - 29th July

UEL Psychology Seminar Series

Date:     29^th July 2015

Time:     12:30 - 13:30       

Venue:  Arthur Edwards Building, Room tbc

 

 

Professor Andrew H. Kemp

Associate Professor, University of Sydney; Visiting Professor, University of São Paulo; Global Burden of Disease Expert, University of Washington; Editor, PLoS ONE, Frontiers in Psychology & Frontiers in Psychiatry

Title:

Bridging the gap between psychophysiology and global mental health

 

Abstract:

Professor Kemp’s research interests include psychophysiology (ECG, GSR, EEG, ERPs), the cognitive neurosciences (pharmaco-fMRI, imaging genetics, tDCS), neuropsychopharmacology (antidepressants, oxytocin) and psychiatric epidemiology, focusing on the mood and anxiety disorders, their treatments, and most recently, their relation to coronary heart disease (CHD). In this presentation, he will focus on his research programme on heart rate variability (HRV) - a marker of vagal inhibitory function - that refers to the variability of the R–R interval extracted from the ECG waveform. HRV has important functional significance for motivation to engage social situations, psychological flexibility in the face of stressors, and over the long–term, may provide the structural link to physical health and disease, attributable to vagally-regulated, inflammatory processes. Consequently, HRV is of interest to psychophysiologists interested in the physiological effects of psychological events, and epidemiologists, who have used HRV to predict risk of future adverse cardiovascular events. Professor Kemp will describe his recent research activities aimed at merging these two largely independent fields, thereby bridging the gap between experimental psychophysiology and large-scale, epidemiological research. His research has important and wide-reaching implications for basic emotion theory (e.g. his social-approach / withdrawal hypothesis relating to the role of oxytocin in human affect), understanding comorbidity between mental and physical health (e.g. the robust impact of generalized anxiety disorder on HRV), and global mental health (e.g. associations between tricyclic antidepressants and CHD in Brazil).

 

Brief Biography:

Professor Kemp is a leading multi-disciplinary researcher, academic and editor for PLOS ONE and Frontiers in Psychology. He is an Associate Professor at the University Sydney at which he has developed a productive program of research to better understand the relationship between mental and physical wellbeing. With a strong background in psychophysiology and cognitive neuroscience, he has recently applied his research skills to the exciting, emerging field of global mental health. It is in this regard that he is currently living and working in São Paulo, Brazil working on the largest epidemiological project on the health and wellbeing of the Brazilian population at the University of São Paulo. His research spans cognitive and affective neuroscience through to epidemiology, bridging the gap between biological mechanism and public health. His research has been published in over 100 articles and books (since 2001; h-index = 38), attracting significant attention from scientific and lay communities. He is also a Global Burden of Disease Expert for the University of Washington, and this role has directly led to a series of high profile, public health outcomes published in The Lancet journal. He is also a member of the prestigious, Global Young Academy, a rallying point for outstanding young scientists committed to community service and shaping policy at a global level.

 

Session Chair:

Professor Cynthia Fu