PNNS ANNUAL CONFERENCE

 PNNS Annual Conference 

Interactions Between Gut Microbiota and the Brain
Emeran Mayer, MD

&
Autism Spectrum Disorder 
Kira Armstrong, Ph.D., ABPP-CN

Morning Presentation (9:00 - 12:00)

Interactions Between Gut Microbiota and the Brain

Emeran Mayer, MD
Research Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Physiology and Psychiatry at the David Geffen      School of Medicine at UCLA
Executive Director of the G. Oppenheimer Center for Neurobiology of Stress and Resilience
Founding Director of the UCLA Brain Gut Microbiome Center

Emeran Mayer is a world-renowned gastroenterologist and neuroscientist with 35 years of experience studying the clinical and neurobiological aspects of how the digestive system and the nervous system interact in health and disease. He has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterological Association, the Ismar Boas medal from the German Society for Gastroenterology and Metabolic Disease, and the 2016 David McLean Award from the American Psychosomatic Society.

His current research focused on the role of gut microbiota-brain interactions has expanded to include emotion regulation, chronic visceral pain, food addiction and obesity, cognitive decline, and autism spectrum disorders.

His research has been continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He has published over 370 peer reviewed scientific articles, including 100 chapters and reviews, co-edited four books, and organized several interdisciplinary symposia in the area of mind-body interactions and chronic visceral pain.

He published the Mind-Gut Connection book in 2016 which became a bestseller in Gastroenterology, and which has been translated into 16 languages. His next book, The Mind Gut Immune Connection, which links the health of soil and plant microbiomes to gut and brain health, was published in 2023.

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Afternoon Presentation (1:00 - 4:00)

Using “pink flags” and strategic psychoeducation to optimize diagnostic accuracy and the effective communication of neuropsychological findings

Kira Armstrong, Ph.D., ABPP-CN
Former Director, Pediatric Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuropsychology, Cambridge Health Alliance
Private Practice in Pediatric Neuropsychology
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dr. Kira Armstrong has held multiple positions in both regional and national neuropsychological societies including previous Member at Large of the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology, previous Secretary of the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society, oral examiner for the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology’s board certification cadre and other related committee memberships. She is the co-author of Feedback That Sticks: The Art of Communicating Neuropsychological Assessment Results, and Board Certification in Clinical Neuropsychology: A Guide to Becoming ABPP/ABCN Certified Without Sacrificing Your Sanity. She has also written chapters about and presented on the art of communicating neuropsychological results directly to children and through our reports. More recently she was a Co-Editor for a Special Edition in The Clinical Neuropsychologist on Autism Spectrum Disorder (and she co-wrote several articles for this edition). 

Dr. Armstrong previously directed a pediatric postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at the Cambridge Health Alliance. She is now in private practice with an ongoing focus in pediatric neuropsychology. 

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Schedule

7:30-8:45             Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:45-9:00             Laura Dahmer-White, PhD (PNNS President):
                               Welcome and Introduction of Speakers

9:00-10:20           Emeran Mayer, MD
                               “Interactions Between Gut Microbiota and the Brain”  (Part I)

10:20-10:40         Break with refreshments

10:40-12:00        Emeran Mayer, MD
                              “Interactions Between Gut Microbiota and the Brain”  (Part II)

12:00-1:30           Lunch, UW Arboretum
                               (Included with registrations received by Friday, 2/23/24)

1:30-2:50            Kira Armstrong, Ph.D., ABPP-CN 
                              “Autism Spectrum Disorder”    (Part I)

2:50-3:10             Break with refreshments

3:10-4:30            Kira Armstrong, Ph.D., ABPP-CN
                             “Autism Spectrum Disorder”    (Part II)