The International Society of Psychiatric Genetics (ISPG, a non- profit professional research society) is the sponsor of annual World Congresses of Psychiatric Genetics which are held alternating years between North America and Europe. It is a four day meeting with invited plenary speakers, freely submitted oral and poster presentations, as well as various workshops. These meetings have as their goal the education of researchers, students and the public about the latest research findings in the neurogenetics of all major psychiatric conditions. The work reported at these sessions ranges from epidemiological to molecular topics. An international program committee is assembled from senior researchers in the field to invite approximately 12 plenary speakers to present timely reviews of new and exciting advances in genetic technology or other topics relevant to a wide range of research in psychiatric genetics. However, the major portion of the program is devoted to the free submissions from investigators interested in attending. Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows are particularly encouraged to participate and present new data. Travel fellowships are provided for as many young investigators as possible, usually 15- 20. The meeting is generally held in the Fall and a public call for abstracts to be submitted in the May prior to the meeting is solicited by the internet, journal advertising and a mailing list of over 8000 professionals. It is hoped that this annual meeting will facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge pertinent for rapid advancement and progress toward finding genes for major psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, unipolar depressions, and autism.
