Hillbilly Elegy Author JD Vance to Address OSU Brain Health and Performance Summit

Symposium Discussing New Treatments for Opioid Addiction Kicks Off Three-Day Conference in Columbus

News provided by

Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Apr 18, 2017, 07:30 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- J.D. Vance, author of bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy" and experts in public health, addiction treatment, and device technology will kickoff the Second Annual Global Brain Health and Performance Summit from 11:30am-2:45pm on April 27 at the Columbus Hilton Downtown, with a special symposium, "Opioid Addiction and the Brain: Crisis in the Heartland." Moderated by Dr. Ali Rezai, director of The Ohio State University Neurological Institute and Ross Center for Brain Health and Performance, the panel will explore how opioid addiction affects the brain, how policymakers can address this challenge, and how technological innovations can contribute to treatment, management, and prevention. The Symposium will also feature:

Mark Hurst, Medical Director, Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services
Igor Elman, MD, Professor, Psychiatry, Wright State University
John Campo, MD, Professor, Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, OSU
Clay Marsh, MD, VP and Executive Dean, Health Sciences, West Virginia University
Greg Fiore, MD, Founder, CEO, SSI Strategy

Presented by OSU Wexner Medical Center's Stanley D. and Joan H. Ross Center for Brain Health and Performance, the Summit has also added a breakfast session on Friday featuring Eric Brown, PhD, Director of Foundational Innovation, IBM Watson Health, and a Saturday morning innovations panel on data commercialization in neuroscience.

The three-day Summit (April 27-29) will feature many of the world's most prominent brain health scientists, researchers, and key experts including entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and science journalists. Sessions will touch on technological advances for understanding brain-body connectivity, digitization of neuroscience, and brain health analytics and their impact on patient care.

Registration for the Summit is still open and day passes are available. Opioid Symposium tickets include lunch and can be purchased for $50. Register at go.osu.edu/brainhealth.

Featured Summit speakers include Deepak Chopra, M.D.; Dan Buettner, best-selling author, Blue Zones; Jeremy Abbate, publisher, Scientific American; Moshe Bar, PhD, Israel Brain Technologies, Harvard Medical School; Richard Friedman, M.D., Professor, Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College; Jon Hamilton, National Public Radio Science Correspondent; Amir Kalali, MD, Head, Neuro Center of Excellence, QuintilesIMS; Arthur Kramer, PhD, Senior Vice Provost, Northeastern University; Sarah Lenz Lock, JD, Executive Director, Global Council on Brain Health, AARP; Abby Levy, MBA, President, Thrive Global (Arianna Huffington's latest venture); Nathan Price, PhD, Head, 100k Wellness Project; James Olds, PhD, Directorate for Biological Sciences, National Science Foundation; Jeffrey Wadsworth, PhD, CEO, Battelle. View the agenda at go.osu.edu/brainhealth.

"Opioid addiction represents an urgent public health crisis for Ohio and our nation, and a key step in combatting this epidemic is better understanding its impact on the brain," Rezai said. "We're fortunate to have an all-star group of experts, including policymakers, scientists and best-selling authors, to explore technological innovations that can better treat, assess, and prevent addiction."

Media Contact: Eileen Scahill, Wexner Medical Center Media Relations, 614-293-3737, [email protected]

SOURCE Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center