Executive Committee 2026 - 2028

Dr. Gabriella Gobbi is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, McGill University.

She leads a laboratory of basic science (Neurobiological Psychiatry Unit) and works as a Staff Psychiatrist at the Mood Disorder Clinic of the McGill University Health Center.

Her research approach spans from bench to bedside, bridging the gaps between fundamental and clinical research. Dr. Gobbi received her MD (1991) and her specialty in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (1995) from the Catholic University of Rome (Italy). She also earned a PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Cagliari, Italy) and finalized a post-doc at McGill University (Montreal, Canada) in 1998.

Dr Gobbi’s lab is interested in understanding the pathophysiology of major depression and sleep related disorders and in the discovery of new treatments and cures for them.

In particular, her laboratory is studying the short- and long-term effects of cannabis use in mood and anxiety, and the potential beneficial effects of the drugs acting on the endocannabinoid system (endogenous cannabis) in the cure of mental diseases. Her lab is also studying the effect of melatonin in mood, anxiety and sleep regulation in an effort to understand how novel selective ligands for melatonin receptors (called MT1 and MT2 receptors) can be used to treat seasonal depression, major depression, sleep disorders, as well as pain.

Dr. Gobbi is author of more than 90 highly cited manuscripts in high impact journals, 20 book chapters, one book and holds two international patents in psychopharmacology.

She has received several fellowships for more than $10M as a principal investigator. She has won many prizes including the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CCNP) Young investigator Award in 2012, the Venezia Prize in 2015 and the Sam Lal prize from the Boeckh Foundation in 2017. She has served as reviewer/editor for many journals, international grant agencies in Europe and the USA and has been invited to speak at conferences around the world.

Dr. Kazutaka Ikeda is the Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science. He graduated from the Faculty of Technology at The University of Tokyo (B.Eng.) in 1989 and obtained his M.Med degree from Osaka University in 1991 and Ph.D. degree from Niigata University in 1995. While in Prof. Mishina’s laboratory at Niigata University, he cloned cDNA for the NMDA GluN2D receptor channel subunit and produced mice that lacked this subunit. He also produced mice that lacked the glutamate GluD2 receptor channel subunit and revealed a pivotal role for this subunit in motor control. Furthermore, he started studies on the opioid system and G protein-activated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels.

As a research fellow at RIKEN Brain Science Institute (1995-2000), he continued opioid and GIRK research and started studies on the dopamine system. He was appointed Senior Research Fellow (2000), Acting Chair (2002), and Chair (2003) in the Department of Molecular Psychiatry, Tokyo Institute Psychiatry, and Leader of the Addiction Substance Project (2011) and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science (2015). While at these institutions, he continued studies on addiction, schizophrenia, analgesia, and neurodevelopmental disorders at the molecular, genetic, animal-behavioral, and clinical levels. He has approximately 300 publications on these topics in prominent scientific journals. He was awarded the Distinguished International Scientist Collaboration Program Award from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2004, among several other awards. He is serving as an Academic Editor of PLoS One, a Field Editor of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, and an Editorial Board Member of several other journals. He has been a Fellow of CINP since 2010 and served as CINP Councillor (2016-2018).

The Japanese Society of Neuropsychopharmacology (JSNP) has over 1300 members and is under the umbrella of CINP. He is currently President of JSNP (2016-2018). He is President-elect (2017-2018) of the Asian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (AsCNP), which has over 3000 members and is also under the umbrella of CINP. He is a member of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacolgy (since 2014). He is also a member of the Science Council of Japan (2014-2020).

Professor Gregers Wegener, MD, PhD, DSc is Full Professor of Experimental Psychiatry and Neuropharmacology at the Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark. A psychiatrist and pharmacologist by training, his research focuses on the neurobiology of depression and anxiety, mechanisms of antidepressant action, neuroplasticity, and the impact of stress on mental health. His work spans both preclinical and clinical research, with particular emphasis on rapid-acting antidepressant therapies and translational neuroscience.

Professor Wegener has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, nine books, numerous book chapters, and holds an H-index of 62. His research has significantly advanced the understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying mood disorders and the development of innovative treatment strategies.

An internationally recognized leader in neuropsychopharmacology, Professor Wegener serves as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology and has been Editor-in-Chief of Acta Neuropsychiatrica since 2011. He has held numerous leadership roles within international scientific societies, including President of the Scandinavian College of Neuropsychopharmacology (SCNP), Chair of the Educational Committee of the International College of Neuropsychopharmacology (CINP), and President of the Danish Society for Biological Psychiatry. He has also contributed extensively to the organization of major international scientific congresses and educational initiatives.

Professor Wegener is widely recognized for his contributions to experimental psychiatry, having received several prestigious awards, including the CINP Rafaelsen Young Investigator Award and the SCNP Young Investigator Award. He remains committed to advancing neuroscience research while promoting education and international collaboration in psychiatry and neuropsychopharmacology.

Professor Huang is the Chief of Department of Addiction Sciences in Taipei City Psychiatric Center (TCPC), Taipei, Taiwan, and a Professor of the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Her clinical and academic interests are mainly related to addictive disorders, including searching for clinical biomarkers for the toxicity and neuroadaption related to addiction. She has conducted clinical trials of pharmacotherapy or non-pharmacotherapy (smartphone application) for alcohol dependence. In recent years, she has been focusing on the neuropsychological consequences of ketamine abusers and functional connectivity related to methamphetamine psychosis.

Dr. Huang is also the chief of Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies (TCPC). In addition to the daily-based clinical service and being in charge of a 32-bed addiction treatment ward, Dr Huang also involves vigorously in the teaching of addiction sciences and psychopharmacology for medical students and psychiatric residents. She esteablished several medical-legal joint intervention programs for substance and alcohol use disorders in Taiwan.

Dr Huang is currently serving as the board memeber of TSBPN (Taiwanese Society of Biological Psychiatry and Neuropsychopharmacology) and coucilor of AsCNP (Asian College of Neuropsychopharmacology). She also involved in the CINP by serving as the councilor (2020-2022), the member of International Scientific Program Committee of CINP (2018-2022) and the CINP Treasurer (2022-2026).

Professor Allan Young is the Chair of Mood Disorders and Director of the Centre for Affective Disorders in the Department of Psychological Medicine in the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London, where he is also Head of School for Academic Psychiatry. The School of Academic Psychiatry is second in the world rankings for Psychiatry (https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/psychiatry-psychology). He is the clinical academic lead in the Psychological Medicine Clinical Academic Group in the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, and a Consultant Psychiatrist and Head of the Affective Disorders Service.

Professor Young’s research interests focus on the cause and treatments for severe psychiatric illnesses, particularly mood disorders. He has over 750 peer-reviewed publications, including several books about psychopharmacology and affective disorders. He is editor of the Journal of Psychopharmacology and deputy editor of the British Journal of Psychiatry (Open). His H-index is 102 on Scopus and a lifetime total of over 50000 citations of his papers with over 4900 citations of his work in 2023 alone and he is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher: ranking in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science™ citation index. Professor Young’s current grant funding exceeds £40 million (£7 Million as PI) (please see https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/allan.young/projects/ ). Not yet listed on PURE are recent are grants awarded as PI including an i4i NIHR Grant (approx. £2million, NIHR206433) and a second round of Mental Health Mission Funding (£1.8 million): both run for 4 more years.

He is currently vice-President of the CINP and Chair of the Academic Faculty of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is a past President of the International Society for Affective Disorders and the British Association of Psychopharmacology and Inaugural Chair of the RCPsych Special Committee for Psychopharmacology. He is a trustee of the Drug Safety Research Unit (DSRU), which is internationally respected for its work in Pharmacovigilance, Pharmacoepidemiology, Risk Management and Training Services.

Dr. Hiroyuki Uchida is the Chair and Professor at the Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. He specializes in clinical psychopharmacology in schizophrenia and depression.

He received his MD and PhD at Keio University School of Medicine in 1998 and 2006. Following his graduate training, he joined the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, and conducted brain imaging studies and pharmacokinetic work with a focus on aging in schizophrenia as a post-doctoral fellow. Dr. Uchida came back to Keio University School of Medicine and became the head of Psychopharmacology Lab.

Dr. Uchida has been performing a series of clinical trials, brain imaging work, and pharmacokinetic studies, focusing on the optimal antipsychotic treatment for schizophrenia and depression. He has authored/co-authored more than 400 articles and book chapters and received numerous academic awards, including the Collegium Internationale Neuro-Psychopharmacologicum, Poster Award, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, Barry Lebowitz Early Career Scientist Award, and the Japanese Society of Neuropsychopharmacology, Academic Encouragement Award. He works as a co-editor for Pharmacopsychiatry, a field editor for Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, an advisory editor for Psychopharmacology, and an editorial board member for CNS Spectrums. He is a Judo black belt holder.