Plenary 1 – Hunt, McFarlane

Description

Professor Stephen Hunt has been Professor of Molecular Neuroscience at University College London since 1998. Before that he was at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge where he pioneered research into the rapid neuronal gene expression that promotes chronic pain states. He has worked extensively on the molecular neurobiology of Pain and Addiction and gave the Pat Wall Lecture at the British Pain Society in 2016.

Professor Alexander McFarlane (AO MB. BS. (Hons) MD. Dip. Psychother. FRANZCP) is Professor of Psychiatry and the Head of the University of Adelaide Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies. He is an international expert in the field of the impact of disasters and posttraumatic stress disorder. He is a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies for outstanding and fundamental contributions to the field of traumatic stress studies. He has held the role of Senior Adviser in Psychiatry to the Australian Defence Force and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. He holds the rank of Group Captain in the RAAF specialist reserve. Apart from his interest in disaster victims, military personnel and other civilian accidents, he has significant experience in the provision of care to emergency service personnel. His research is supported by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and the NHMRC program and partnership grants.

He has published over 300 articles and chapters in various refereed journals and has co-edited three books. In 2011 he received the Officer of the Order of Australia award, which recognised his “outstanding contribution to medical research in the field of psychiatry, particularly posttraumatic stress disorders, to veterans’ mental health management, and as an author”.