IASP Executive Committee (2007-09)
Professor Brian Mishara
President
Brian Mishara is Professor in the Psychology Department and Director of the Centre for Research and Intervention on Suicide and Euthanasia (CRISE) at the University of Quebec at Montreal. His numerous publications in English and French in the areas of suicidology and gerontology include research on the effectiveness of suicide prevention programmes, studies of how children develop an understanding of suicide, theories of the development of suicidality, issues on euthanasia and "assisted suicide," and evaluations of helpline effectivenes. Besides his university activities, Professor Mishara was a founder of Suicide Action Montreal, the Montreal regional suicide prevention centre and the Quebec Association of Suicidology. He is a past president of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention and was the recipient for 1994-1995 of the Bora Laskin Canadian National Fellowship on Human Rights Research for his work on human rights issues regarding the involvement of physicians and family members in assisted suicide and euthanasia. (View Past Presidents of the IASP.)
Associate Professor Heidi Hjelmeland
Vice President
Heidi Hjelmeland is a Professor of Health Science at the Department of Social Work and Health Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, as well as a Senior Researcher at the Department of Suicide Research and Prevention at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, Norway. She has been involved in research on suicidal behaviour since 1992 and was also the Head of one of Norway's regional resource centres for suicide research and prevention for 6 years (1997-2003). Her current research interests are on the intentional/communicative aspects of suicidal behaviour, attitudes towards suicide, gender and culture issues, as well as on theoretical and methodological developments within the field of suicidology. At present she participates in several European multicentre studies and also conducts research in some African countries (Ghana, Uganda and South Africa) as well as in India in collaboration with local researchers.
Professor Kees van Heeringen
Vice President
Kees van Heeringen had his training in medicine and psychiatry at the University of Gent, Belgium. He currently is head of the University Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Gent, chairs the Division of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at the University of Gent, and is director of the Unit for Suicide Research at the same university. He published many scientific papers and edited six books on suicidal behaviour. He is member of the editorial board and reviewer for many international scientific journals. Kees van Heeringen is a member of the International Academy for Suicide Research, and acts as a national representative for the World Health Organisation.
Dr Thomas Bronisch
Treasurer
Thomas Bronisch was a psychiatrist in training at the Psychiatric Hospital. Haar/Munich, psychiatrist in training at the Neurological Clinic Haar/Munich. He had training in behavior therapy and psychoanalysis and was psychiatrist in training at the Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, senior psychiatrist (Facharzt für Psychiatrie). Fellow of the Max-Kade-Foundation/New York, Cornell-University, The New York Hospital - Westchester Division, Head of the Outpatient Department at the Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, and associate professor of psychiatry at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. His current position is Head of the open ward at the Max-Planck-Institute of Psychiatry, Munich. His main reseach topics are suicide, personality disorders, and affective disorders. Epidemiology, psychopathology, course and outcome, therapy, and neurobiology. He has published over 220 scientific articles and 8 books.
Assoc. Professor Annette Beautrais
General Secretary
Annette Beautrais is Principal Investigator with the Canterbury Suicide Project at the Christchurch School of Medicine & Health Sciences. In this role she has conducted research on various aspects of suicidal behaviour since 1991. She has written a number of research papers and reviews about suicide, and has contributed to the development of a range of guidelines for professional groups about identifying, treating and managing people with suicidal behaviour. She works collaboratively with a number of international suicide research and prevention centres, is a member of the editorial boards of suicide journals and reviewer for a number of other journals. She is Co-Editor-In-Chief of CRISIS, the journal of the International Association for Suicide Prevention.
Dr. Murad Khan
Chair, Council of National Representatives
Murad Khan is Professor & Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. He completed his medical training from University of Karachi and higher psychiatric training in General Adult < Old Age Psychiatry at Maudsley and Kings College Hospital, London, UK. He has over 25 years of experience in teaching, research and clinical psychiatry. He is the Principal investigator of Karachi Suicide Study, a collaborative study with the Institute of Psychiatry, London. He is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, International Academy of Suicide Research (IASR), Chair of Council of National Representatives and Board Member of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). He has published extensively on suicide and attempted suicide in Pakistan and is on the editorial board of a number of national and international journals. His research interests include mental health of women and elderly, psychosomatic medicine and bioethics.
Dr. Jerry Reed
Chair, Council of Organisational Representatives
Jerry Reed, PhD, MSW serves as Executive Director of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA (SPAN USA). Prior to assuming this position on July 1, 2003, Jerry served as an independent consultant working on health care, mental health, geriatric and suicide prevention issues. He most recently worked on a variety of initiatives in support of the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Strategy and also served as project liaison with the three-year national Hotline Linkage and Evaluation Project (HELP) and the national Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). He received a Master of Social Work degree with an emphasis in Aging Administration from the University of Maryland at Baltimore in 1982. He spent 15 years as a career civil servant working in both Europe and the United States as a civilian with the Department of the Army developing, implementing and managing a variety of quality of life programs including substance abuse prevention and treatment, family advocacy, child and youth development programs, social services and the range of morale, welfare and recreation programs. Selected as a Congressional Fellow in 1996, he worked in the Office of Senator Harry Reid (Nevada) serving as senior advisor on health care, mental health, suicide prevention and aging issues. Upon completion of the fellowship he accepted a full time position with the U.S. Senate and completed his assignment in 1999 as Deputy Chief of Staff for Senator Reid. Jerry received his Ph.D. in Health Related Sciences with an emphasis in Gerontology at the Virginia Commonwealth University in December 2007. His research interests are crude suicide rate variation and suicide and mental health issues on behalf of older adults.
