International Researchers’ Meetup – New trends in mental health and psychiatry
On 24 June, foreign and Czech scientists working in research organizations in the Central Bohemian Region and Prague met again at the opportunity of the 4th off-line meetup. The theme of this event in Klecany near Prague was New trends in mental health and psychiatry. In particular, the potential of using psychedelic substances in the treatment of some mental illnesses. The aim of the meetups organised by the Central Bohemian Innovation Centre (SIC) is to create new partnerships between researchers and help them to work and live in a new environment.
“Such events are certainly a very useful tool to help foreign scientists discover the area they moved to and meet each other in friendly, research-oriented events,” says Frederic Vellieux, a French scientist from the BIOCEV centre and a regular participant in the meetups. “I must say these events have been a great success, with always more scientists and researchers taking part. The meetups have been held in different scientific institutions in Central Bohemia – transportation from Prague provided. As newcomers, we don’t even know that these institutes exist unless we work there,” says Frederic.
The multidisciplinary group of nearly thirty scientists had the opportunity to visit a number of interesting workplaces such as the sleep or psychedelic laboratory or the light sauna as part of the programme at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The guided tour was led by RNDr. Karel Valeš Ph.D. and PhDr. Jana Kopřivová, Ph.D. This was followed by a lecture by Jiří Horáček, a well-known psychiatrist and professor at the 3rd Faculty of Medicine of Charles University, and Dr. Alexander Seillier, who has been in the Czech Republic since 2020 and is doing research on schizophrenia in relation to the effects of cannabis.
“The third part of the programme was traditionally managed by our SIC Welcome Office and was dedicated to team-building activities,” says Martina Vycudilíková, Research Community Manager at SIC and she adds: “Our goal is to bring together the participants of the meetup, it means scientists of different cultures, nationalities, ages and scientific disciplines, and to strengthen the foreign scientific community, which we help to feel comfortable in the Czech Republic and gradually get to know the innovation and research potential of the Central Bohemia Region by organising this and other events.”
The Meetup was attended by scientists from the BIOCEV and ELI Beamlines centres, the Astronomical Institute and the Institute of Botany and Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, the Charles University, the Czech University of Agriculture, the Research Centre Řež, the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague and, of course, the National Institute of Mental Health.
If you would like to participate in other meetups, become part of the community of international scientists and receive regular information about the SIC Welcome Office, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Martina Vycudilíková
Research Community Manager
+420 601 214 426
