Meet Our Keynote Speakers!

Jo Robinson, PhD 

Associate Professor, Head of Suicide Prevention Research, Orygen; Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne

President, International Association for Suicide Prevention

Keynote Panel - Frontiers in Treatment: Multimodal Approaches to Treating Patients with PTSD More Effectively 

Discussant: Paula Schnurr, PhD, National Center for PTSD

Participants: Eric Vermetten, MD, PhD; Ariel Lang, PhD, MPH; Kerry Ressler, MD, PhD; Sonya Norman, PhD

Breaking the Cycle: Trauma-Informed, Interdisciplinary Strategies for Supporting Vulnerable Populations in Baltimore

Baltimore communities face disproportionate exposure to trauma stemming from systemic inequities, community violence, and intergenerational stress. This panel features transformative initiatives— Break the Cycle Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) and HEAL Refugee Health Asylum & Collaborative—to explore how clinical, community, and global health strategies can converge to disrupt cycles of trauma and foster healing.

Nadir Y. Abdullah

VIS, Adult Trauma Surgery Department, Johns Hopkins Hospital

Keynote Panel - Next-Gen PTSD Care: What Will the Science and Practice of PTSD Look Like by 2030?

This forward-facing discussion will explore breakthrough innovations in PTSD care, spotlighting how next-generation psychotherapies and pharmacotherapies, neurobiological and biomarker advances, and artificial intelligence, will reshape the global treatment landscape.

Participant(s): Soraya Seedat (Chair), Katharina Schultebraucks (Speaker), Jessica Gill (Speaker), Pamela Collins (Discussant), Rachel Yehuda (Speaker), Talya Greene (Speaker)

Talya Greene, PhD

Professor of Trauma and Mental Health, University College London, UK
Co-Director of UCL’s MSc in Psychology and Trauma

The ISTSS Annual Meeting provides an inter-disciplinary forum to share research, clinical strategies, public policy approaches and theoretical formulations related to trauma. The annual meeting provides an invaluable, in-person opportunity for professionals to reconnect and extend their networks to develop and strengthen collaborative relationships to move the field of traumatic stress forward. It is an international assembly of professionals and students representing an array of disciplines, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, epidemiologists, nurses, researchers, administrators, victim advocates, journalists, clergy and others with an interest in the study and treatment of traumatic stress.

The ISTSS 41st Annual Meeting will focus on exploring frontiers in traumatic stress, employing global perspectives and creative solutions to strengthen and extend our understanding of the prevention, assessment and treatment of trauma. The goals of the meeting are to promote a deeper understanding of the evolving trauma landscape and to amplify voices across the globe to spur innovations and interdisciplinary approaches to trauma work. We encourage research submissions that reflect global and interdisciplinary collaborations, incorporate innovative methods in the study of trauma, utilize technology to promote better outcomes, and address timely issues and challenges in the trauma field. We also seek presentations that shine a light on the importance of establishing, strengthening and evaluating trauma-informed systems on a global level. We encourage submissions on topics related—but not limited to—research on:

• Preventing traumatic stress through global collaboration
• Leveraging lessons from global communities to understand and address intergenerational trauma
• Trauma-informed systems and assessment of service needs/gaps
• Utilizing technology to create innovations for recovery
• Leveraging artificial intelligence and computational biology to decode and treat traumatic stress
• Innovative, inter-disciplinary methodological approaches to the study of trauma across lifespan and in a public health context
• Neurobiological markers of resilience and recovery in diverse populations
• Climate change and traumatic stress

Learning Objectives

1. Describe how global and interdisciplinary and global collaboration can further the study and prevention of traumatic stress.
2. Describe major gaps and needs in relation to the establishment and improvement of trauma-informed systems on a global scale.
3. Identify innovative and scalable approaches to leverage technology to promote recovery from trauma.
4. Discuss advances in the study of neurobiological markers of trauma, resilience and recovery across diverse populations.
5. Discuss direct and indirect effects of climate change and extreme weather events on traumatic stress in the most impacted groups globally, multi-level causal mechanisms, and integrated trauma-focused and climate-resilient interventions.

Cancellation and Change Policy:

Notification of cancellation must be submitted in writing by email to info@istss.org. Cancellations received on or before August 15, 2025, will be refunded less a $100 cancellation charge. Due to recent changes in government funding, travel policies, and other critical professional activities, ISTSS is able to waive cancellation fees for those directly impacted by such challenges. Please contact the ISTSS Executive Office for assistance at info@istss.org. Substitutions are allowed at any time but must be submitted in writing.

Presenter Resources: 

Find all the essential tools for a successful presentation, including slide templates, AV setup guidelines, and more on our Presenter Resources page.