IPOS News

I am currently investigating depressive symptoms and cognitive impairments (memory problems, attention, mental agility...) associated with breast cancer. Specifically, I am studying possible biomarkers of both conditions and a home treatment that combines non-invasive brain stimulation techniques and cognitive training to improve these symptoms (NCT06053775). I became a member of IPOS because I believe that it will greatly contribute to enrich my professional practice, both clinical practice and research, by meeting professionals in this field and being up to date in therapeutic intervention with oncology patients. In addition, I believe that this membership will allow me to disseminate my work so that other professionals can get to know it. I have initiated this research project with the intention of learning more about one of the main sequelae of cancer, which often goes unnoticed by medical professionals and for which many patients do not receive treatment. I hope to be able to extend this knowledge to other populations, such as children, to improve the quality of life of these patients. I am confident that my background and enthusiasm will make this possible!

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The Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice is the official global journal of the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS). This open access journal focuses on the growing body of research in the field of psychosocial oncology. The journal publishes articles reporting on clinical research examining psychosocial and behavioral interventions in oncology settings, research on the implementation of psychosocial and behavioral interventions in routine clinical practice and their impact on outcomes. This includes reports on pragmatic clinical trials, qualitative research, systematic reviews, survivorship research and care, psychosocial oncology research and practice in developing countries, innovative research methods and research into global and regional health disparities as they relate to psychosocial oncology care and services.

First Name	Last Name	Country
Khaled	Al Omari	Oman
Chioma	Asuzu	Nigeria
Alcon	Barnett	Jamaica
Svetlana	Baziliansky	Israel
Genevieve	Breau	Canada
Rosario	Costas-Muñiz	USA
Susanne	Dalton	Denmark
Lauren	Daniel	USA
Haryana	Dhillon	Australia
Tania	Estape	Spain
Claire	Han	USA
Saki	Harashima	Japan
Jochen	Kaiser	Germany
Cramer	Kallem	USA
Juliet	Kroll	USA
Ken	Kurisu	Japan
Wendy Wing Tak	Lam	Hong Kong, China
Gerald	Matua	Oman
Anja	Mehnert-Theurkauf	Germany
Hitoshi	Okamura	Japan
Masako	Okamura	Japan
Ying	Pang	China
Sarah	Reed	USA
Lauren	Rudy	Canada
Kelly	Shaffer	USA
Mariana Alejandra	Sierra- Murguía	Mexico
Ellen	Sweeney	Canada
Miyako	Takahashi	Japan
Rachel	Taylor	UK
Kathleen	Van Dyk	USA
Vicki	White	Australia
Lori	Wiener	USA
jeanette	Winterling	Sweden
Nienke	Zomerdijk	Australia

Find out more by going to https://journals.lww.com/jporp/pages/default.aspx

Florina Pasca (Pop), PhD, clinical psychologist at the Oncological Institute Prof. dr.I. Chiricuta with more than 10 years of experience in Psycho-Oncology. I work with adult patients with various malignant pathologies. During the 10 years of activity, I participated in various conferences in the field of psychology, psychotherapy and psycho-oncology, but was also involved in research projects, including those aimed at online psycho-education for cancer patients and their families. I believe in continuous professional training, and her personal interests include quality of life, etiopathogenetic mechanisms involved in health and mental illness, multidisciplinarity in the care of cancer treatment and effective psycho-oncological interventions in emotional self-regulation of cancer patients and their caregivers. The person who inspires me from psychooncology domain is prof. Maggie Watson, also an IPOS active member.

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The team at the IPOS would like to extend our best wishes to you all for a safe and peaceful holiday season. We hope you are able to enjoy the festivities with family and friends. Looking forward to what the new year will bring!

Holiday Office Hours

The IPOS Board of Directors and office will be unavailable from 5 p.m. ET on Friday, December 22, 2023 to Monday, January 1, 2024 inclusive. We will be back at 9 a.m. ET on January 2 and will make every effort to respond to all inquiries within the first 48 hours upon our return.
 
See you all in the new year!

I am Zeynep Kotan. I have been working as a psychiatrist since 2009. I worked as a psychiatrist in Ankara Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Oncology Training and Research Hospital between 2012-2019. We established a psychooncology department there where we introduced consultation liason service to Palliative Care, Medical Oncology, Hematology, Surgery and other medical departments. We conducted group therapies for breast cancer patients. I got my associate professor degree in 2007. I was assigned in the secretary and organization comittee of several psycooncology symposiums. I had a chance to work in Consultation Liason Deparment of Ankara University Psychiatry Unit where I had the opportunity to work with psychiatric issues related with diverse medical conditions including cancer. I have been working as a psychiatrist in my private office since 2020. I and my colleagues established Ankara Psychooncology Association in October 2022. We have done several educational activities towards professionals involved in oncology and towards cancer patients and their relatives. We have recently been involved psychooncology issues in disasters after the February 2023 earthquake disaster in Turkey. I am also a psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapist and interested in psychoanalytic issues in cancer patients. I am glad to be a part of IPOS. It is a big chance to have the opportunity to learn from colleagues interested in psychooncology from all around the world.

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Irfan is a dedicated psycho-oncologist and a global health specialist, currently lending his expertise to Cancerless EU as an Advisor for Strategic Policy and Diplomatic Communication. With over a decade of experience in the field of psycho-oncology, he stands at the forefront of both practice and research. His work, recognized for its significance, has been featured in some of the world's most esteemed journals, including The Lancet.

Irfan's career is driven by a profound commitment to improving the lives of cancer patients and their families, particularly in the context of global health. He believes that the intersection of psycho-oncology and global health policy can bring about meaningful change and greater awareness of the psychological aspects of the cancer journey. With a relentless passion for his work and a vision for a world where mental health is an integral part of cancer care, Irfan continues to make a remarkable impact on the field.  

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Dear Healthcare Providers, Policy Makers, and Administrators:

We are writing to invite you to participate in an important research study exploring the attitudes and beliefs towards Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies (PAT) among healthcare providers, policy makers, and people living with cancer.

The study aims to examine current trends in attitudes towards PAT and how it might be integrated into existing treatments and research settings for psychosocial symptoms within cancer care in Canada.

Participation in the study would involve completing an online survey, which should take approximately 20 minutes of your time. We are also inviting, those that are interested, to take part in a follow-up interview, which will provide an opportunity to discuss in more detail your experiences and attitudes towards PAT.

All information collected during the study will be kept strictly confidential and no identifying information will be shared.

Your participation in this study would contribute greatly to our understanding of how PAT might be integrated into cancer care settings and could ultimately benefit patients and healthcare providers in the future.

Here are the essential resources for the study:

The survey link for participation: https://redcap.link/PATCANSURVEY

Our dedicated study website for further information: https://www.psychedelictherapiesforcancer.com/

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the study coordinator, Haley Mather at:

P: 403-923-1964
E: [email protected]

Thank you for considering our request.

Sincerely,

Haley Mather

Principal Investigator: Dr. Linda Ellen Carlson

Please note the above was submitted to the IPOS Research Committee via the "RESEARCH STUDY PEER REVIEW" process. For more information, please go to https://ipos-society.org/Peer-Review

I am working as a Psycho-Oncologist in Tata Memorial hospital Mumbai India, for 16 years. My special interest is in Geriatric patients and their caregivers. I am a part of Geriatric Oncology in Tata Memorial Hospital. I would like to work on IPOS platform for geriatrics. I have done my one project work on psychological issues of Indian older adult with cancer and my upcoming project is for caregivers of older adult with cancer in India. I would be very happy if I will get an opportunity to grow more in this field.

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I completed my PhD in clinical psychology with a particular emphasis on psycho-oncology at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), achieving excellent results. I hold the position of senior lecturer, researcher, and Clinical psychologist at the Department of Psychology, UNN. Currently, I am undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany, where my research is focused on Physical Activity, Prevention, and Cancer, with specific emphasis on the psycho-social predictors and mediators of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer patients and survivors. I have extensive experience in designing research studies and publishing their findings in international peer-reviewed journals, particularly on the psychological aspects of cancer. Collaborating with fellow researchers, especially in cancer research, holds great significance for me. Additionally, I am an active member of the psycho-oncology society and was pleased to attend the 2023 IPOS conference in Milan, which centered around my area of expertise. The pursuit of enhancing the quality of life among cancer patients and survivors, particularly in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) like Nigeria, is a cause that deeply resonates with me. Furthermore, I am a licensed clinical psychologist under the auspices of the Nigerian Association of Clinical Psychologists (NACP) and hold affiliations with other national and international associations of psychologists.

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I am a Clinical Neuropsychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Neuro-Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, USA since 2009, and am board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology since 2012. I work with a team of other neuropsychologists, trainees, neuro-oncologists, neurosurgeons, and allied professions performing cognitive evaluations incorporating assessment of mood and quality of life. I also perform language mapping utilizing fMRI, and assist in intraoperative speech mapping. Like psycho-oncology, neuropsychology is a multidisciplinary area which shares overlapping interests with other clinical disciplines including psychology, psychiatry, and other allied fields. However, as a field there are relatively few neuropsychologists who specialize in oncology worldwide. I have a special interest in the reciprocal interaction of cognition, mood, and quality of life in cancer patients. While I am primarily a clinician with occasional participation in collaborative research, this past IPOS 2023 in Milan I presented my first IPOS poster which I completed with our Fellow Dr. Eschler, titled Understanding the prevalence and course of pre- and post-operative depression in brain tumor (BT) patients utilizing the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI). I am looking ahead and if successful hope to present a follow up poster at IPOS Maastricht 2024.  Something fun: In my spare time I love to grow grapes in my backyard and take wine classes. I hold a WSET Level II certification in wine. My husband and I are also avid MotoGP fans, which is not so common in the United States. We enjoy travelling to different wine regions and to MotoGP races.

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7. 50-to-200-word description that notes details on your practice, involvement with IPOS and something “fun or interesting” about yourself.