Welcome Letter

Welcome to the 26th Annual Conference of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders! The annual meeting brings together experts in bipolar disorders including researchers, educators, clinicians, and experts by experience. We are a global organization with representation from over 20 countries. Over three jam-packed days in Reykjavik, a first-time location for ISBD, we will share knowledge and wisdom about mood disorders. Through improved understanding of the causes and treatments for these conditions, we will be better prepared to support those we serve.

Meaningfully, 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of ISBD's inception. In 1994, Drs. David Kupfer and Ellen Frank hosted the first International Conference on Bipolar Disorders (ICBD), the precursor to ISBD, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An eager group of researchers and clinicians gathered on the University of Pittsburgh campus from June 23–24, 1994, for the latest updates on bipolar disorder. On June 17, 1999, ISBD was officially launched in Pittsburgh during the 3rd biennial ICBD meeting. Guided by Dr. Kupfer's vision for an international community of experts who gather regularly to share scientific advances and engage in advocacy for equitable research funding for bipolar disorders, ISBD was born. Thirty years later, ISBD is alive and well.

Selected from an outstanding pool of submissions, this year's program comprises 30 symposia, six workshops, 66 oral reports, and two poster sessions. We will also host the Women's Initiative to support gender diversity in our Society and an Early-Mid Career Committee networking session to advance the up-and-coming leaders in our field.

Among our truly exceptional line-up of presentations, I would like to highlight six invited plenary talks: My Bipolar Journey (Leah Charles-King), Debate on Antidepressant Medication for Bipolar Disorder (Ralph Kupka, Eduard Vieta, Lakshmi Yatham), Genetic Architecture of Bipolar Disorder: Knowns and Unknowns (Ole A. Andreassen), From Speech to Emotion to Mood: Mental Health Modeling in Natural Environments (Emily Mower Provost), Older Age Bipolar Disorder: Cognitive and Somatic Comorbidities (Annemiek Dols), and Ongoing Bipolar Mood Instability: What Can, or Could, Psychological Interventions Offer? (Kim Wright). Don't miss any of them!

Because of the large number of outstanding submissions this year, we expanded our oral report offerings. With 66 presentations, it is impossible to highlight all of them, but I wanted to call your attention to just a few offerings to give you a taste of the feast awaiting us: Polygenic Scores and Mood Disorder Risk in Context of Family History and Developmental Psychopathology (Rudolf Uher), Elucidating Neurovascular Dynamics in Bipolar Disorder with Patient-Derived Vascularized Cerebral Organoids (Annie Kathuria), Fostering Network Opportunities and Creating a Community of Early and Mid-Career Members of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (Fabiano A. Gomes), and Novel Small Molecule Inhibitors of GSK3β for the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder (Pablo Lapuerta). The breadth and depth of topics covered by the oral reports is remarkable, and I hope you get to hear many of them.

Within this exciting program, there is obviously much to learn and explore. But ISBD is more than its scientific content. As a community of people who prioritize advancing our understanding of and treatments for bipolar disorder, ISBD 2024 provides unique opportunities to connect meaningfully with others. Our shared values encourage friendship and collaboration. Take time between presentations and at the poster sessions to say hello to the person next to you. Strike up conversations about bipolar disorder, favorite foods, or volcanos. During your time in Reykjavik, learn as much as you can from each other; enjoy being in community with like-minded friends, both old and new.

Holly A. Swartz, MD

President, International Society for Bipolar Disorders