February 29
1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST
View the presentation.

Bipolar disorder can present some of the most difficult challenges in pediatric primary care. Symptoms often mimic those of ADHD, and presentation can overlap with other mental illnesses. Despite the complexity of diagnosis and management, primary care providers have an important collaborative role in referring and partnering in the management of adolescents with bipolar disorder.

Bipolar in Adolescents: What Primary Care Providers Need to Know will focus on improving the identification of symptoms and determining first-line strategies for collaborating with mental health specialists.

Join Moira Rynn, MD, Deputy Director of Research, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University and Pamela J. Murray, MD, MHP, FAAP, Chief of Adolescent Medicine and co-chair of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine for a practical, insightful discussion on primary care’s pivotal role in bipolar patient care.
 
 
Dr. Moira Rynn is Deputy Director of Research in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University (CU)/ New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). She is the Medical Director of The Columbia University Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders (CUCARD) and Director of the Children’s Day Unit and the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Evaluation Service at NYSPI and CU. Dr. Rynn was recruited to NYSPI/CU in 2006.

Previously she had been the Medical Director of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Section of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine (PENN) since 1998. Dr. Rynn joined the Department of Psychiatry at PENN in 1991 as a resident. In 1997, she completed the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Child Guidance Center, followed by a Neuropsychopharmacology Research Fellowship, sponsored by the NIMH at PENN.

Dr. Rynn’s area of research has been focused on pediatric psychopharmacology with an emphasis on mood and anxiety disorders. Dr. Rynn completed several studies in the area of pediatric anxiety studies showing the efficacy of sertraline (Rynn et al., AJP, 2001) and venlafaxine ER (AJP, 2007). Dr. Rynn participated as an investigator in the Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (POTS) Team (JAMA, 2004). Dr. Rynn as Co-Principal Investigator worked with Dr. Anne Marie Albano (Principal Investigator) on the largest published study in pediatric anxiety disorders, the Child Child/Adolescent Anxiety Multimodal Treatment Study (CAMS, NEJM, 2008) which showed the treatment efficacy of the combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication. Dr. Rynn has been providing pharmacologic treatment for adults and children diagnosed with mood and anxiety disorders disorder since 1991.

Pamela J. Murray, MD, MHP is a Professor of Pediatrics at the West Virginia University School of Medicine. She is Vice-Chair for Faculty Development, Chief of Adolescent Medicine and co-chairs the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Murray is board certified in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and holds leadership positions in the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (Board of Directors), the American Academy of Pediatrics (Committee on Adolescence) and the American Board of Pediatrics (Adolescent Medicine Sub-board).

She attended the graduate program of the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University, and holds a Master’s in Health Planning form the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia in addition to her medical degree from the Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University School of Medicine). She completed her Pediatric Residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and worked for the National Health Service Corps at Codman Square Health Center in Boston before spending six years in community and adolescent medicine in Sydney, Australia. While in Australia she completed family therapy training at the Marriage Guidance Council. She was Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh/Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh before assuming her current position.

She has recognized expertise in the evaluation of prevention interventions for adolescents. She has been an investigator on NIH and government-funded studies evaluating depression treatment, smoking cessation, and STD and pregnancy interventions for teens in primary care settings. She has been a member of an NICHD Pediatric Study Section and other research review panels.