Looking Ahead to the ASCP Annual Meeting With Joseph F. Goldberg, MD, and Anita H. Clayton, MD

CONFERENCE REPORTER

For clinicians, researchers, and educators dedicated to improving outcomes in serious mental illness, the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) Annual Meeting is more than just a professional gathering, it is a dynamic forum where innovation meets application, Joseph F. Goldberg, MD, told Psychiatric Times in an exclusive interview.

This year’s theme, When the Old Meets the New, will be integrated throughout special sessions and lectures, added Goldberg, clinical professor of psychiatry at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and current president of the ASCP.¹ Topics will include tips for “integrating contemporary knowledge of long-standing cornerstone treatments in psychopharmacology such as lithium, tricyclics, valproic acid ,and even SSRIs are becoming old, with newer agents, NMDA receptor antagonists, the potential emerging role for hallucinogens, psilocybin, and others novel treatments, like neuromodulations,” he said. “The goal is to share how to think of these tools and treatments side by side rather than as an either/or situation.”

To do so, the ASCP Annual Meeting brings together representatives from across fields including academia, US governmental agencies (eg, the National Institutes of Health and the US Food and Drug Administration), and industry to discuss both the future of the psychiatric pipeline as well as discussions and solutions for current clinical dilemma. The meeting will be held May 27 – May 30, in Scottsdale, Arizona; registration for the in-person meeting is available via the association’s website.

Goldberg is looking forward to the special lectures and awards that are highlighted throughout the conference, including a lecture from John Kane, MD, the ASCP Lifetime Awardee. Kane, chair of psychiatry at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, and professor/co-director of the Institute of Behavioral Science at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Glen Oaks, New York, will discuss how real world clinical dilemmas still inform his research.

Cognition associated with psychiatric disorders, which has become a hot issue, will also be featured at the meeting. ASCP invited Phillip D. Harvey, PhD, an international expert, to give a keynote lecture on making cognition a more viable target of treatment in psychopharmacology trials for serious mental illnesses, Goldberg told Psychiatric Times. “Cognitive problems have always been relegated as a secondary outcome, an elusive outcome, a residual symptom in psychotic disorders and mood disorders, unipolar and bipolar and other conditions, and it's always sort of been the sort of neglected stepchild of clinical trials research.”

Rising stars will also be featured via presentations and posters. “We have a wonderful bumper crop of new investigators, the best and the brightest, very rigorously vetted group of emerging early career psychiatrists, psychopharmacologists, pharmacy and PhD level investigators who will showcase their research,” Goldberg said.

Mahavir Agarwal, MBBS, MD, PhD, associate professor and clinical investigator at the University of Toronto, is among those early career individuals. He will be presenting his “groundbreaking research” on the broadened uses of GLP-1 agonists within psychiatry, said Golberg. “He's done some pioneering work in this area,” Goldberg added. “And he's been featured on a lot of media over the last year or so on his program based in Canada.

The meeting is one of the hallmarks of Goldberg’s presidency. During his tenure, he launched a number of new programs. “We started an editorial fellowship position for early career psychiatrists; Alexandra Aaronson, MD, MSCI, is finishing up the first year of her fellowship as an editor in training,” he told Psychiatric Times. “So we're committed to helping the next generation of psychiatrists become better clinicians, scholars, and educators.” Goldberg also led psychiatry- and psychopharmacology-affirmative initiatives that included a position statement on clozapine REMS removal as well as “a multi-organizational statement on the concerns from Make America Healthy Again executive order that baselessly called into question the safety and value of psychotropic medicines.”²

Learning about recent research and innovative treatment strategies is one of the highlights for incoming ASCP President Anita H. Clayton, MD, chair of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences and the David C. Wilson Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. “I'm always most looking for the pharmaceutical pipeline. I love that because it’s phase 1 or phase 2. If you’re already into clinical trials, you can put up a poster. But I really love to hear about what’s coming,” she told Psychiatric Times.

“There's so much happening, and it really helps to align everything and put it in a perspective—to hear about things coming down the pike,” she explained. “There are so many new mechanisms of action. And we don't know exactly if that's all that these drugs do—what we think they do—but probably it's not... It gives us hope for treatments in the future.”

No meeting would be complete without the networking that comes with in-person learning. “It's a time to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, learn a lot,” Goldberg told Psychiatric Times.

Clayton agreed, and she encouraged attendees to take the initiative to start conversations. “Go to the poster sessions and talk to people—people that you will have heard of or read their work,” she said. “They'll be happy to talk about things they're doing or what their interests are and listen to yours. Just don't hesitate to talk to anybody.”

“The meeting is both big enough and small enough to have breadth yet intimacy. You don't get lost in the crowd,” Goldberg added. “People are very approachable and they're the kinds of people you want to approach if you're trying to get into this field.”

The meeting’s energy reflects not just a commitment to science but a deep-rooted dedication to patient care. "This is applied clinical psychopharmacology," Goldberg explained. "No one would leave this meeting at a loss for how to translate what they learn into clinical practice."

Looking ahead, Clayton expressed a desire to safeguard and build upon Goldberg’s legacy by maintaining momentum, fostering innovation, and ensuring that the organization remains both responsive and resilient in the face of rapid change.

When asked what advice they would offer to someone starting out or at mid-career in psychiatry, their answers were simple but resonant. "Say yes to anything that sounds interesting." And: "Keep your eyes and ears open. This is one of the most exciting fields in all of medicine… soak it up like a sponge."

Drs Goldberg and Clayton, both members of Psychiatric Times' Editorial Board, invite readers to attend the meeting. Registration is still available.

References

1. About the ASCP Annual Meeting. ASCP. Accessed May 22, 2025. https://ascpp.org/ascp-meetings/ascp-annual-meeting/

2.Goldber JF, Duerr HA. Re-Affirming Evidence-Based Psychiatric Care: A Joint Statement on Psychotropic Medication Safety. March 24, 2025. Accessed May 22, 2025. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/re-affirming-evidence-based-psychiatric-care-a-joint-statement