Conference 2010 Presenter Bios - Alberta Gambling Research ...

Presenter Biographies
Battersby, Malcolm
Professor Malcolm Battersby is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Flinders
Human Behaviour and Health Research Unit and Course Leader of the Mental Health
Science programs at Flinders University. He is also Director of the State-wide
Gambling Therapy Service. He trained with Professor Isaac Marks at the Institute of
Psychiatry, London in behavioural treatment of anxiety disorders and severe neurotic
conditions.
He was awarded a Harkness Research Fellowship in the study of chronic conditions
self-management in the United States during 2003-2004 and has led the
development of the Flinders program of chronic condition management, now
provided across Australia and internationally.
Currie, Shawn
Shawn Currie, Ph.D., is an adjunct associate professor in psychology and psychiatry
at the University of Calgary and a licensed clinical psychologist. He completed his
doctoral degree at the University of Ottawa in 1998 and trained as clinical
psychologist in Ontario and Alberta. In 2002, he received the University of Calgary’s
Faculty of Medicine Research Award and the New Researcher Award from the
Canadian Psychological Association.
He has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book
chapters on a broad range of topics included the assessment and treatment of
insomnia in medical and psychiatric populations, chronic pain, gambling and other
addictions. He has lectured at the University of Calgary on psychopathology,
assessment, health psychology, and research design.
From 1998 to 2005, he was Staff Psychologist and subsequently Director of Program
Evaluation and Research at the Calgary Health Region Addiction Centre in Alberta,
Canada. In 2006 he became Director of the Mental Health Information Management,
Evaluation and Research Department in Alberta Health Services. He continues to
supervise undergraduate and graduate thesis projects in psychology.
el-Guebaly, Nady
Dr. el-Guebaly is Professor and Head, Division of Addiction, Department of
Psychiatry at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and past Chair of the
Department. He is the Founding Past Medical Director of the Calgary Health Region’s
Addiction Centre and Program.
Currently, he is also Board Chair of the Alberta Gaming Research Institute (third
term); Past Chair, Addiction Psychiatry Section of the World Psychiatric Association;
and Executive Medical Director and Past-Founding President of the International
Society of Addiction Medicine.
He holds recognition awards from the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the
Mexican Psychiatric Association, The Italian Society of Addiction Psychiatry, the
University of Calgary’s Guenther Distinguished Achievement Award in International
Health, a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee medal and an Alberta Centennial medal.
Major research interests have resulted in 200 peer-reviewed papers and chapters,
450 abstracts, and 60 past and current research grants.
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Gibbs Van Brunschot, Erin
Erin Gibbs Van Brunschot is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and
Vice Dean in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Calgary. Her primary
research interests are in the realms of risk, crime and security, with specific interests
in how individual, institutional and state orientations to these issues both diverge and
converge.
In 2008, she and Les Kennedy authored Risk Balance and Security (Sage), and in
2009, Les Kennedy and Erin wrote The Risk in Crime (Rowman and Littlefield). She
is presently working on projects investigating crime and disorder calls-for-service data
from police and bylaw service agencies to address security issues as these relate to
socio-demographic characteristics of communities.
Erin is currently serving her second three-year term on the Board of the Alberta
Gaming Research Institute.
Gainsbury (nee Monaghan), Sally
Sally Gainsbury (nee Monaghan) has completed a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology
at the University of Sydney and submitted her PhD thesis, supervised by Professor
Alex Blaszczynski. Sally’s research has focused on gambling and addictions
including responsible gambling programs, youth, Internet gambling and online
treatment options. She has received national scholarships in recognition of the
significance of her research and presented at numerous national and international
conferences. Sally has received several research grants and published a variety of
academic peer-review articles as well as research reports. Sally is the Associate
Editor of the academic journal International Gambling Studies and the New South
Wales state representative for the National Association for Gambling Studies.
Nilsson, Thomas
Thomas Nilsson is a certified psychologist with more than 22 years experience of
working with problem gamblers and over 30 years experience working with people
suffering from alcohol and drug addictions.
Thomas is the founder of Spelinstitutet a private owned company specialized in
problem gambling. Spelinstitutet has developed a self help program online for
problem gamblers, GamTest a self test to detect early warning signals on problematic
gambling. Spelinstitutet has been partners in construction of PlayScan, cooperated
with gaming operators and their work with responsible gaming, and has produced
online education for retailers, staff and casino personnel. Last, but not the least,
Spelinstitutet operates the Swedish national help line for problem gamblers on the
mission from the National Public Health Institute.
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Piquette-Tomei, Noella
Noella Piquette-Tomei, Ph.D, an Associate Professor and registered psychologist,
has been with the Faculty of Education at the University of Lethbridge since 2003.
She is currently involved in research projects related to women’s problem gambling
treatment options, counseling issues, and strategies for inclusive education.
Diversity and gender issues are the underlying foundations throughout her teaching
and research agendas as they inform us on how to support marginalized populations.
Noella is keenly interested in application based research dissemination for informing
teaching and counseling practice.
Potenza, Marc
Dr. Potenza is a board-certified psychiatrist with sub-specialty training and
certification in addiction psychiatry. He has trained at Yale University beginning as an
undergraduate and received a combined BS/MS with Honors in Molecular
Biochemistry and Biophysics. He entered the Yale Medical Scientist Training
Program and graduated with his MD and PhD (in Cell Biology). He completed
internship, psychiatric residency and addiction psychiatry fellowship training at Yale.
Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Child Study at the Yale
University School of Medicine where he is Director of Yale Center of Excellence in
Gambling Research and Director of the Women and Addictive Disorders Core of
Women's Health Research at Yale. He is also the Director of Neuroimaging for the
Veteran’s Integrated Service Network (VISN1) Mental Illness Research Education
and Clinical Center (MIRECC) of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.
Tavares, Hermano
Dr. Tavares graduated in Medicine at the University of Sao Paulo (1991), specialized
in Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry at Hospital das Clínicas Medical School
(1995), Ph.D. in Psychiatry by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Sao
Paulo (2000), Post-doctorate in Addiction Medicine at the University of Calgary
(2002) and Post-doctorate in Psychopharmacology at the University of São Paulo.
Currently he is Professor of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Sao
Paulo, supervising Masters and Ph.D. students.
He has experience in the area of Chemical and Behavioral Dependencies, with
emphasis on personality, impulsivity, and emotional regulation.
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Westphal, Jim
Jim Westphal graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a BS in
Biochemistry and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School. His honors
included the American Medical Association’s Rock Slyster Award, Alpha Omega
Alpha Medical Honorary Society and the Merck Medical Award. He completed his
internship and psychiatric residency at Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford,
California.
His first academic appointment was at Louisiana State University Medical Center in
Shreveport as an Associate Professor, Director of the Consultation and Liaison
Service, and Deputy Chairman of Psychiatry. Jim has also served as a Clinical
Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and the Acting
Director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Addiction Medicine at San Francisco
General Hospital.
Jim’s interest in the study of gambling started when he was appointed to the
Louisiana Economic Development and Gaming Corporation Advisory Board. As the
Co-Chair of the Louisiana Joint Legislative Committee on Compulsive Gambling, Jim
was responsible for a set of comprehensive recommendations on research,
prevention and treatment of gambling disorders for the State of Louisiana. He has
conducted research on the epidemiology of gambling disorders in adolescents and
adults, the economic and social impact of gambling disorders and the treatment of
gambling disorders with medication, and has organized statewide and national
continuing medical courses in the USA on gambling disorder treatment and
prevention. Jim has worked with the self-help approach to gambling problems as a
member of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Council on Compulsive Gambling.
Currently, he is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry with the University of Hawaii, John
A. Burns School of Medicine and Chief of Psychiatry at the Hawaii State Hospital.
Zohar, Joseph
Dr. Zohar is Director at the Division of Psychiatry and Director of the Anxiety and
Obsessive Compulsive Clinic at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan,
Israel. After graduating from Tel Aviv University Sackler School of Medicine, he
completed a residency in psychiatry at the University of Washington in Seattle and
the Jerusalem Mental Health Center in Israel. He also completed a fellowship in
psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, where he
was Acting Director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Clinic.
A member of numerous organizations and committees, Dr Zohar founded the
International Council on Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), which is
now entitled the World Council on Anxiety, and sits on the board of directors of the
International Masters in Affective Neuroscience. He formerly chaired the panel for
obsessive-compulsive disorder of the American Psychiatric Association Task Force
on Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders. Dr Zohar has served the European College
of Neuropharmacology in many capacities, most recently as President-Elect and
Chairman of the Education Committee. He also has been elected to the executive
committee of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry. Dr Zohar is a
co-chair of the DSM V-ICD working group on obsessive-compulsive behavior
spectrum and is Chairman of the European Accreditation Committee in CNS. Dr
Zohar is the associate editor of the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry and the
international editor of CNS Spectrum, and sits on the editorial boards of several
journals, including European Neuropsychopharmacology, International Journal of
Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, and Neuropsychobiology. He has authored more than
200 scientific papers and has edited 13 books focusing on refractory depression,
OCD, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Moderator Biographies
Hodgins, David
Dr. David Hodgins is currently a Professor, Department of Psychology, University of
Calgary with an adjunct appointment with the Faculty of Medicine. He is the Alberta
Gaming Research Institute’s research coordinator for the University of Calgary and is
also a practicing clinical psychologist. Dr. Hodgins is a Senior Editor with the journal
Addiction and also serves on the editorial board of the major gambling research
journals.
Dr. Hodgins has focused his research on aspects of recovery from gambling
disorders. He has developed and evaluated a brief motivational intervention for
individuals interested in self-directed recoveries. He is also interested in better
understanding the process of relapse from addictive behaviours and the relationship
among different addictive disorders and other mental health disorders.
Smith, Garry
Dr. Garry Smith is a University of Alberta Professor Emeritus and Gaming Research
Specialist at the University of Alberta. He also serves as research coordinator for the
Alberta Gaming Research Institute. Dr. Smith’s research interests include the social
and economic impacts of gambling, gambling and problem gambling prevalence
studies, crime and gambling and sports gambling.
Dr. Smith has researched gambling-related topics for twenty-five years, during which
time he has produced numerous government reports and articles for academic
journals, as well as addressing national and international audiences on gamblingrelated
matters. Dr. Smith also appears frequently in the mass media commenting
on gambling issues, including CBC's "The National" and "The Fifth Estate" TSN
documentaries, Toronto Globe and Mail and Canadian Business.
Williams, Robert
Dr. Rob Williams is a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of
Lethbridge, in Lethbridge, Alberta and the research coordinator for the Alberta
Gaming Research Institute. Dr. Williams teaches courses on gambling; provides
frequent consultation to government, industry, the media, and public interest groups;
and is a co-editor of International Gambling Studies, one of the two leading journals
in this field.
Dr. Williams is an internationally recognized expert in gambling and a leading
authority in the areas of: prevention of problem gambling; Internet gambling; the
socioeconomic impacts of gambling, the proportion of gambling revenue deriving
from problem gamblers; the prevalence and nature of gambling in Aboriginal
communities; and the etiology of problem gambling.
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