media release
Engineering and neuroscience combine to tackle youth mental health and addiction
Contact:
Ian Bryce, University Communications and Marketing, 236-880-2187, ian_bryce@sfu.ca
尤物视频 professor Faranak Farzan will speak about combining engineering and neuroscience approaches to tackle youth depression and addiction as part of the SFU President鈥檚 Faculty Lecture Series on Tuesday, February 25 at SFU鈥檚 Surrey campus.
WHAT:
Creating new tools to reliably predict a patient鈥檚 response to treatment for depression could significantly reduce the burden of illness. Farzan led a Canada wide collaborative research study on using machine learning as a diagnostic tool to treat depression. The study, published in the in January, found that technology鈥攕pecifically electroencephalograms, or EEGs鈥攃ould be used as a treatment planning tool to predict changes in depression severity in those prescribed with escitalopram, an anti-depressant.
Farzan and her team are addressing the social and economic costs from prolonged periods of time spent in untreated depression, which is due to the current lengthy trial-and-error approach in identifying effective treatments for each patient. Farzan and her team are also developing technologies that can lead to more targeted and efficacious treatments for whom the current treatments do not work.
鈥淯nfortunately, current treatments are not as effective or cause side effects in a large minority, particularly in youth,鈥� says Farzan, who holds the Chair in Technology Innovations for Youth Addiction Recovery and Mental Health at SFU鈥檚 School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering. 鈥淔urther, across all age groups, treatment prescription is too often a trial-and-error process, leading to years of untreated conditions, such as depression, before an effective therapy is identified.鈥�
WHEN:
- Tuesday, February 25, 2020
- 6:00 鈥� 7:30 p.m.
WHERE:
- Room 1002, SFU Sustainable Energy Building, SFU鈥檚 Surrey campus
- 10285 University Drive, Surrey
WHY:
One in five North American youths is affected by a mental illness. Surpassed only by injuries, mental illness in youth are ranked as the second highest hospital care expenditure in Canada.
ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY:
As Canada鈥檚 engaged university, SFU works with communities, organizations and partners to create, share and embrace knowledge that improves life and generates real change. We deliver a world-class education with lifelong value that shapes change-makers, visionaries and problem-solvers. We connect research and innovation to entrepreneurship and industry to deliver sustainable, relevant solutions to today鈥檚 problems. With campuses in British Columbia鈥檚 three largest cities 鈥� Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey 鈥� SFU has eight faculties, delivers almost 150 programs to over 35,000 students, and boasts more than 155,000 alumni in 143 countries.
尤物视频: Engaging Students. Engaging Research. Engaging Communities.