Wikipedia

Jerome Sarris

Jerome Sarris is co-director of Psychae Institute,[1][2] Professor of Integrative Mental Health at Western Sydney University, Australia,[3] and a visiting scientist at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, Australia.[4]

Sarris' principal research interests pertain to the development and clinical study of psychedelic therapies and cannabinoids for mental disorders and other diseases. He is also interested in lifestyle medicine in anxiety and mood disorders, psychotropic plant medicines (such as kava), as well as the use of pharmacogenetics to guide psychiatric treatment.[5] He is involved in prominent research projects investigating the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicines.[6][7][1]

Early life edit

Jerome Sarris was born in Sydney, Australia. He was raised on the North Shore of Sydney and attended Mosman Preparatory School. After moving to Brisbane at age 9, Sarris attended Ironside State School, then Brisbane Boys College. At age 17, Sarris lived in Glastonbury, England, for several years before returning to Brisbane to pursue further study. Sarris' heritage is primarily Austrian, German and French, and he has a great-grandmother from the Polynesian Gilbertese Islands.[8]

Academic career edit

Sarris has completed advanced diplomas and degrees in western herbal medicine, naturopathy (including the study of clinical medicine), acupuncture and nutrition, and has practiced clinically in these areas.[9] During this period of clinical practice, Sarris obtained a master's degree majoring in plant-based medicine under Kerry Bone at the University of New England, Australia. Sarris then completed a doctorate in the field of psychiatry at the University of Queensland under the mentorship of Professors David Kavanagh and Gerard Byrne. After receiving a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Fellowship he undertook his postdoctoral training at the University of Melbourne, under the mentorship of Professor Isaac Schweitzer. His post-doctoral studies were also based at The Centre of Human Psychopharmacology at Swinburne University of Technology with Con Stough and Andrew Scholey, as well as The Depression Clinical Research program at Harvard Medical School with David Mischoulon. Sarris is currently co-director of Psychae Institute with A/Prof Daniel Perkins, visiting scientist at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and leads the Healthy Minds Research Theme at NICM Health Research Institute.[8][9]

Research and scientific contributions edit

Sarris is currently involved in prominent research projects investigating the therapeutic use of psychedelic medicines (including Psilocybin and Ayahuasca) and medical cannabis. He is a principal investigator on the Global Ayahuasca Project,[6] has published several research studies investigating the use of psychedelic medicines in psychiatric conditions,[10] and is a founding member of the Medicinal Psychedelics Research Network at the University of Melbourne.[7] Sarris is Chair of the Integrative and Complementary Medicine Task Force of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry.[11]

Previously, Sarris' main research contributions have been in the areas of integrative mental health, nutritional psychiatry and in the development of evidence-based practice in naturopathy. He has co-authored a textbook,[12] and published many highly cited papers in these fields.[13] His work has impacted treatment guidelines for mood and anxiety disorders.[14] Sarris has advocated for a more integrated model of treatment of depression, involving an evidence-based application of select nutraceuticals and lifestyle modification, alongside mainstream judicious use of pharmacotherapies and psychological techniques.[15] Sarris has been a prominent figure in the investigation of South Pacific psychotropic medicinal plant kava (Piper methysticum), playing an assistance role in the direction of kava policy at the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration.[16][17] He has conducted several RCTs in anxiety and mood disorder involving extracts of this plant.[18][19] His research on traditional water-extracted noble cultivars of the plant has influenced the safety guidelines around usage and development of such extracts for the treatment of anxiety.[20] Sarris was on the executive committee of The International Network of Integrative Mental Health, The International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research, and the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Research and Education Collaboration (co-founded with Justin Sinclair).[9][21]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Psychae Institute". Psychae Institute. Psychae Institute. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  2. ^ "$40m psychedelic medicine institute launches in Melbourne". Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney Morning Herald. 29 July 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Professor Jerome Sarris staff profile - Western Sydney University". Western Sydney University. Western Sydney University. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. ^ "A/PROF Jerome Sarris". Unimelb Find an Expert. University of Melbourne. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  5. ^ "The Conversation Jerome Sarris Contributor Profile". The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Global Survey of Ayahuasca Drinking". Global Ayahuasca Project. Global Ayahuasca Project. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Medicinal Psychedelics Research Network". University of Melbourne. University of Melbourne. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Jerome Sarris LinkedIn". Linkedin. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Jerome Sarris NICM Profile". NICM. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Psychae Institute publications". Psychae Institute. Psychae Institute. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  11. ^ "WFSBP Task Force". WFSBP. WFSBP. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  12. ^ Sarris, Jerome (17 July 2014). Clinical Naturopathy: An evidence-based guide to practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
  13. ^ "Jerome Sarris - Anxiety.org". Anxiety.org. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  14. ^ Ravindran, Arun; Balneaves, Lynda; Faulkner, Guy; Ortiz, Abigail; Mcintosh, Diane; Morehouse, Rachel; Ravindran, Lakshmi; Yatham, Lakshmi; Kennedy, Sidney; Lam, Raymond; Macqueen, Glenda; milev, Roumen; Parikh, Sagar (September 2016). "Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder". Can J Psychiatry. 9 (61): 576–587. doi:10.1177/0706743716660290. PMC 4994794. PMID 27486153.
  15. ^ Sarris, Jerome; Logan, Alan; Akbaraly, Tasnine; Amminger, Paul; Freeman, Marlene; Hibbeln, Joseph; Matsuoka, Yukata; Mischoulon, David (March 2015). "Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry". The Lancet Psychiatry. 2 (3): 271–274. doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(14)00051-0. PMID 26359904.
  16. ^ "Kava for Anxiety: Is Short-Term Use Safe?". WebMD. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  17. ^ "World first clinical trial supports use of Kava to treat anxiety". Science Daily. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  18. ^ Sarris, Jerome; Con, Stough; Bousman, Chad; Wahid, Zahra; Murray, Greg; Teschke, Rolf; Savage, Karen; Dowell, Ashley; Schweitzer, Isaac; Ng, Chee (October 2013). "Kava Anxiety Depression Spectrum Study (KADSS): A mixed methods RCT using an aqueous extract of Piper methysticum". Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 33 (5): 643–648. doi:10.1097/JCP.0b013e318291be67. PMID 23635869. S2CID 13747661.
  19. ^ Sarris, Jerome; Byrne, Gerard; Bousman, Chad; et al. (December 2019). "Kava for generalised anxiety disorder: A 16-week double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled study". Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 54 (3): 288–297. doi:10.1177/0004867419891246. PMID 31813230. S2CID 208954577.
  20. ^ Teschke, Rolf; Sarris, Jerome; Lebot, V (January 2011). "Kava hepatotoxicity solution: A six-point plan for new kava standardization". Phytomedicine. 2–3 (18): 96–103. doi:10.1016/j.phymed.2010.10.002. PMID 21112196.
  21. ^ "Australian Medicinal Cannabis Research & Education Collaboration". AMCREC. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
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