Dear Colleagues and Friends,

It is my great pleasure to announce the 10th Mind-Body Interface (MBI) International Symposium is to be held in Taichung on Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2020.

Organized annually by Mind-Body Interface Research Center (MBI-lab) and Taiwanese Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (TSNPR), we are delighted to co-chair this three-day international conference with the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR) Regional Meeting for the first time and the PNIRSAsia-Pacific Symposium for four consecutive years in a row.

The main theme this year is “The Mind Maze: Early Life Experiences That Shape Adult Health of Mind and Body”. Early-life stress (ELS) is a well-established risk factor in the development and the unfavourable course of many physical and psychiatric disorders. ELS could be widely defined with a broad aspect, from emotional and physical adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), early-life mental disorders, to lifestyle and nutritional imbalances. Biological evidence suggests that ELS leads to transcriptional and epigenetic dysregulations, immune and neuroendocrine dysregulations, structural and function brain changes, behavioral and cognitive dysfunctions, and several other endophenotypes that are associated with adulthood health of mind and body.

Current diagnostic systems for complex diseases like psychiatric disorders might no longer realistically useful for the treatment outcomes are relatively unsatisfactory, especially for Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia, depression, alcoholism, and PTSD. One argument falls into the inadequacy to recognize the signs and clinical manifestations in the early phase of illness, the so-called prodromal stage. It is therefore critical to identify risk factors for early detection in order to provide necessary prevention and early treatments.

The MBI International Symposium has been vigorously promoting a global agenda of translational neuroscience by encouraging interdisciplinary research, and integrating biomedical discovery and development focused on patients, to provide better care and service in the field of mental health. The symposium is featured with a broad range of topics, including immunology, metabolic processes and molecular science, psychopharmacology, psychology, the brain-gut-microbe axis as well as biological processes and factors underlying the links between diet, nutrition and mental health from the perspective of Western medicine and Chinese medicine. Furthermore, there will be a strong focus on the use of brave approach and novel technology, artificial intelligence, big data, neuroimaging, personalized medicine, lifestyle intervention, health promotion and disease management, and epidemiology and population studies in brain disorders. Our programme includes keynote speeches, state of the art symposia, oral and poster presentations, as well as Mind-Body Workshop. Early-career researchers are encouraged to join us and bursaries are provided to apply.

MBI Symposium is an inspirational and intimate conference with active discussion. With the great Taiwanese hospitality and richness of cultural and natural heritage of Formosa, the 10th MBI Symposium is guaranteed to be another wonderful event like it has been in the previous years. We look forward to greeting our biomedical researchers, psychiatrists and other health professionals worldwide in Taichung this year.

Sincerely yours,

Kuan-Pin Su, M.D., Ph.D. 

Chairman, 10^th MBI Int'l Symposium

Director, Mind-Body Interface Center (MBI-Lab), China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

Vice President, Tainan Municipal An-Nan Hospital-affiliated with China Medical University, Taiwan

President, Taiwanese Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (TSNPR)