The Research Forum is designed to drive the research policy agenda for child and adolescent psychiatry by creating an environment that encourages scientific exploration and collaboration of investigators across disciplines. The primary audience for the Research Forum is researchers, although others are invited to attend.

With the passage of the FDA Modernization Act, the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, and the Pediatric Research Equity Act, we have seen vast increases in research for psychopharmacological treatments for youth with psychiatric disorders over the past decade. While our understanding of the efficacy and safety of available psychopharmacological treatments has expanded, we have only scratched the surface. Yet, funding for additional research on these medications is scarce. Research into new agents is important; however, we have many unanswered questions about the currently available medications we use daily to treat our youth’s psychiatric illnesses. Sponsored by the Work Group on Research, the Research Forum was coordinated to identify the direction of future research on these available treatments.

The Research Forum consists of presentations that focus on the perspectives of various groups invested in future psychopharmacological research. Groups include: clinical researchers, pharmacoepidemiologists, clinicians, consumers, international researchers, and federal and funding agencies (FDA, NIH, and industry). Potential research methods to address the issues raised in the presentations are then discussed. The Research Forum concludes with a discussion and audience participation to synthesize the overriding research questions that remain and potential solutions to conducting studies to answer these questions.

The Research Forum identifies research gaps with regard to currently available psychopharmacological agents in children and adolescents, and identifies future research priorities from the perspective of researchers, clinicians, consumers, and federal and funding agencies.

Clinical Researchers’ Perspective
Stimulant Research: Strengths, Limitations, and Potential Targets (Christopher Kratochvil, M.D.)
Pediatric Antidepressant Clinical Research: Past, Present, and Future (Moira Rynn, M.D.)
Now and Later of Mood Stabilizers and Antipsychotics in Youth (Melissa DelBello, M.D., M.S.)

Pharmacoepidemiologists’ Perspective
Generating Pediatric Psychopharmacologic Research Needs from Community Patterns of Use (Julie Zito, Ph.D.)

Clinicians’ Perspective
Child Psychiatry Research: Equipping our Colleagues in the Trenches (Stephen Grcevich, M.D.)
In the Trenches: A Pediatric Perspective on Gaps and Issues (Ruth Stein, M.D.)

Consumers’ Perspective
Child Psychopharmacology Research: What Do Families Want to Know? (Darcy Gruttadaro, J.D.)

International Perspective
Transatlantic Differences in Dealing with the Gap of Evidence in New Generation Treatments (Jörg Fegert, M.D., Ph.D.)

Federal and Funding Agency Perspectives
New Developments in Pediatric Psychopharmacology Research (Benedetto Vitiello, M.D.)
Regulatory Issues in Child Psychiatry: Past, Present and Future (Mark Ritter, M.D., R.Ph.)
Industry's Role in Child Psychopharmacology Research: Irrational Expectations vs. Reality-Based Limits (AJ Allen, M.D., Ph.D.)

Perspective on Research Approaches
A Look at the Future of Comparative Effectiveness Research (John March, M.D., M.P.H.)

Concluding Remarks
Andrés Martin, M.D., M.P.H.

Registration for this program is separate from Annual Meeting registration; visit: http://www.aacap.org/cs/2010ResearchForum to register.