Freedom from schizophrenia, a twin's quest: Cyndi Shannon Weickert at TEDxSydney 2014

At 17, Cyndi watched with disbelief as her twin, Scott, descended into madness. Pained by Scott's schizophrenia and not satisfied with available treatments, she aimed to find a cure. Cyndi describes the arduous path she has taken to find better treatments for schizophrenia which offers a ray of hope to those suffering. In this ground breaking talk, Prof Cyndi Shannon Weickert reveals the results of her research into schizophrenia and it's link to the oestrogen receptors in the brain. Prof Shannon Weickert obtained a BA in Biology and Psychology from Keuka College in upstate New York, and earned a PhD in Biomedical Science from Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City. Currently, Prof Shannon Weickert leads a translational research program at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) that uses insights from the molecular and cellular neurodevelopment of schizophrenia to design and test novel treatments for people with the condition. Her work has broad impact beyond psychiatry including examining molecular mechanisms by which hormones and growth factors cooperate to control gene expression and experimental examination of how sex hormones impact social development in adolescence. She has made pivotal contributions to the conceptualisation of schizophrenia as a neurodevelopmental disorder and is best known for her pioneering work on brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) and oestrogen receptor. Prof Shannon Weickert has delivered 132 papers and lectures worldwide. She is Macquarie Group Foundation Chair of Schizophrenia Research, a joint position between NeuRA, UNSW and Schizophrenia Research Institute. TEDxSydney is an independently organised event licensed from TED by longtime TEDster, Remo Giuffré (REMO General Store) and organised by his General Thinking network of fellow thinkers and other long time collaborators. TEDxSydney has become the leading platform and pipeline for the propagation of Australian ideas, creativity, innovation and culture to the rest of the world. In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)