(Please note: the opinions expressed by presenters are their own and not necessarily reflective of the OPPA)

Poster Display (Click HERE for more information)

Buffet Breakfast

Medical Student Breakfast Meeting 

OPPA Annual Business Meeting and Installation of Officers

Welcome and Opening Remarks - Karen Jacobs, DO, 2026 Program Chair

The Gut Microbiome and its Relationship to Psychiatric Disorders

Henry Nasrallah, MD, DLFAPA | Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

The human gut is a host to 39 trillion commensal germs across 5 kingdoms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, and archaea) referred to as microbiota, whose genome is called the microbiome and is comprised of 4 million genes (vs only 22,000 in humans). Many factors can influence microbiota including mode of birth, diet, antibiotics, stress, toxins, pets, systemic diseases, and psychiatric disorders. Humans have no microbiota during fetal life and acquire their microbiome as they traverse the mother’s vagina during birth.

Functions of the gut microbiota include digestion of food, production of short-chain fatty acids by fermenting dietary fiber, immune system development and protection against pathogens, hormone production (especially cortisol by stimulating the HPA axis), and promotion of fat storage.

The gut-brain axis is the bidirectional communications between the brain, the microbiota and the enteric nervous system (the second brain lining the gut with 100 million neurons).

Dysbiosis, or a disruption of the healthy diversity of the microbiota in the gut (but also the skin, the vagina and the nose) is associated with medical conditions such as IBS, Crohn’s Disease, ulcerative colitis, autism and obesity), as well as trans-diagnostically psychiatric disorders including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, ADHD and Alzheimer’s Disease. A reduction in the anti-inflammatory butyrate-producing bacteria is seen in psychiatric disorders while pro-inflammatory genera are enriched. Anti-depressants and antipsychotics can improve the microbiota diversity while antibiotics can lead to an increase in the “bad” bacteria.

Improving the microbiota can be done with pre-biotics and pro-biotics in diet, such as yogurt, leavy greens, fish and nuts. Experimental treatments include microbiota fecal transplants.  

Break / Visit Exhibits

Advocacy in Action: Advancing Public Policy for Better Mental Health Care

Anita Somani, MD, JD | State Representative for Ohio’s 8th House District and OBGYN at OhioHealth

Repurposing GLP- 1 Agents as Treatment and Prevention Strategies in Persons with Mental Disorders 

Roger S. McIntyre, MD, FRCPC | Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Canada
Chairman and Executive Director, Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation (BCDF), Toronto, Canada

Mental disorders are complex, severe and debilitating. Therefore, there is a strategic imperative to identify innovative and mechanistically unique agents to treat mental disorders. During the past two decades, pharmacologic, translational, clinical and observational data suggest that incretin dysregulation may contribute to the pathophysiology of mental disorders and targeting these systems may in fact be able to alter the illness trajectory or treat aspects of psychopathology. This session will provide a summary and history of the role of metabolic systems in the pathophysiology of mental disorders with a particular emphasis on the incretin system. This will be followed by a review of available evidence implicating alterations in incretin activity as part of the pathophysiology of mental disorders. The presentation will then briefly summarize available evidence suggesting that targeting the incretin system holds promise to prevent and treat mental disorders in addition to treating other conditions.

Lunch / Visit Exhibits

Brainiac Challenge

Similar to APA's national residency team competition known as MindGames, OPPA will host its own version of this fun experience for residents and other participants to test their knowledge on patient care, medical knowledge, and psychiatric history while earning bragging rights for the winning team!

Break / Visit Exhibits

Could This Be Autoimmune Encephalitis? A Practical Guide For The Psychiatrist

Julien Cavanagh, MD | Assistant Professor of Neurology at Emory University and Associate Division Director of Hospital Neurology

Autoimmune encephalitis (AE) straddles the border between neurology and psychiatry, often presenting with abrupt psychosis, catatonia, or cognitive decline that mimics primary psychiatric illness. Yet AE is treatable—and often reversible—if recognized early. This talk reviews how to identify AE in psychiatric and emergency settings, outlines the major antibody subtypes and their pathophysiology, and provides a practical framework for evaluation and empiric treatment. Through clinical vignettes and evidence-based reasoning, it highlights when psychiatrists should suspect AE and act decisively, bridging disciplines to uncover a frequently overlooked and eminently treatable cause of severe neuropsychiatric disease

Break / Visit Exhibits

Addressing Gun Violence: Strategies for Psychiatrists

Philip Resnick, MD, DLFAPA | Professor of Psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University

This session will explore practical strategies and approaches to navigate the intersection of mental illness and firearms. Participants will gain insight into evidence based risk assessment techniques for a gun violence toward others and guns to commit suicide. Participants will also learn documentation methods to reduce malpractice liability. Finally, participants will become familiar with the clinical implications of new Red flag laws.

Sunday

7:45-8:45 a.m.

Breakfast with The Experts (Buffet Breakfast)

8-8:55 a.m.

Visit Exhibits

9-10 a.m.

Bridging Therapy and AI: Psychiatry's Next Frontier

Marlynn Wei, MD, JD | 

Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering the therapeutic space. An estimated 25 to 50% of people now turn to AI chatbots and companions for emotional support, reshaping relationships and connections, including the therapeutic relationship. This shift introduces profound clinical, ethical, and relational challenges for psychiatrists. This session will examine the essential issues psychiatrists face as AI systems increasingly intersect with mental health. Dr. Wei will present a balanced, evidence-based framework across four domains of mental health risk: emotional and attachment, reality-testing, crisis and safety, and systemic and ethical issues. Drawing from the latest research, clinical cases, and policy developments, Dr. Wei will highlight how psychiatrists can help patients navigate the benefits and risks of AI chatbots, uphold therapeutic boundaries, and protect privacy in an era when AI systems are becoming confidantes, companions, and clinical tools.

10-10:30 a.m.

10:30 -
11:30 a.m.

Talking with Myself - Stories of Mental Health

Shah Jalees, MD | Psychiatrist and Addiction Medicine Specialist, Akron Ohio 

11:30 a.m. -
12:30 p.m.

Logic-based care - What do you do When You're Out of Evidence-based Options? 

Erik Messamore, MD | Psychiatric Physician, Pharmacologist, University Professor, and Solution-Focused Scholar

The Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association’s (OPPA) Annual Psychiatric Update brings together psychiatrists and other mental health clinicians from all over Ohio to examine a broad array of topics of clinical interest and relevance to those who want to provide the best, evidence-based care possible for individuals with a mental illness, including substance use disorders. The objective is to educate and provide information on current research, cutting edge treatment options, advances in treatment in the area of psychopharmacology and more.

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