Sibylle Schwab, Ph.D. 
Australia

Over more than 30 years, I have been involved in studying the genetic background of schizophrenia. My undergraduate training background is in pharmaceutical chemistry. In 1989, I was offered a PhD scholarship in a lab in Munich, Germany, with a focus to build up genetic analyses in families with schizophrenia. The idea, which actually hasn’t changed that much since then, was to identify altered genes which then can be used for developing novel treatments, targeting the real causes of schizophrenia.

The decision, to join this lab challenged my previous discipline focussed understanding of academic research. Early on, I realized that discussion with psychiatrists, psychologists, statisticians, geneticists, counsellors, social workers, and many other disciplines, which I have not even thought of, can only happen in a meaningful way, when one actively engages with their views on the research. Since the field was only starting to building up momentum, there were not many societies around which would help with this cross-disciplinary development. Some winter workshops were available, which I would count as precursor to what then finally developed into the Schizophrenia International Research Society in 2005. I joined the Society in 2008, presenting in a debate forum at the first Schizophrenia International Research Society Conference. I believe that the Society has provided a home for my desire to engage more broadly with related disciplines. In contrast to other, genetically focussed meetings, I enjoy the breadth and depth of knowledge, which is disseminated during their meetings. I enjoy the discussions, which happened not only during poster sessions, but also during panel discussions and workshops. Retrospectively, I have to say that the breadth and interdisciplinary nature of these conferences, the opportunity to being inspired by achievements out of my initial focus, more recently the educational resources and online resources available, embraces the value of being a member of this society. This is also the reason, why I happily decided to support the Society’s endeavours in joining the International Advisory Board Committee, being involved with the travel awards selection committees (even these generally happen to be around Christmas) and more recently, being a member of the Membership Committee, which I am now chairing since 2020. Having had the opportunity to see this Society grow since its inception, I feel honoured to be connected and involved with such a varied, diverse and vibrant community. The only thing which I miss was that the Society was not yet available, when I started my journey in schizophrenia genetics when starting my PhD.