Conference Committee
Sheehan Fisher
Sheehan Fisher, PhD is an Associate Professor and perinatal clinical psychologist at Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine and the Associate Dean for Academic Environment and Success at The Graduate School. His research career focuses on the effects of perinatal and subsequent parental mental health on infant/child health outcomes, with a specialization in the field of non-birthing parent mental health. His aim is to reconceptualize parental mental health research to integrally involve both birthing and non-birthing parents to differentiate parents’ impact on child medical and mental health. Dr. Fisher’s research dovetails with his perinatal clinical practice, including being the clinical director of the Fathers’ Mental Health Specialty Clinic. He has been a leader nationally and internationally advocating for more inclusion of racial, ethnic, sexual, gender, linguistic, and religious minorities in perinatal research and clinical practice to address domestic and global health disparities. In addition to research and clinical practice, Dr. Fisher focuses on public policy, advocacy, and media to support perinatal families and ensure programs address variations of family dynamics. Ultimately, Dr. Fisher’s goal is to optimize the health and effectiveness of the parental team to positively influence the child health trajectory and help the family thrive.
Sarah Kittel-Schneider
Professor Sarah Kittel-Schneider is Chair of Psychiatry at University College Cork and Consultant General Adult Psychiatrist in the Mental Health Service South Lee in Cork, Ireland. She studied medicine at the University of Würzburg and completed specialist training in general adult psychiatry at the University Hospital Würzburg, Germany. Before moving to Ireland in 2023, she held senior leadership roles as leading consultant and deputy director at the University Hospital Frankfurt and later as Professor of Developmental Psychiatry and deputy director at the University Hospital Würzburg, where she led services for transitional psychiatry and parent–infant psychiatry. Her research focuses on psychosocial and biological risk factors for perinatal mental disorders and on multimodal biomarkers and cellular mechanisms of ADHD and mood disorders, including bipolar disorder. She uses human induced pluripotent stem cell models and blood-based markers to elucidate disease mechanisms and treatment response. Professor Kittel-Schneider is Chair of the ECNP iPSC Platform for Neuropsychiatry, Treasurer of the International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health, and a workgroup leader in the EU COST Action TREASURE.
Wisani Makhomisane
Wisani Makhomisane is a Specialist Psychiatrist based in South Africa. She serves as the National Secretary of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP) for the 2025–2027 term and is a Board Member of the International Marcé Society. Her areas of expertise include perinatal mental health, child and adolescent mental health, ADHD, trauma-informed care, and addiction. She holds an MBChB from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Diploma in Mental Health and FCPsych from the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa, an MMed in Psychiatry from the University of Limpopo, and a Postgraduate Certificate in ADHD from Middlesex University, UK. Dr Makhomisane has demonstrated strong leadership through her roles as SASOP Limpopo Chairperson, CMSA Examiner, and member of the SASOP Scientific Committee for the 2025 Congress. She has received national media recognition, being named one of SASOP’s Top Two Media Speakers in 2025, with her most recent appearance on Morning Live addressing mental health challenges among first responders. Her advocacy work focuses on Afrocentric and inclusive mental health care, spanning clinical practice, academia, and policy engagement.
Jennifer Payne
Dr. Payne is Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia and directs the Reproductive Psychiatry Research Program which studies psychiatric disorders triggered by times of hormonal change in women. Dr. Payne is a reproductive psychiatrist and her research has identified two epigenetic biomarkers of postpartum depression that are approximately 80% accurate in predicting which women are at elevated risk. She and her colleagues are actively working on identifying the underlying biological basis of postpartum depression and other reproductive mood disorders. Her other research interest include best management practices for psychiatric disorders in pregnancy, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and perimenopausal depression. She is the past President of both the Marcé of North America and International Marcé Perinatal Mental Health Societies and serves on the Committee on Women’s Mental Health for the American Psychiatric Association. Dr. Payne also serves as the Chief Medical Officer for Dionysus Health, a start-up company working on bringing a predictive blood test for postpartum depression to market based on Dr. Payne’s research.
Bavi Vythilingum
Dr Bavi obtained her MMed degree cum laude from the University of Stellenbosch. She won the Novartis medal in psychiatry. For the past 20 years she has worked in both research and clinical settings establishing and running specialist woman's mental health services Due to her expertise she has served on the Boards of Postnatal Depression South Africa, the Woman's Mental Health Special Interest Group of the Society of Psychiatrists of South Africa and is on the editorial board of Archives of Women's Mental Health. She also serves on the exco of the Interventional Psychiatry Special Interest Group of SASOP In the course of her work with people with severe mental illness she has become increasingly interested in interventional techniques and psychiatry. She has established an infusion clinic, has postgraduate training in Electro Convulsve Therapy (ECT) and serves on theExco of the Interventional Psychiatry Sub Group of the South African Society of Psychiatrists.
