A mini symposium organised at the Perron Institute recently by Associate Professor Jenny Rodger was a chance for postgraduate students to receive some practical career advice from distinguished Raine Visiting Professor Paul Croarkin DO, MS.After completing his medical studies in Texas, Associate Professor Croarkin‘s career in psychiatry began with seven years of service in the United States Navy, including a tour of duty in Iraq.Today, he has a focus on understanding the neurobiology, optimal treatment and classification of mood disorders in children and adolescents. This includes studies of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for adolescent major depressive disorder; collaborative clinical trials; studies of neurophysiology with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS); and novel, single and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) paradigms.Associate Professor Croarkin is the Director of the Mayo Clinic Depression Center. He has received many awards and honours, his findings have been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and he has mentored many students and residents.After outlining his career journey and his interest in clinical research, Associate Professor Croarkin opened the floor to questions, responding on topics ranging from tips for applying for research grants to the mentor-mentee relationship, the value of well-developed written and oral skills, the benefits of developing professional and social networks and the importance of reading widely. He also spoke of the value of sometimes being prepared to “swim upstream” to present a counter argument.Associate Professor Croarkin was in Perth to deliver the Raine Medical Research Foundation Visiting Professor Lecture in the Sarich Neuroscience Research Institute building at the end of May.PhD student Leanne Jiang (pictured left) and Honours student Abbey Ford (pictured middle) chaired the mini symposium for students and researchers, and Amira Allahham, Matt French, Anastazja Gorecki, Bhedita Seewoo and Lauren Hennessy gave student presentations. It is the second event of its kind organised by Professor Rodger, MSWA Senior Research Fellow and Head of Brain Plasticity Research at the Perron Institute, and she plans to arrange more when opportunities present.
