Virtual Collaboratory for Suicide Studies
AFSP has partnered with JGPerpich LLC through a NIMH Small Business Innovation Research Grant to establish a Virtual Collaboratory for Suicide Studies. One goal of this VCSS is to provide an online community for suicide researchers to share research information and interact for educational purposes (vcss.perpich.com).
Seminar Series: The first joint project with the VCCS online community is to produce a virtual seminar series dealing with "Current Issues in Research on Suicide in the Mentally Ill." Listed below are the lecture titles and speakers. Participation is free; lectures are approximately 40 minutes and will be made available for download:
Background Materials: Speakers provide their biography and photograph, and suggested background reading material. JGP staff post these materials on the VCSS Resource Center along with the original PowerPoint slides and the recording of the presentation.
Questions and Answers: Following the lecture, VCSS participants can send in questions for the speakers.
The VCSS governing board includes Drs. Gregory Brown (University of Pennsylvania), Eric Caine (University of Rochester), Yeates Conwell (University of Rochester), Paula Clayton (AFSP), Stephen Koslow (AFSP) and Barbara Stanley (Columbia University). The program for the first year is currently being organized and outlined below.
Participation in the VCSS is voluntary. AFSP grantees, reviewer and scientific board members have been invited to participate. The VCSS is open to participation by invitation from AFSP and/or can be self-nominating. If self-nominated, they are included following review of their criteria by AFSP and JGP. Self-nomination requests should be emailed along with a CV to skoslow@afsp.org.
