International Conference on Schizophrenia organised by SCARF gets under way in city

International Conference on Schizophrenia organised by SCARF gets under way in city Published – August 21, 2026 12: 54 am IST – CHENNAI.

Key points

• Keshavan, Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, the U.S., delivered the 6th Dr.
• Natarajan Varadharajan, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, receiving the STELAR Award at the 12th edition of the conference on Thursday.
• The 12th edition of the three-day International Conference on Schizophrenia organised by the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) was inaugurated on Thursday.
• Ahamed remarked mental health was a critical component of any health system, alongside priorities such as maternal and child health that feature in the Sustainable Development Goals.
• According to Ashoo Grover, while India had produced progress in tackling communicable diseases, the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) remained a major challenge for the healthcare system.

Natarajan Varadharajan, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, receiving the STELAR Award at the 12th edition of the conference on Thursday. Photo Credit: SRINATH M.

Meanwhile, the 12th edition of the three-day International Conference on Schizophrenia organised by the Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF) was inaugurated on Thursday.

At the launch of the conference, Natarajan Varadharajan, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, received the first STELAR Award from Darez Ahamed, Health Secretary to the Tamil Nadu administration; Ashoo Grover, Scientist G, Indian Council of Medical Research; and R. Thara, co-founder, SCARF.

Mr. Ahamed remarked mental health was a critical component of any health system, alongside priorities such as maternal and child health that feature in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Tamil Nadu has a robust District Mental Health Programme and psychiatry departments in medical colleges, but the larger challenge is to deliver mental health services at the population level, much like maternal and child health services, he remarked.

Stressing the need to integrate mental health into the broader health system, the State's recent Budget had addressed the matter at the policy level, and that efforts were extending beyond the district-level approach, he stated.

While mental health is often considered separately, nCDs are usually discussed in terms of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. Nevertheless, she stated, recent data indicated a high prevalence of mental health conditions throughout age groups, highlighting the need to address them as part of the broader NCD burden.

Matcheri S. Keshavan, Stanley Cobb Professor of Psychiatry Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, the U.S., delivered the 6th Dr. Sarada Menon Oration on cognition as a core aspect of schizophrenia. Among those present were R. Seshasayee, chairman, SCARF; T.S. Sathyanarayana Rao, president, Indian Psychiatric Society; and Mohan Isaac, professor of psychiatry, University of Western Australia.

Earlier in the day, a discussion was held on whether the name schizophrenia must be changed. Experts from different segments – psychiatrists, care givers, individuals with lived experiences and media persons – participated, making an effective case for both sides of the argument. The broad consensus was that a nomenclature change can be created once there are significant inroads produced into understanding the condition.

In short, international Conference on Schizophrenia organised by SCARF gets under way in city is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.