WPA Co-sponsored International Conference for Forensic Psychiatry

Professor of Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry Academic Division Lead, McMaster University, Canada and Head of Service of Forensic Psychiatry, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton, Canada. His holds a co-Chair in Forensic Psychiatry in Violence Reduction from St. Josephs Healthcare Hamilton. He is a Distinguished Fellow of both the Canadian and American Psychiatric Associations.

He is the Canadian representative to the World Psychiatric Association, Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and on the Board of both the World and Canadian Psychiatric Association. Continuing medical education activities include the International Forensic Psychiatry Lecture Series is an innovative weekly lecture series broadcast every week with attendees from over 55 countries.

Dr. Chaimowitz has received multiple awards including three from key national and international forensic psychiatry associations.

He has published over 90 articles and book chapters.

Prof Völlm has been Professor of Forensic Psychiatry and Director of the Hospital of Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Rostock since September 2018. Bevor then she was Professor in Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Nottingham, UK, and a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist in the enhanced service for personality disorders at Rampton high secure hospital.

Her main research interests include ethics in forensic psychiatry, reduction of coercion, service development and evaluation, patient participation, personality disorders and comparisons between services in different countries. Prof Völlm has held national and European grants on long-stay, the effectiveness of Individual Placement Support and on Circles of Support and Accountability. She has published about 150 scientific papers and book chapters.

Prof Völlm was the Chair of the Forensic Section of the European Psychiatric Association from 2012 – 2016 the Chair of the Forensic Section of the World Psychiatric Association from 2020 - 2023. Prof Völlm is a regular expert for the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane and Degrading Treatment (CPT).

Prof. Antoni Novotni is a psychiatrist and academic researcher affiliated with the Saints Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje. He has made significant contributions to the fields of mental health and psychosocial research. He is also involved in forensic psychiatry, serving as a chair for the Forensic Psychiatry section of the World Psychiatric Association. From 1995–2005, prof. Novotni was a leader of the multidisciplinary team for promotion of children mental health and prevention of child abuse in Macedonia. He has organized numerous conferences as the president of the Macedonian Psychiatric Association.

In the period of 2008 - 2017 he served as a Medical Director of the University Clinic of Psychiatry and from 2007 to 2017 he was a WHO National Counterpart for Mental Health for Macedonia (appointed by the Minister of Health of R. Macedonia and WHO office in Skopje, Macedonia). Prof. Novotni, has been part of international collaborations and was a principal investigator of two Horizon 20/20 European Commission Project: IMPULSE research project (Implementation of an effective and cost-effective intervention for patients with psychotic disorders in low- and middle-income countries in South Eastern Europe) (Project number 779334) and ‘RECOVER-E’ (LaRge-scalE implementation of COmmunity based mental health care for people with seVere and Enduring mental ill health in EuRopE’).

Dr. Carlos Hugo Isaac Serna, MD is a legal and forensic psychiatrist based in Mexico and Head of the Outpatient Department at CAISAME EB in Zapopan, Jalisco. He holds a Master’s degree in Criminology, with postgraduate training in Victimology, Criminal Intelligence, and Counterintelligence.

Dr. Serna has held important leadership roles in international forensic psychiatry organizations, including former Chair of the Forensic Section of the Mexican Psychiatric Association (APM) and former Secretary of the Forensic Section of the Latin American Psychiatric Association (APAL). He currently serves as Secretary of the Forensic Psychiatry Section of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA). He is an active member and international speaker of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health (IALMH). His professional interests focus on forensic psychiatry, legal psychiatry, victimology, criminology, and the interface between mental health, criminal justice, and public safety.

Prof. Dr. Slavica Arsova Hadzi-Angelkovska is Full Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at the Faculty of Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia, and Director of the University Clinic of Psychiatry. She is a senior psychiatrist with extensive clinical, academic, and leadership experience in public mental health and psychosocial care. She completed her medical education and specialization in psychiatry in Skopje and earned her MSc and PhD degrees with research focused on sexual dysfunctions in psychiatric patients and quality of life in schizophrenia. Since 2002, she has worked at the University Clinic of Psychiatry, holding numerous clinical and managerial positions, including Head of the Mental Health Center and founder of the Outpatient Service for Perinatal Mental Health. Her professional interests include psychotic disorders, psychodrama therapy, forensic psychiatry, disability assessment, and public mental health.

Prof. Arsova Hadzi-Angelkovska has actively participated in national and international projects (IMPULSE, RECOVER-E, UNICEF) and has collaborated closely with the World Health Organization. She is deeply involved in medical education as a mentor and lecturer and is the author and co-author of numerous scientific papers and textbooks, including contributions to the Macedonian edition of Kaplan and Sadock’s Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry.

Prof. Dimitar Bonevski, MD, PhD is Full Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at the Faculty of Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, North Macedonia, and Head of the Mental Health Center “Center” at the Psychiatric Hospital Skopje. He is a neuropsychiatrist with extensive clinical and academic experience in stress-related, anxiety, neurotic, psychotic, and trauma-related disorders. He completed his medical education and specialization in Neuropsychiatry in Skopje and obtained a PhD in Medical Sciences with a dissertation on early psychological trauma in patients with anxiety disorders.

Prof. Bonevski has received extensive international training in psychodrama, psychosocial and traumatic stress (WHO experts), systemic family therapy, child abuse treatment, and social justice. He has participated in major international research projects, including WHO and European Commission–funded studies, and has served on scientific advisory boards of international initiatives. Prof. Bonevski has held numerous leadership roles, including President of the Macedonian Psychiatric Association and President of WPA co-sponsored international psychiatric congresses. He is the author and co-author of textbooks, professional monographs, international scientific books, and over 40 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Liljana Ignjatova is psychiatrist, head of the Department of Prevention and Treatment of Drug Abuse and Abuse of the Other Psychoactive Substances and Professor at the Medical faculty of the University St. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. She became a founding member of the World Federation for the Treatment of Opiate Dependence, Chair of National Scientific Committees of the European Opiate Addiction Treatment Association (EUROPAD).

Since 2011 she is permanent correspondent from North Macedonia for The Council of Europe International Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions. Since 2018 Liljana is member of the Macedonian National Task Force for Problematic Usage of Internet. She is International Certified Addiction Professional (ICAP), ENCP and UNODC Treat Net trainer for Management of drug dependence treatment services and for Elements of psychosocial therapy. Liljana is awarded with „SEE net Reflection Award” in 2015, EUROPAD Chimera Award in 2022, World Association on Dual Disorders (WADD) award in 2023, Recognition of permanent values in Macedonian psychiatry in 2023 and Recognition for exceptional contribution and personal commitment to establishing and maintaining drug treatment in CSO HOPS in 2024.

Prof. Milan Latas, MD is a psychiatrist and Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia. He completed his medical education and specialization in psychiatry at the same institution and has built a long-standing academic and clinical career in mental health.

Prof. Latas is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education and in the training of young psychiatrists. His main professional and research interests include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, psychiatric comorbidity, and psychopharmacology. He is the author and co-author of numerous scientific papers and conference presentations and regularly participates in national and international psychiatric congresses. Prof. Latas is also actively engaged in continuing medical education, contributing as a lecturer and speaker at professional meetings and academic events.

Gabriela Novotni, MD, PhD, is a neurologist and Associate Professor at the University Clinic of Neurology in Skopje, where she has worked since 2009. She completed her neurology specialization in 2013 and has built her career in cognitive neurology, neurodegeneration, and movement disorders.

Her international training includes education in dementia diagnostics and neuropsychology at the University Clinic in Nuremberg (2015), the Memory Clinic in Belgrade (2016), and an educational stay at the Neurology Clinic in Ljubljana (2026) focusing on advanced Parkinson’s disease management and DBS.

Dr. Novotni established the Dementia Outpatient Clinic in 2016 and contributed to the creation of a national DNA bank for neurodegenerative diseases. She defended her PhD in 2019 on risk and predictive factors for Alzheimer’s disease and was appointed Associate Professor in 2026. In 2023 she became Head of the newly formed Department of Cognitive Neurology and Neurodegenerative Diseases, leading clinical, academic, and research development in dementia care and diagnostics.

She has participated in numerous international studies and European initiatives.

Alongside her clinical and research work, Dr. Novotni is active in public advocacy. She founded the Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and Neuroscience in 2018, organizing national dementia education programs, masterclasses, thematic conferences, and neuropathology workshops. She is a member of MDS, EAN, the Macedonian Neurology Society, and serves as an ambassador of the International Association of Parkinsonism and Related Disorders.

Goran Arbanas, MD, PhD is a Croatian psychiatrist based at the University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče (Zagreb), where he has worked since 2015 in the Department of Forensic Psychiatry, conducting forensic psychiatric evaluations and providing expert testimony in court cases. He completed subspecialisation in psychotherapy and forensic psychiatry, holds a PhD in psychiatry, and is a Fellow of the European Committee of Sexual Medicine (FECSM) and a certified group analyst.

Dr. Arbanas serves as Secretary of the EPA Section on Forensic Psychiatry. He previously worked at General Hospital Karlovac (1998–2015), including as Head of the Day Hospital for Psychotherapy. His academic output includes books and peer-reviewed publications in forensic psychiatry, including research on offenders and medico-legal psychiatric topics. He is the editor of the Croatian translation of DSM-5.

Prof. Srđan Milovanovic, MD, MSc, PhD is Full Professor of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, and former Director of the Clinic of Psychiatry, Clinical Centre of Serbia. He is a specialist in psychiatry with subspecialization in forensic psychiatry and clinical pharmacology, and extensive experience in clinical, academic, and leadership roles within mental health services. He completed his medical education, specialization, and postgraduate training at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, earning both MSc and PhD degrees in Medicine. His doctoral research focused on stress perception in patients with psychotic disorders during the bombing of Belgrade. Prof. Milovanovic has held key academic appointments from Assistant Lecturer to Full Professor and currently serves as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Medical Psychology.

Clinically, he has worked for decades at the Clinical Centre of Serbia, with particular expertise in acute and chronic psychotic disorders, affective disorders, liaison psychiatry, crisis intervention, and partial hospitalization models of care. His special areas of interest include clinical and forensic psychiatry, psychopharmacology, family and supportive therapy in schizophrenia, and ethics in medicine and psychiatry. Prof. Milovanovic has held numerous national leadership roles, including President of the Republic Commission for Mental Health of the Ministry of Health of Serbia, and Editor-in-Chief of the psychiatric journal Engrami. He has participated in multiple national research projects and international multicenter clinical trials and is the author or co-author of a large number of peer-reviewed scientific publications in international journals.

Dr. Maryana Kravtsenyuk is a forensic psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, and she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, and Associate Professor at the University of Alberta and Visiting Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, and at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.

She is an active member of the Canadian Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (CAPL,Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA), and previously served on Alberta's Mental Health Review Panel. Dr Kravtsenyuk serves on Ontario and Alberta Provincial Criminal Code Review Boards. Her forensic practice includes work in secure and rehabilitation units, outpatient forensics clinics, correctional clinics in provincial and federal institutions, and courts. In addition to this work, she is highly committed to research and medical education at the undergraduate and resident level.

Dr. Ana Opankovic, MD, PhD is a psychiatrist and forensic psychiatrist at the Clinic for Psychiatry, University Clinical Center of Serbia in Belgrade, where she works at the Center for Partial Hospitalization “Dr. Dimitrije Milovanovi.” She is also a Clinical Assistant at the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade. Dr. Opankovic completed her medical education at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, followed by specialization in Psychiatry and subspecialization in Forensic Psychiatry. She obtained her PhD in Neuroscience in 2023. From 2006 to 2019, she worked as a psychiatrist at the Clinic for Psychiatric Disorders “Dr. Laza Lazarevic.” Her professional interests include clinical and forensic psychiatry, family therapy, and psychosocial rehabilitation. She is a certified systemic family advisor and a permanently appointed forensic psychiatry expert by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia. Dr. Opankovic has participated in international research initiatives, including the COST project RISEUP-PPD on peripartum depression, and is actively involved in academic and clinical education. She is a member of the Forensic Medicine Board at the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, and holds GCP certification for participation in clinical studies.

Prof. Cedo Miljevic, MD, PhD is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia, and Head of the Clinical Trial Unit at the Institute of Mental Health in Belgrade. He completed his medical education, specialization in psychiatry, MSc in Neuroscience, and PhD in Psychiatry at the University of Belgrade.

Prof. Miljevic has extensive clinical experience in the treatment of psychotic, mood, and anxiety disorders and has held several senior positions, including Head of the Outpatient Department and Head of the Department for Psychotic Disorders at the Institute of Mental Health. He has been actively involved in psychiatric research and has served as principal investigator or sub-investigator in numerous international Phase II–IV clinical trials in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders.

His main research interests include psychopharmacology, biological psychiatry, personalized medicine, and the role of oxidative stress and biomarkers in psychiatric disorders. Prof. Miljević is the author and co-author of many peer-reviewed scientific publications in leading international journals and regularly contributes to national and international psychiatric conferences and educational activities.

Bojana Dunjic-Kostic, MD, PhD is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia, and Head of the Department for Forensic Psychiatry at the Clinic for Psychiatry, University Clinical Center of Serbia. She is a specialist in psychiatry with subspecialization in forensic psychiatry. She completed her medical education, MSc, PhD studies, and psychiatric training at the University of Belgrade, followed by subspecialization in forensic psychiatry. Throughout her career, she has held several senior clinical and academic positions, including Head of the Department for Affective Disorders and Head of Outpatient Services at the Institute for Mental Health.

Dunjic-Kostic has received numerous professional awards and fellowships, including the ECNP Seminar Award and EPA Travel Grant, and has been actively involved in the Serbian Psychiatric Association, serving as President of the Serbian Young Psychiatrists Section. She is listed by the Ministry of Justice of Serbia as a court expert in psychiatry. Her professional interests include forensic psychiatry, affective disorders, and psychiatric education. She is the author and co-author of more than 118 publications in national and international journals and is actively engaged in teaching and training of medical students and psychiatry residents.

Dr. Ostermeyer is the Paul and Ruth Jonas Chair in Mental Health and a tenured Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. She is also the Chief of Psychiatry for OU Health, which is the university’s clinical enterprise. She graduated from Hanover Medical School, in Hanover, Germany and completed her last two years of medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Ostermeyer trained in neurology at Baylor College of Medicine followed by a residency in psychiatry at The New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons in New York City. She completed a fellowship in forensic psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and received her MBA degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Dr. Ostermeyer has a longstanding interest in administrative and forensic psychiatry and has published approximately 260 scholarly writings and garnered a total of 30 million dollars in research and service grant funding, including two RO1 grants. She has presented her clinical scholarly work and research as well as forensic scholarly work at local, regional, national, and international medical meetings approximately 2,000 times. For the past 30 years, she has also served frequently as an expert interviewer to the media, previously in neurology and then in psychiatry, educating the public on neurological and psychiatric diseases. She is a board-certified psychiatrist and maintains an outpatient clinical practice, focused on treating professionals, and serves as the official psychiatrist of the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder. As a board-certified forensic psychiatrist, she maintains an active forensic practice as well.

Dr. Ostermeyer also received a number of teaching and service awards, including a 2001 Rappeport Fellowship Award by the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law; the 2001 Fitzhugh Mullan Distinguished Resident Leadership Award by the United States Public Health Service and the National Consortium of Residents; the 2007 Gold Award for Service Achievement and the 2019 George Tarjan Award from the American Psychiatric Association; a 2008 and a 2011 Fulbright & Jaworski Faculty Excellence Award at Baylor College of Medicine; the 2009 Excellence in Community Service Award from the Texas Hospital Association for integrated mental health services; the 2019 Gordon Deckert Award for Sustained Excellence in Teaching in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at OU, as well as several teaching awards by OU residents and the OU College of Medicine. In 2023, she was selected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS), being recognized for exemplary demonstration of respect for human beings through the practice and teaching of medicine and was selected by her local Oklahoman peers as Top Doctor in 405 Magazine. In 2024, she received the Red AAPL Award by the American Academy of Psychiatry and The Law for outstanding services.

As a firm believer in organized medicine, Dr. Ostermeyer is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and Treasurer of American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (AAPL). She is also Past President of the Oklahoma Psychiatric Physicians Association (OPPA), the American Association of Chairs of Departments of Psychiatry (AACDP), and the Central Oklahoma Psychiatric Association (COPS). She is Member at Large of the Forensic Section of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) and co-chairs the Rappeport Committee of AAPL.