Mental Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the Ageing Process

Vee Prasher is a NHS Consultant in Intellectual Disabilities and Visiting Professor of Neuropsychiatry. He qualified in 1985 from the University of Birmingham UK as a Medical Doctor. He initially did neurosurgery training, later general psychiatry, and finally specialised in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has been actively involved in research in intellectual and developmental disabilities, having published over 150 articles relating to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He has completed 3 post doctorate degrees in this field, MMedSc, MD, and PhD. As an editor or author he has published 15 textbooks. He has a recognised international reputation and has been involved in a number of international studies and reports highlighting health issues for ageing persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Philip W. Davidson is Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Environmental Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He is a Pediatric Psychologist. Dr. Davidson received a B.A. in Psychology from Bucknell University (1963), an M.S. in Psychology from Villanova University (1967) and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the George Washington University (1970). Dr. Davidson completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Child Psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1974). From 1975 until 2007, Dr. Davidson directed the Department of Pediatrics' Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and the Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities, which provides interdisciplinary clinical services, education and research addressing the needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. He served as president of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (2016-2019) and Division 33 of the American Psychological Association (2001-2002). He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. He is the 2020 recipient of the APA's Edgar A. Doll award. Dr. Davidson has over 240 peer-reviewed publications, books, and book chapters in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. His research focuses on the neurotoxicology of mercury, and on health and mental health of older persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Flavia H. Santos, PhD, is Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University College Dublin in Ireland and Deputy Director of the UCD MSc in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies at the UCD Centre for Disability Studies. Dr Santos was awarded the prestigious UCD Ad Astra Fellow in Psychology 2019-2024. She is a researcher on secondment under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE) programme for the CareHD project, focused on Huntington's Disease. Dr Santos is a member of the ACRM Neurodegenerative Diseases Networking Group and the ACRM Geriatric Rehabilitation Networking Group. She also serves as Executive Member of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD) Comparative Policy and Practice 'Special Interest Research Group'