Upcoming Events
SPEAKERS: Prof. Craig Shimasaki, PhD, MBA
TITLE: The Gut-Brain-Immune Triad: What Happens When it Breaks Down?
DATE: Tuesday 10th March
TIME: 7:00PM GMT | 8:00PM CET | 3:00PM EDT
DESCRIPTION:
What if some of the most challenging neuropsychiatric symptoms arise not only in the brain itself, but also from a breakdown in the gut–brain–immune triad?
AONM is pleased to host a special webinar with Professor Craig Shimasaki exploring the complex interplay between gut barrier disruption, immune activation, and blood-brain-barrier permeability and neuropsychiatric symptoms.
During this webinar we’ll review the latest evidence linking dysbiosis, infections, autoantibodies, and molecular mimicry to OCD, anxiety, tics, cognitive changes, and treatment‑resistant mood disorders. Integrative clinicians and practitioners will come away with a systems‑biology framework, pattern recognition for common symptoms, and case‑based insights to move beyond symptom management toward root‑cause care.
We will cover practical guidance and assessment strategies, targeting the “three I’s”: infection, inflammation, and immune dysfunction, with considerations for metabolic dysfunction, Herxheimer reactions, and comorbidities.
Join us for a fascinating update on these biological interconnections that will enhance your diagnostic capabilities and gain a deeper understanding of the gut–brain–immune axis in neuropsychiatric care.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
Professor Craig Shimasaki, PhD, MBA President & CEO Moleculera Biosciences, Inc.
Professor Shimasaki received his BS in Biochemistry from the University of California at Davis, his PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Tulsa, and his MBA from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Business.
He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Oklahoma and is the cofounder and CEO of Moleculera Biosciences, a neuroimmunology precision medicine company focused on identifying and treating the underlying roots of neurologic, psychiatric, and behavioural disorders triggered by an autoimmune response. He has spent over 35 years working in the fields of molecular biology, viral pathogenesis, and infection-triggered autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders. Prof. Shimasaki started his career at Genentech and has worked across all stages of research, development, clinical trials, and regulatory approval of technology innovation from bench-to-bedside.
His research work includes epitope mapping of HIV proteins, genetic-based predictors of breast cancer risk, influenza and RSV diagnostics and therapeutics, and the pathogenesis of infection-triggered neuropsychiatric disorders. He has co-founded multiple companies and led multiple products through the FDA approval process and is a co-inventor on multiple patents. Internationally, he teaches and mentors scientists, physicians and biotech leaders on how to translate their research into acutely needed medical interventions.
His passion is to translate scientific discoveries into acutely needed products so that more patients can live longer, healthier lives.
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Register here: www.aonm.org/gutbrainshimasaki
SPEAKER: Professor Robert C. Bransfield MD, DLFAPA, DILADS
TITLE: Infection-Associated Chronic Neuropsychiatric Impairments: Exploring infectious and immune drivers of chronic cognitive, behavioural, and psychiatric symptoms
DATE: Tuesday 7th April 2026
TIME: 7:00PM BST | 8:00PM CEST | 2:00PM EDT
DESCRIPTION:
In this AONM webinar, psychiatrist Dr. Robert Bransfield explores how infections can contribute to chronic neuropsychiatric symptoms. He discusses how immune responses to pathogens can inflame the brain, impair cognition, and alter mood and behaviour.
Dr. Bransfield presents a multi-system disease model in which microbes such as Borrelia burgdorferi trigger neuroinflammation, autoimmunity, and lasting immune dysregulation. He examines how cumulative pathogen exposure may drive a spectrum of mental and behavioural disturbances.
The webinar also considers historical and modern infections, emerging research on microbes and mental illness, and potential societal impacts, including rising psychiatric burden and instability following SARS-CoV-2. It emphasises the need for a medical approach that integrates psychiatry, neurology, immunology, and infectious disease.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
PROFESSOR ROBERT C. BRANSFIELD, MD, DLFAPA, DILADS
Professor Bransfield is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry. He is Clinical Associate Professor at Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and also works in private practice. He has held teaching appointments at Hahnemann Medical College and Eastern Virginia Medical School. Dr. Bransfield has a particular interest in psychopharmacology, a unified theory of mental health and illness, the link between microbes and mental illness, Lyme and other tick-borne disease, and the link between microbes and violence.
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Register here: www.aonm.org/bransfield
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The information on this webpage and these webinars is intended for educational and informative purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical or professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health care provider with regards to any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment before undertaking a health care regimen. Never disregard or delay seeking professional medical advice because of information you have read or seen on this website. The opinions stated in these webinars are those of the people speaking and not necessarily of AONM.