Susan Shur-Fen Gau

Susan Shur-Fen Gau (born 1962), also known as Susan Gau, Shur-Fen Gau, Gau Shur-Fen and in Chinese:高淑芬, is a Taiwanese psychiatrist and academic with specialized in psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology, preventive medicine, occupational therapy, and brain and mind sciences.

She is known for her perseverance and dedication to research into possible cures for mental disorders and to defense the rights for children and adolescents with mental illnesses and to clarify confusions even misunderstandings against pediatric psychiatry, and currently working as President, director, medical doctor, professor, vice-President, and a member at Taiwanese Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of medical genetics of National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University Hospital, National Taiwan University, IACAPAP, and Taiwanese Psychiatric Association respectively.

Early life

She was born and raised at Wanhua District, Taipei City where her home was located, also the place where her parents made products of mark models. By this time, she and her siblings had to assist their parents to get the production work done. Due to this reason, she had to take care of many aspects of life which, she said, ended up making her a person with good sense of time management.

Education and Career

She graduated from Yale University in 2001 with degrees in epidemiology and Ph.D.

As being a President of Taiwanese Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and an important member in Taiwanese Psychiatric Association, she has been making effort to improve medical environment regarding psychiatry which in turn benefited not just much pediatricians but also thousands of patients and their families.

Patient right defense

Explanations to cease the tide of anti-psychiatry

In 2016, a conference was announced to be held on April in Taiwanese Legislative Yuan by a member of parliament and some people without background in psychiatry and some of whom were thought linked to Scientology, aiming to "'find new ways concerning the ADHD treatment' while questioning the validity of the present regimen pattern".

In the wake of this coming conference with its potential outcomes that could lead to ban on the use of methylphenidate which is the first-line medication used to treat primary symptoms of ADHD, she along with her colleagues and patients with their families coming all the way from corners of Taiwan stood out to demand the invitations from the MP, saying "how could a conference discussing the future of those with mental illnesses not involve trained specialists?" Subsequently, they gained access to the conferences and have their say during the conference. After all, the rights of children and adolescents with ADHD were successfully protected on grounds of Evidence-Based Medicine.

Clarifications made in response to propaganda by media in 2015

In 2015, Central News Agency reported a study conducted by Michigan University that triggered a series of panic among the families in Taiwan.

In order to clarify the elicited misunderstandings, she hold a news conference to once again make clear about the current practice of medicine and guarantee the safety of the treatments so that those affected no longer sleep with fear.

Bids to let those needing help gain further protections medically and socially

May fifth, 2017, a convention in the Legislative Yuan whose topic was to reflect on and review whether or not the primary health care providers are adequately resourced and the outlook of the policy making.

Over the convention, she and her partners along campaigned for further rights and protections for the weak often those who were born with disability and poverty and called for the people to abolish prejudice against people suffering mental disorders.

Research

She is one of the pioneers in Taiwan that started Taiwan-based research and enrolled local patients to the domestic clinical trials. Since then, Taiwanese patients' statistics were involved in many secondary thesis such as meta-analysis and systematic reviews.

Much of the research she was involved in was cited into the ADHD article on Chinese Wikipedia and are expected to continuously influence East Asian cultural sphere whose native language is Chinese and the world.

Her most recent research debuted second half of 2017 revealed that nearly one-third of people below 18 years old in Taiwan suffered mental illnesses that need professional assistance. "The proportion (prevalence) was slightly less than the United States but consistent with which in Europe.", she said during the press conference subsequent to the release of the study.

Notable publications

To date, as of late November, 2017, she has led her team members publish a series of mental illness' general information called 【Doctors from NTUH visiting my home】 in the hope of spreading the general knowledge about mental illnesses to the general public to provoke people's awareness.

Two books within the series were written by herself which are 【Having a Child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder】, 【Attention! A Complete Guide for Adult ADHD】.

Published researches involved

2019

• Chen, Ying-Yeh; Chen, Yi-Lung; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2019-01-01). "Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and suicidality: The mediating effects of psychiatric comorbidities and family function". Journal of Affective Disorders. 242: 96–104. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.08.023. ISSN 0165-0327. PMID 30173064.

2018

• Ni, Hsing-Chang; Lin, Hsiang-Yuan; Tseng, Wen-Yih Isaac; Chiu, Yen-Nan; Wu, Yu-Yu; Tsai, Wen-Che; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-03-02). "Neural correlates of impaired self-regulation in male youths with autism spectrum disorder: A voxel-based morphometry study". Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry. 82: 233–241. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.11.008. ISSN 0278-5846. PMID 29129723.
• Shang, Chi-Yung; Sheng, Chia; Yang, Li-Kuang; Chou, Tai-Li; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (June 2018). "Differential brain activations in adult attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder subtypes: a counting Stroop functional MRI study". Brain Imaging and Behavior. 12 (3): 882–890. doi:10.1007/s11682-017-9749-0. ISSN 1931-7557. PMID 28699075.
• Chien, Yi-Ling; Hsieh, Ming Hsien; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (May 2018). "Mismatch Negativity and P3a in Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Behavioral Correlates and Clinical Implications". Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 48 (5): 1684–1697. doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3426-4. ISSN 0162-3257. PMID 29198040.
• Bölte, Sven; Mahdi, Soheil; Coghill, David; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Granlund, Mats; Holtmann, Martin; Karande, Sunil; Levy, Florence; Rohde, Luis A.; Segerer, Wolfgang; de Vries, Petrus J.; Selb, Melissa (2018-02-12). "Standardised assessment of functioning in ADHD: consensus on the ICF Core Sets for ADHD". European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 27 (10): 1261–1281. doi:10.1007/s00787-018-1119-y. ISSN 1018-8827. PMID 29435654.</ref>
• Lu, Dai-Hua; Liao, Hsiao-Mei; Chen, Chia-Hsiang; Tu, Huang-Ju; Liou, Houng-Chi; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Fu, Wen-Mei (2018-02-13). "Impairment of social behaviors in Arhgef10 knockout mice". Molecular Autism. 9 (1): 11. doi:10.1186/s13229-018-0197-5. ISSN 2040-2392. PMC 5810065. PMID 29456827.
• Hwang-Gu, Shoou-Lian; Lin, Hsiang-Yuan; Chen, Yu-Chi; Tseng, Yu-han; Hsu, Wen-Yau; Chou, Miao-Chun; Chou, Wen-Jun; Wu, Yu-Yu; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-05-30). "Symptoms of ADHD Affect Intrasubject Variability in Youths with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Ex-Gaussian Analysis". Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology: 1–14. doi:10.1080/15374416.2018.1452151. ISSN 1537-4416. PMID 29847154.
• Han, Gloria T.; Chen, Yi-Lung; Tsai, Fang-Ju; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-08-01). "Temporal and Reciprocal Relations Between ADHD symptoms and Emotional Problems in School-Age Children". Journal of Attention Disorders: 108705471878789. doi:10.1177/1087054718787891. ISSN 1087-0547. PMID 30066607.
• Chien, Yi-Ling; Chou, Miao-Chun; Chou, Wen-Jiun; Wu, Yu-Yu; Tsai, Wen-Che; Chiu, Yen-Nan; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-06-28). "Prenatal and perinatal risk factors and the clinical implications on autism spectrum disorder". Autism: 136236131877281. doi:10.1177/1362361318772813. ISSN 1362-3613. PMID 29950101.
• Lin, Hsiang-Yuan; Cocchi, Luca; Zalesky, Andrew; Lv, Jinglei; Perry, Alistair; Tseng, Wen-Yih Isaac; Kundu, Prantik; Breakspear, Michael; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-02-07). "Brain–behavior patterns define a dimensional biotype in medication-naïve adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder". Psychological Medicine. 48 (14): 2399–2408. doi:10.1017/s0033291718000028. ISSN 0033-2917. PMID 29409566.
• Chang, Jane Pei-Chen; Lai, Meng-Chuan; Chou, Miao-Chun; Shang, Chi-Yung; Chiu, Yen-Nan; Tsai, Wen-Che; Wu, Yu-Yu; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-02-08). "Maternal and Family Processes in Different Subgroups of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder". Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. doi:10.1007/s10802-018-0404-z. ISSN 0091-0627. PMID 29417447.
• Lin, Yu-Ju; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-06-26). "Developmental changes of neuropsychological functioning in individuals with and without childhood ADHD from early adolescence to young adulthood: a 7-year follow-up study". Psychological Medicine: 1–12. doi:10.1017/s0033291718001599. ISSN 0033-2917. PMID 29941053.
• Hsu, Chi-Lin; Chou, Chih-Hsuan; Huang, Shih-Chuan; Lin, Chia-Yi; Lin, Meng-Ying; Tung, Chun-Che; Lin, Chun-Yen; Lai, Ivan Pochou; Zou, Yan-Fang; Youngson, Neil A; Lin, Shau-Ping; Yang, Chang-Hao; Chen, Shih-Kuo; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Huang, Hsien-Sung (2018-01-15). "Analysis of experience-regulated transcriptome and imprintome during critical periods of mouse visual system development reveals spatiotemporal dynamics". Human Molecular Genetics. 27 (6): 1039–1054. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddy023. ISSN 0964-6906. PMID 29346572.
• Lin, Chun-Yen; Chang, Kai-Wei; Lin, Chia-Yi; Wu, Jia-Ying; Coon, Hilary; Huang, Pei-Hsin; Ho, Hong-Nerng; Akbarian, Schahram; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Huang, Hsien-Sung (2018-03-09). "Allele-specific expression in a family quartet with autism reveals mono-to-biallelic switch and novel transcriptional processes of autism susceptibility genes". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 4277. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-22753-4. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 5844893. PMID 29523860.
• Fan, Li-Ying; Shang, Chi-Yung; Tseng, Wen-Yih Isaac; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen; Chou, Tai-Li (2018-05-10). "Visual processing as a potential endophenotype in youths with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A sibling study design using the counting Stroop functional MRI". Human Brain Mapping. 39 (10): 3827–3835. doi:10.1002/hbm.24214. ISSN 1065-9471. PMID 29749060.
• Chiang, Huey-Ling; Kao, Wei-Chih; Chou, Mei-Chun; Chou, Wen-June; Chiu, Yen-Nan; Wu, Yu-Yu; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen (2018-02-10). "School dysfunction in youth with autistic spectrum disorder in Taiwan: The effect of subtype and ADHD". Autism Research. 11 (6): 857–869. doi:10.1002/aur.1923. ISSN 1939-3792. PMID 29427542.