Who We Are
MAGNET is a nationwide system of over 100 world-leading representatives from mental health institutions, health services, industry bodies and consumer groups. Our members include researchers, carers, insurers, lived-experience experts, and First Nations representatives.
Meet the MAGNET team led by:
Professor Michael Berk
Professor Michael Berk is currently a NHMRC L3 Research Fellow and is a Deakin distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at Deakin University and Barwon Health, where he heads IMPACT Institute for Mental Health and Clinical Translation. He has published over 1400 papers and is listed by Thompson Reuters ISI as highly cited (2015-2022). In 2019 he received Victoria’s highest scientific honour, the Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation. His major interests are in the discovery validation and implementation of novel therapies.
Professor Susan Rossell
Professor Rossell is a world-leading researcher in cognition and mental health. She has published over 370 papers, focused on understanding the cognitive impairments involved in psychosis, mood disorders and body-image related disorders, aiming to develop new interventions for these debilitating cognitive symptoms.
Currently, Prof Rossell is a Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow at Swinburne University.
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A/Prof. John Allan
A/Prof. John Allan
Associate Professor John Allan is the immediate past-President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP). His term as President began in May 2019 and concluded in May 2021. Associate Professor Allan gained his Fellowship of the RANZCP in 1987 after completing his medical training in Queensland and his psychiatry training in South Australia. Since then he has also completed a PhD at the University of Queensland. Associate Professor Allan is the Executive Director of Mental Health Alcohol and other Drugs Branch in Queensland Health.
He has previously been Chief Psychiatrist in both Queensland and New South Wales. He spent twenty years working in North Queensland where he developed a wide range of new mental health services. He is highly experienced in government policy, mental health legislation and service development.
Prof. Osvaldo Almeida
Prof. Osvaldo Almeida
Professor Almeida completed his medical training at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) and his postgraduate training at the Institute of Psychiatry (University of London, UK).
Areas of expertise include epidemiology and clinical trials, and areas of interest include affective disorders and cognitive disorders. Almeida’s scholarly work had been cited over 33600 times and had an h-index of 96 in October 2022.
Prof. Vasso Apostolopoulos
Prof. Vasso Apostolopoulos
Professor Vasso Apostolopoulos is currently the Professor at the Immunology Health and Biomedical Sciences department at RMIT. In response to the current global emergency, Vasso and her team are focusing their efforts on responding to COVID-19, investigating and working on vaccines and drugs to treat the virus. Her expertise is multi-disciplinary with extensive expertise in immunology, x-ray crystallography, medicinal chemistry, cellular biology, molecular biology. She has extensive translational research expertise with development of drugs and vaccines.
A/Prof. Shalini Arunogiri
A/Prof. Shalini Arunogiri
Associate Professor Shalini Arunogiri is a clinical addiction psychiatrist and a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow. She is Clinical Director of the Victorian Statewide Centre for Addiction and Mental Health at Turning Point. Shalini is an ECR with over 50peer reviewed publications, book chapters and technical reports and over $14M in competitive funding. Her research interests focus on clinical trials in addiction (pharmacological and psychological treatments), and the intersection between trauma/PTSD and addictive disorders.
Prof. Andrew Baillie
Prof. Andrew Baillie
I am a clinical psychologist and Professor of Allied Health with Sydney Local Health District. I work with Allied Health Research & Education for Translation & Innovation within SLHD to build Allied Health Research Capacity. I convene the Academic Implementation Science Network for Sydney Health Partners, and the Long-COVID Australia Collaboration.
I collaborate with the Matilda Centre for Research in Substance use and Mental Health, the Edith Collins Centre (Translational Research in Alcohol Drugs and Toxicology, and the Sydney Institute of Women Children and their Families. I also work with Drug Health Services at RPA and the Psychology Team at RPAVirtual.
Dr. Sanna Barrand
Dr. Sanna Barrand
Dr Sanna Barrand is a Lived Experience Research Officer at Deakin University. While Sanna has background in research and has worked in various research projects both nationally and internationally, she now aims to integrate lived experience voice in the several aspects of the HARMON_E trial.
Dr. Ayla Barutchu
Dr. Ayla Barutchu
Dr Ayla Barutchu is the Executive Officer of MAGNET and specialises in perceptual and cognitive neuroscience and rehabilitation. She recently returned to Australia from the University of Oxford, UK, where she was a Lecturer in Psychology for Somerville and Balliol Colleges. Ayla looks forward to working collaboratively with everyone to help improve mental health research and translation in Australia.
Prof. Tarun Bastiampillai
Prof. Tarun Bastiampillai
Professor Tarun Bastiampillai has worked as psychiatrist for 17 years in both the UK and Australia and is a Professor of Psychiatry at Flinders University. He was appointed the SA Health Executive Director of Mental Health Strategy between 2015-2018 and as a Clinical Director between 2010-2014.He has utilised an evidence-based approach to policy and strategy, integrating clinical research and informatics with his executive leadership roles.His research relates specifically to mental health service planning, clinical informatics, suicide epidemiology and clozapine psychopharmacology.
Prof. Philip Batterham
Prof. Philip Batterham
Phil Batterham is a Professor and Co-Head at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Phil is a research leader in trialing and implementing programs to prevent suicide and mental health problems, detecting mental ill health in the community, and reducing barriers to care. Phil has published >230 peer-reviewed journal articles related to mental health, including the outcomes of over 30 trials.
Dr. Miki Bere
Dr. Miki Bere
Miki has been working upon Wurundjeri land at Swinburne University for five years as a clinical psychology PhD candidate and provisional psychologist, within the Centre for Mental Health. She has knowledge and experience working with individuals with psychosis-spectrum disorders, from both clinical and research perspectives. Miki also has clinical experience working with a variety of other population groups, including children and families. She is also part of the academic team at Swinburne; teaching across the field of undergraduate health sciences and public health leadership. Stemmed from lived experiences, Miki is inspired by a scientific curiosity for understanding and supporting mental illness through both research and practice. She is excited to be a part of a national network that supports the progression and development of mental health research.
Prof. Michael Berk
Prof. Michael Berk
Professor Michael Berk is currently a NHMRC Senior Principal research Fellow, and is Alfred Deakin Chair of Psychiatry at Deakin University and Barwon Health, where he heads the Institute for Innovation in Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT). He also is an Honorary Professorial Research fellow in the Department of Psychiatry, the Florey Institute for Neuroscience and Mental Health and Orygen Youth Health at Melbourne University, as well as in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University.
A/Prof. Niranjan Bidargaddi
A/Prof. Niranjan Bidargaddi
Niranjan Bidargaddi, BEng C.Sc, PhD, is the Associate Professor of Digital Health at College of Medicine and Public Health Flinders University. He leads the Digital Health lab based at Flinders Digital Health Research Centre Tonsley and SAHMRI. He is experienced in development, trial and translation of digital health programs (eg: Mental health apps search). He trained as a Computer Science Engineer, holds a PhD from Monash University (2007), and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at CSIRO in e-health (2008). Between 2009 to 2016, he worked in a largely operational health informatics role in South Australian Health Department.
He was awarded a MRFF TRIP Fellow in 2017. He is a Chief Investigator of the ARC Industry Transformation Research Hub on Digital Enhanced Living (2018-24), and has acted in leadership roles with three Cooperative Research Centers, including Digital Health CRC.
Dr. Michelle Blanchard
Dr. Michelle Blanchard
Dr Michelle Blanchard is a Special Adviser at the National Mental Health Commission, leading the development of the National Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Strategy. Prior to joining the Commission, Michelle was Deputy CEO at SANE Australia and the founding Director of SANE’s Anne Deveson Research Centre which partners with people affected by mental ill-health, trauma and distress to catalyse social change.
A/Prof. Grant Blashki
A/Prof. Grant Blashki
Grant has been a practicing GP for 25 years and is the Lead Clinical Advisor for beyondblue. He is an Associate Professor at the Nossal Institute and the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute at the University of Melbourne. He is an Honorary Professor at Luohu Hospital Group in Shenzhen, China and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Grant’s research has three themes: General Practice/Primary Care, Sustainability and Mental Health. He has co-authored 125+ publications in peer reviewed journals, six books and more than 20 government/policy reports.
He has co-convened conferences about GP Psychiatry in Australia, Italy and Israel and leads the Master of Public Health subject, Environmental Challenges and Global Health.
Dr. Chiara Bortolasci
Dr. Chiara Bortolasci
Dr Bortolasci is a pharmacist (2009), with a MSc (2012) and PhD (2015) in Health Sciences (State University of Londrina – Brazil). In 2014 she received a scholarship from the Brazilian Government to conduct her research in collaboration with the Metabolic Research Unit and IMPACT Strategic Research Centre, Deakin University.
She completed her a Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2018 and she is currently an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Fellow, within the Metabolic Research Unit.
Prof. Richard Bryant
Prof. Richard Bryant
Richard Bryant is a Scientia Professor of Psychology at UNSW Sydney and Director of the UNSW Traumatic Stress Clinic. Professor Bryant has researched the nature, course, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for over 30 years. His work has identified key genetic, neural, and psychological factors underpinning PTSD. His longitudinal studies have led to the world’s leading screening tools for early identification of PTSD, as well as development of the most commonly used early treatment protocols. These have been translated into over 15 languages and used in many countries.
Dr. Enda Byrne
Dr. Enda Byrne
Upon awarding of my PhD in August 2010, my interests in the genetics of mental health led me to work with Assoc. Prof Naomi Wray. Since then I have been working on numerous projects related to the genomics of mental health. I was a substantial contributor to the Psychiatric Genetics Consortium analysis of Major Depressive Disorder, having analysed the X chromosome data and to the first genome-wide studies of insomnia and caffeine-induced insomnia.
My research has contributed to advances in a number of fields through the identification of genetic variants that were previously unsuspected. The identification of these variants opens up new avenues for developing drug targets to target the biological pathways in which they are found.
Prof. Alison Calear
Prof. Alison Calear
Alison Calear is a Professor and Co-Head at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Alison is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership II Fellow and is a research leader in youth mental health, eHealth and the prevention of anxiety, depression and suicide. Alison has extensive clinical trials expertise, particularly in community-based settings such as schools, and has published >170 peer-reviewed journal articles related to mental health and suicide, including the outcomes of over 25 trials.
Dr. Stephen Carbone
Dr. Stephen Carbone
Dr Stephen Carbone is the Founder and CEO of Prevention United. Stephen has extensive clinical experience in mental health having worked as a general practitioner in Melbourne’s west and northwest suburbs and as a medical officer in Victoria’s specialist mental health services. Stephen also has experience in mental health policy and program and service development having held senior roles in the Victorian Department of Health, headspace, and Beyond Blue.
Prof. David Castle
Prof. David Castle
David is returning to Australia after two years setting up the already highly successful Centre for Complex Interventions at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada. He spent 20 years as Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, before his move to Canada to establish the CCI.
He has extensive clinical, epidemiological, quantitative and qualitative mental health research experience, with expertise in large-scale clinical trials, encompassing both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.
Prof. Helen Christensen
Prof. Helen Christensen
Scientia Professor Helen Christensen (AO) is Scientia Professor of Mental Health at UNSW Sydney and is the former Executive Director and Chief Scientist at Black Dog Institute, having led the organisation from 2011 to 2021. Professor Christensen is a leading expert on using technology to deliver evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of depression, anxiety, suicide, and self-harm. Her research also encompasses school-based research programs aimed at the prevention of depression and suicide risk through eMental Health interventions.
Prof. Scott Clark
Prof. Scott Clark
Head of the Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, Principal Investigator for multiple national and international clinical trials in psychosis, mood and autism and for the NHMRC PRE-EMPT Centre For Research Excellence in Psychosis Prediction. Committee Member of the Australian Early Psychosis Collaborative Consortium (AEPCC) Clinical Trials and Translation Network. Co-chair of the fluid biomarkers working group of the NIMH AMP-Schizophrenia consortium.
Ms. Laura Collister
Ms. Laura Collister
Laura has spent her career focusing on helping people to build their lives in the community. This has included completing a Masters in Applied Science that investigated the skills and supports required to assist people to live outside of hospital. After a decade teaching occupational therapy at La Trobe University, Laura joined Wellways as director of services. In 2019 Laura became Wellways’ Chief Executive Officer.
Prof. Sue Cotton
Prof. Sue Cotton
As a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, Sue’s current work is on understanding onset and trajectory of mental illness in young people, particularly those with the early stages of psychosis and/or bipolar disorder. She leads two trials of novel interventions for these disorders. She is also leading work on mental health service utilisation and pathways through care for young people impacted by mental illness. Sue heads the newly NHMRC funded Centre of Research Excellence on Bipolar Disorder (CORE-BD).
Prof. Simon Craig
Prof. Simon Craig
Simon is a Paediatric Emergency Physician working at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne. He wrote the Monash Children’s Paediatric Emergency Medication Book, and is an editor of the Textbook of Paediatric Emergency Medicine, and is a member of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine Mental Health Working Group. He has broad research interests, and is leading the MRFF Million Minds Mission project: “The Kids are Not Okay: Emergency Department management of acute mental health crises in children and young people.” the PREDICT network. He can be found on Twitter at @DrSimonCraig
A/Prof. Jackie Curtis
A/Prof. Jackie Curtis
A/Prof Curtis is the inaugural director of Mindgardens Neuroscience Network. She is a psychiatrist and was previously the Clinical Director of Youth Mental Health at the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. Her research and clinical work over several decades has focused on early psychosis and youth mental health, including improving the cardiometabolic health of people living with serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia, with the aim of reducing health inequalities and increasing life expectancy. Jackie developed and implemented the internationally recognised Keeping the Body in Mind program, demonstrating that antipsychotic-induced weight gain can be prevented with lifestyle intervention, and is the co-founder and Co-Chair of the iphYs international working group advocating for improved physical health for youth experiencing psychosis.
Ms. Leilani Darwin
Ms. Leilani Darwin
I have extensive experience in mental health, suicide prevention which has also recently expanded to Eating Disorders Research and Translation. My strength resides as a CEO of First Nations Collective Consulting and in being an Aboriginal woman who also has a family history of being immigrants to Australia. I am on this research project, I am also an AI on the Under the Radar research project. I’m heading up the First Nations work of the new Australian Eating Disorders Research and Translation National Centre. Having worked with Dr Clinton Schulz and with him being on the Research committee I feel this is a good opportunity to include leadership of First Nations people.
Prof. Chris Davey
Prof. Chris Davey
Chris Davey is a psychiatrist and researcher. He is the Head of the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Melbourne and leads a mood disorders research program. Chris’s research focuses on studying effective treatments for mood disorders, and he has led large NHMRC-funded multicentre clinical trials. He is interested in using brain imaging to examine depression and social-affective processes. He has a particular interest in integrating clinical trials of antidepressant treatments with neuroscientifically informed investigation of their mechanisms of action.
Dr. Jess Davis
Dr. Jess Davis
Jessica Davis has joined MAGNET as the Clinical Trial Coordinator for the HARMON-E Trial. Jessica has a background in nutrition and exercise science, and experience in trial coordination for behavioural interventions. Jessica completed her PhD with the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, where she investigated the associations between diet quality and the gut-muscle axis.
Prof. Olivia Dean
Prof. Olivia Dean
Prof. Olivia Dean is currently the Director of Deakin’s Clinical Trials Hub and a member of TRIALS with the Centre for Innovations in Mental and Physical health And Clinical Treatments (IMPACT), Deakin University. She holds honorary appointments with the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and Barwon Health. Prof. Dean has established a solid track record with over 170 publications and successful grants totally over $AUD 30 million. Prof. Dean is committed to providing better treatment outcomes for people with mental disorders and is actively involved in ensuring her research reaches community forums and outcomes are directly translated into clinical practice.
Ms. Amber Degelia
Ms. Amber Degelia
Amber Degelia has joined MAGNET as the Clinical Trial Coordinator for the multi-site Hearts and Minds Trial investigating the potential benefits of metformin and atorvastatin for the treatment of depression. Amber has a background in commercially sponsored and investigator-initiated clinical trials in Haematology, Oncology, Cardiology and Orthopaedics. Amber previously worked as a project manager for Monash University’s Transfusion Research Unit, and holds an honours degree in biological sciences and genetics from the University of California Irvine.
A/Prof. Stuart Ferguson
A/Prof. Stuart Ferguson
Associate Professor Stuart Ferguson is a health psychologist. His research focus is health behaviour change. ‘I’m interested in the beliefs we have, and the actions we undertake, that impact on our health,’ he explains. ‘Whether it’s certain foods, cigarettes, recreational drugs or alcohol, our choices to indulge in these behaviours will have an impact on our health.
Ms. Rachel Fiddes
Ms. Rachel Fiddes
Rachel joins MAGNET from Deakin University’s Food and Mood Centre as a Clinical Trial Coordinator for the HARMON-E Trial. Rachel is a Registered Nurse with five years’ experience working in clinical trials within the Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at Barwon Health. Rachel also acts as the Clinical Trial Manager within the Food and Mood Centre, and has recently completed a Master of Public Health tailored towards research.
Prof. Paul Fitzgerald
Prof. Paul Fitzgerald
Paul Fitzgerald is an academic psychiatrist with a MBBS degree, Masters of Psychological Medicine and research PhD from Monash University. He has conducted an extensive range of studies, including over 20 clinical trials, focussed on the development of novel treatments options for patients with depression, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD, autism and Alzheimer’s disease with a special interest in repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and other forms of brain stimulation.
A/Prof. David Forbes
A/Prof. David Forbes
David Forbes is the Director of Phoenix Australia, and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, the University of Melbourne. David is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in the assessment and treatment of mental health problems following trauma, and he has worked in both acute crisis and continuing care settings across the community mental health system.
David is an international expert in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic stress, military, emergency and disaster mental health and the relationship between trauma and problematic anger with strong national and international links with other researchers and experts in the field.
Prof. Nicholas Glozier
Prof. Nicholas Glozier
Professor Glozier has an international reputation in the field of chronic comorbid mental and physical illness, disability, disadvantage and stigma. He currently holds over $60 million in nationally competitive grants as a Chief Investigator on studies in three main areas (1) Public Mental Health – Disability and disadvantage (2) Mental health and Work (3) Clinical Trials, Mental health services and epidemiology research.
Prof. Melissa Green
Prof. Melissa Green
My research uses methods from epidemiology, neuroscience, and genetics to understand life-course risk for mental disorders. I am particularly interested in how stress and other social determinants of health increase risk for psychosis, via biological or other mechanisms that may be observable in early life. I am the lead scientific investigator of the NSW Child Development Study (http://nsw-cds.com.au/), a longitudinal investigation of over 90,000 children in NSW, being conducted via repeated waves of linkage of health and human services data.
My current research projects are conducted in collaboration with NSW government partners and colleagues at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), the UNSW School of Psychology, and Social Policy Research Centre. My team works with other national collaborators at the University of Newcastle, Queensland University of Technology, Griffith University, and Deakin University and with the international Psychiatric Genomics and ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro-Imaging Genetics via Meta Analyses) Consortia.
Dr. Amelia Gulliver
Dr. Amelia Gulliver
Amelia Gulliver is a lived experience research fellow at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Amelia is committed to the active involvement of lived experience in the research process and focuses on finding practical solutions to improve mental health in key at-risk population groups. Amelia has expertise in the co-design and evaluation of e-mental health help-seeking and early intervention treatment programs and has published more than 65 peer-reviewed journal articles, including research from eight clinical trials.
Prof. Jane Gunn
Prof. Jane Gunn
Professor Jane Gunn is a medical practitioner, PhD graduate, Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. She holds the inaugural Chair of Primary Care research at the University of Melbourne (UoM) and is recognised for her leadership in traversing the research-practice gap. Her research program in primary care mental health has twice been included in the NHMRC Ten of the Best collection, most recently in 2020.
She currently serves on the NHMRC Council and has experience of serving on NHMRC Research Committee and Chairing numerous grant review panels. Jane also has over a decade of experience serving on not for profit and health Boards. In 2020, Jane was instrumental in guiding the University through the COVID-19 pandemic in her role as the Chief Public Health Adviser on UoM leadership team for the pandemic response. Jane is committed to good governance, fostering collaborative research, mentoring the next generation and catalysing innovation to traverse the research practice gap.
A/Prof. Nicola Hancock
A/Prof. Nicola Hancock
Associate Professor Nicola Hancock is a mental health occupational therapy academic at the University of Sydney. Her research is focused on understanding mental health recovery and wellbeing, participation and inclusion. She also examines service systems and programs designed to support participation, inclusion and recovery. Nicola led the co-development of The Recovery Assessment Scale – Domains and Stages (RAS-DS) a self-report measure of recovery.
Ms. Carla Haroutonian
Ms. Carla Haroutonian
Carla Haroutonian is an Early Career Researcher part of the Brain Dynamics Centre at the Westmead Institute of Medical Research and The University of Sydney. Her research has examined the links between sleep neurophysiology, brain structure and memory consolidation in ageing. She is currently involved in a study measuring neurophysiology and brain markers of inner speech in schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.
Prof. Anthony Harris
Prof. Anthony Harris
Professor Anthony Harris is a consultant psychiatrist with a special interest in early intervention and psychosis. He is the head of the specialty of Psychiatry in the Sydney Medical School. His clinical and research interests include psychophysiology, neuroimaging, and the treatment of psychotic and mood disorders. Professor Harris has a special interest in medical education.
He is a member of the editorial board of ‘Therapeutic Guidelines, Psychotropic’, and developed a series of continuing professional development programs in psychiatry for health professionals and the community http://cce.sydney.edu.au/courses/Health+Science/Psychiatry+Courses. He is the chair of One Door Mental Health and chair of its Research Trust Fund.
Dr. Samuel Harvey
Dr. Samuel Harvey
Dr Samuel Harvey, MBBS MRCGP MRCPsych FRANZCP PhD, leads the Workplace Mental Health Research Program at the School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales. He is a psychiatrist and epidemiologist with a particular interest in the overlap between mental health, physical health and work. After initially working as a general practitioner, Dr Harvey trained in both general adult and consultation liaison psychiatry at the Maudsley Hospital and Institute of Psychiatry.
Ms. Cass Heffernan
Ms. Cass Heffernan
Cass Heffernan is a lived experience research officer at the Centre for Mental Health Research, The Australian National University in Canberra. After completing a Master’s in Public Health at the University of New South Wales in 2018, she developed a relationship with the Black Dog Institute as a Senior Lived Experience Advisor on various suicide prevention & mental health projects as well on the development of their Lived Experience Engagement Framework & Resource Network. She is passionate about advocating for better systems & services for those with mental health issues & suicidality & ensuring lived experience involvement throughout this field of research. Cass also brings 15 years of experience as a registered nurse, including recent Clinical Trials experience in Oncology.
Prof. Ian Hickie
Prof. Ian Hickie
Professor Ian Hickie is Co-Director, Health and Policy at The University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre. He is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow (2013-2017 and 2018-22), having previously been one of the inaugural NHMRC Australian Fellows (2008-12). He was an inaugural Commissioner on Australia’s National Mental Health Commission (2012-18) overseeing enhanced accountability for mental health reform and suicide prevention. He is an internationally renowned researcher in clinical psychiatry, with particular reference to medical aspects of common mood disorders, depression and bipolar disorder.
He is now focused on the development of real-time personalized and measurement-based care systems for use in partnership with young people and their families. These systems promote early intervention, use of new and emerging technologies and suicide prevention. In his role with the National Mental Health Commission, and his independent research, health system and advocacy roles, Professor Hickie has been at the forefront of the move to have mental health and suicide prevention integrated with other aspects of health care (notably chronic disease and ambulatory care management)
Prof. Sean Hood
Prof. Sean Hood
Professor Sean Hood is a psychiatrist in academic (University of Western Australia), public (SCGH, Nedlands) and private practice (The Marian Centre, Wembley). Professor Hood is Head of the Division of Psychiatry at UWA Medical School. Prof Hood chairs a novel research collaboration with the Meeting for Minds (M4M) Foundation which is a “not-for-profit organisation dedicated to research of the brain and disorders of the brain in partnership with people living with mental illness”. In 2018 CI-Hood was a founding member of the UWA Young Lives Matter (YLM) Foundation (Board Director & Research Management Lead). In 2020 Sean convened and chairs the WA Mental Health Covid-19 Research Panel (WAMH-CoRP) a group unifying all 5 WA universities (viz: UWA, Curtin, Murdoch, Notre Dame Fremantle, Edith Cowen U), public health districts, and consumer/carer bodies.
Prof. Malcolm Hopwood
Prof. Malcolm Hopwood
Professor Hopwood is the Ramsay Health Care Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and Director of the Professorial Psychiatry Unit at Albert Road Clinic. He is a former President of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Immediate past President of the Asian Federation of Psychiatric Associations and the Chair of the Interim Regional Mental Health and Well Being Board for North East Melbourne. He has a long track record in psychiatric research and in 2022 was awarded the RANZCP College Medal of Honour.
Prof. Kate Hoy
Prof. Kate Hoy
The Bionics Institute is an internationally recognised, independent medical research institute that solves medical challenges with technology. The Institute leads the world in the research and development of innovative medical devices and therapies to improve human health.
Mr. Greg Humble
Mr. Greg Humble
Greg Humble joins MAGNET form the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne as the Clinical Trial Coordinator for Kite; a MAGNET signature multi-site trial investigating the potential benefits of ketamine in bipolar disorder. Greg works closely with Prof. Chris Davey and Dr. Orli Schwartz to oversee all aspects of the Kite trial. Previous research interests includes non-invasing brain stimulation technologies and EEG neuro-imaging.
Greg holds an honours degree in Physiology/Neuroscience from Monash University and an honours degree in Fine Arts from the Victorian College of the Arts (the University of Melbourne).
Dr. Ravi Iyer
Dr. Ravi Iyer
Ravi is a member of the Centre for Mental Health and the Department of Health Science and Biostatistics. Ravi’s PhD work has been in the area of voice analytics used to detect suicide risk in telehealth callers. Ravi’s core interests include the design and analysis of clinical data.
Prof. Felice Jacka
Prof. Felice Jacka
Felice Jacka OAM is Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry, Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, and founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research. Professor Jacka has been responsible for the development of the highly innovative field of ‘Nutritional Psychiatry’, establishing diet as a risk factor and treatment target for common mental disorders. The results of the studies she has led have been highly influential, being cited in more than 80 policy documents globally (e.g. WHO, UNICEF) and influencing clinical guidelines in psychiatry in Australia and elsewhere.
She is widely recognized as international leader in the field of Nutritional Psychiatry research. She is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher (2020 and 2021), putting her in the top 0.1% of publishing scientists worldwide for impact. In 2021 she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her services to Nutritional Psychiatry.
A/Prof. Mahesh Jayaram
A/Prof. Mahesh Jayaram
A/Prof Mahesh Jayaram leads all Graduate teaching programs including the Master of Psychiatry course at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne. He is also Co-ordinating editor for Cochrane Schizophrenia. He co-ordinates both the on-campus and online Masters of Psychiatry (MPsych) course. The on-campus course is one of the oldest and most successful courses in Australia.
Since 2015, he has been instrumental in designing, developing, marketing and coordinating the running of the online MPsych course along with other colleagues within the University of Melbourne and this course is now widely regarded as the most successful psychiatry training course in Australia and is accredited as a Formal Education Course by the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP).
Ms. Preet Kaur
Ms. Preet Kaur
Preet is a member of the Centre for Mental Health and Department of Health Science at Swinburne University. Preet has a background in Psychology, extensive experience in the disability sector and administration across government, not for profit and private sectors within Australia. She has a keen interest in holistic mental health wellness approaches and the inter-relatedness of physiology and psychology.
Prof. Frances Kay-Lambkin
Prof. Frances Kay-Lambkin
Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin is a registered Psychologist and mental health researcher. She holds a number of concurrent leadership roles including interim Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Innovation at the University of Newcastle and Director for the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (PREMISE). Professor Kay-Lambkin’s research program has been instrumental in demonstrating the transformative impact of digital technologies in bringing integrated treatments to the point of care for people with mental health and substance use problems.
Over the past 15 years I have worked in a clinical research capacity with people experiencing a range of mental health and alcohol and other drug use problems. These include: psychotic disorders, depression, personality disorders and anxiety.
Prof. Catherine Kaylor-Hughes
Prof. Catherine Kaylor-Hughes
Cath is currently working within the Mental Health Research Program and The ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation within the Department of General Practice at the University of Melbourne. Cath is a neuroscientist, specialising in mental health in primary and secondary health services research, through mixed methods studies that include MR Imaging and Randomised Controlled Intervention Trials.
Cath’s main expertise is in the design and steering of pragmatic complex intervention trials with research outcomes that can be implemented into practice in a timely way.
Prof. Jayashri Kulkarni
Prof. Jayashri Kulkarni
Professor Kulkarni is an internationally recognised expert in Women’s Mental Health and has conducted clinical trials in psychiatry for the past 32 years. In 2019, she was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) for her services to Psychiatry.
She has a current level 3 leadership NHMRC Investigator grant since 2020 for research in ‘Women’s Mental Health ‘ and served on the peak Research Committee for NHMRC. In 2021, she developed and launched Australia’s first women’s mental health hospital as part of Cabrini Health. In October 2022, Professor Kulkarni launched HER Centre Australia – a Monash University Centre in the Health, Education and Research of women’s mental health.
Prof. Jim Lagopoulos
Prof. Jim Lagopoulos
Jim is an internationally recognised expert in neuroimaging and has established three Australian research centres that explore innovative approaches to brain health. Jim is passionate about translating research discoveries into real-word treatments. His research delves into novel approaches to mental health, with a focus on, suicide prevention, youth mental health, healthy brain aging anf post-traumatic stress disorder. As a researcher, Jim has published more than 300 peer-reviewed articles in prestigious international journals (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Alzheimer’s and Dementia and Progress in Neurobiology) with more than 10,000 citations.
A/Prof. Vinay Lakra
A/Prof. Vinay Lakra
Vinay is the President of the Royal Australiana and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. He is the Divisional Director of mental health services at Northern Health. He has worked in a range of clinical and administrative roles over the last decade including as Deputy Chief Psychiatrist of Victoria. Through his roles he has continued to support and advance research in Psychiatry and mental health. His area of interest and expertise includes the interface of physical health and mental illness besides data driven research to make improvements in the health system.
Prof. Colleen Loo
Prof. Colleen Loo
Professor Colleen Loo is a clinical psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales and Black Dog Institute, Sydney; Australia. She is an internationally recognised clinical expert and researcher in the field of ECT, ketamine and novel brain stimulation treatments (rTMS, tDCS) for depression. Her research spans laboratory neuroscience, clinical research and clinical trials. She has contributed to Australian and international treatment guidelines and policy.
Mr. Harry Lovelock
Mr. Harry Lovelock
Mr Harry Lovelock is the Director of Research and Policy at Mental Health Australia. He has been working in the mental health sector for over the past 30 years working in state government and profession-based organisations developing high-level policy and managing major initiatives in the disability, community and mental health sectors. Mr Lovelock leads the Mental Health Australia Policy and Research team that develops evidence-based policy advice to the Australian Government on a range of mental health related matter and is an expert adviser on a number of Australian Government and mental health sector policy and research committees.
Prof. Daniel Lubman
Prof. Daniel Lubman
Professor Dan Lubman AM has worked across mental health and drug treatment settings in the UK and Australia. He is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow, and haspublished over 500 major reports, peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, and was Chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ (RANZCP) Faculty of Addiction Psychiatry for over a decade.
Professor Dan Lubman AM’s research interests include mapping trends and harms related to alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs and gambling; improving help-seeking for alcohol, drug and gambling issues; the neurobiology of addiction and neurocognitive interventions; the impact of alcohol and drugs on adolescent brain development; comorbid mental health, gambling and substance use disorders; school-based interventions and clinical treatment trials for problem alcohol, drug and gambling issue; and recovery and the role of social networks.
Prof. Sarah Maguire
Prof. Sarah Maguire
Prof Sarah Maguire(BScPsych Hons, MA, DCP, PhD) is a clinical psychologist, researcher, educator, and policy maker with 20 years’ experience in the field of eating disorders. A/Professor Maguire has worked in hospital and community settings, supervised clinical teams and trainees, is a specialist clinical trainer and board approved supervisor. She was awarded her PhD in 2009, received the AH Martin Prize for outstanding doctoral student during her tenure, and completed her post-doctoral training at the University of Chicago.
She is a senior advisor to NSW Ministry of Health and her institute leads the implementation of NSW Health Policy as it relates to eating disorders across the state including large scale health system reform under the NSW Service Plan for Eating Disorders 2021-2025. She sits on national level committees for health service reform including the Medicare working group for eating disorders.
Prof. Gin Malhi
Prof. Gin Malhi
Professor Gin (Gurjhinder) Singh Malhi holds a Psychiatry Chair within The University of Sydney. He is the Executive and Clinical Director of the CADE Clinic and is based at the Northern Clinical School as the Head of the Academic Department of Psychiatry within Royal North Shore Hospital. Having obtained a degree in Pharmacology and a subsequent medical degree in the UK he completed his general psychiatry training in Cambridge and gained Membership of the United Kingdom Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1996.
He then completed his specialist psychiatry training at the Bethlem and Maudsley Hospitals in London and as a Clinical Lecturer began mood disorders research at the Institute of Psychiatry (UK) in London.
Ms. Angela Markus
Ms. Angela Markus
Angela joins MAGNET holding the roles of Secretariat and Marketing and Communications Officer. Angela has a background in communications, business development and governance support across corporate and not for profit industries in Australian and the United Kingdom.
Prof. Nicholas Martin
Prof. Nicholas Martin
Nick Martin graduated with honours in Genetics from the University of Adelaide in 1972 and obtained his PhD in genetics at the University of Birmingham. In 1978 he returned to a Research Fellowship at the Australian National University where he founded the Australian Twin Registry. After 3 years in the US he returned in 1986 to the Queensland Institute of Medical Research where he heads the Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory and continues longitudinal studies with twins of a wide range of complex traits of medical and behavioural interest. Most recently he has initiated projects to recruit large patient samples for GWAS of anorexia, depression and other psychiatric and neurologic disorders. He has published over 1500 papers and is a fellow of the Australian academies of Science, Social Science, and Health and Medical Science.
Ms. Eileen McDonald
Ms. Eileen McDonald
Eileen is a Lived Experience Consultant and Advocate, engaged in local, state and national levels in health, mental health and disability policy reform, education and research for more than 35 years. She is a member of the National Mental Health Consumer & Carer Forum and lived experience member on national and local, community and government, clinical, educational and research committees and expert advisory groups.
Eileen is a Lived Experience Representative on the MAGNET Steering Committee & Operations Group and the HARMON-E Clinical Trial Steering Committee. Eileen is dedicated to embedding the diversity of lived experience consumer and family/ carer leadership and engagement to inform research design through to outcome translation in all aspects of health and mental health research, through authentic partnership and equitable collaboration.
Prof. Peter McEvoy
Prof. Peter McEvoy
Peter McEvoy is a professor within the School of Population Health and the mental health domain co-lead within the enAble Institute, Curtin University. He is also a senior clinical psychologist and research director at the Centre for Clinical Interventions. His research focuses on assessment of, and psychological interventions for, a range of emotional disorders. He also conducts mental health cohort studies of at risk populations.
Prof. Patrick McGorry
Prof. Patrick McGorry
Pat is a psychiatrist known world-wide for his development and scaling up of early intervention and youth mental health services and for mental health innovation, advocacy and reform. He is Professor of Youth Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, and founding editor of the journal Early Intervention in Psychiatry. He led the advocacy which resulted in the establishment by the Australian Government in 2005 of the National Youth Mental Health Foundation, which in 2006 became Headspace and he remains a founding board member of that organisation.
Prof. John McGrath
Prof. John McGrath
John McGrath is a psychiatrist interested in discovering the causes of serious mental disorders. He is the Director of the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and conjoint Professor at the Queensland Brain Institute His research aims to generate and evaluate nongenetic risk factors for schizophrenia. He has forged productive cross-disciplinary collaborations linking risk factor epidemiology with developmental neurobiology. For example, John and his colleagues have made discoveries linking prenatal vitamin D and later risk of mental illness in the offspring.
In addition, John has supervised major systematic reviews of the epidemiology of schizophrenia, and studies mapping comorbidity in those with mental disorders. He was awarded a John Cade Fellowship by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and a Niels Bohr Professorship by the Danish National Research Foundation. He has been awarded the Erik Stromgren Medal and the Lieber Prize for Outstanding Schizophrenia Research.
A/Prof. Rebecca McKetin
A/Prof. Rebecca McKetin
Associate Professor McKetin leads a program of research on stimulant use epidemiology and interventions at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW. Her work includes conducting clinical trials of novel interventions for people who use methamphetamine. Further details can be found here.
Prof. Denny Meyer
Prof. Denny Meyer
Denny is a Professor of Statistics at the Swinburne University of Technology. Her primary research interests relate to the design and analysis of mental health data, with a particular focus on suicide prevention. She is a member of the Centre for Mental Health and the Department of Health Science and Biostatistics.
Prof. Catherine Mihalopoulos
Prof. Catherine Mihalopoulos
Professor Cathy Mihalopoulos is the inaugural Head of the Division of Health Economics in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University. Her major field of research interest is the economics of mental health and psychosocial care, with a special focus on economic evaluation and associated methodologies. She has over 200 publications in this area and has been a named investigator on grants, tenders and consultancies totalling over $75 million dollars.
Dr. Stephanie Miles
Dr. Stephanie Miles
Dr Miles is a research fellow at Orygen and The University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on eating disorders, cognitive and psychological factors, and early intervention. Dr Miles contributed to the development of the MAGNET Assessment Platform and associated training resources.
Dr. Michael Millard
Dr. Michael Millard
Mike is the Clinical Director of the Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression (CRUfAD) at St Vincent’s Hospital and the University of NSW. He is a psychiatrist who specialises in youth and adult mood and anxiety conditions, including sub-speciality skills in psychotherapy, neurostimulation, innovative pharmacological treatments and the application of health technology. Mike has particular expertise in digital mental health and is the Director of ThisWayUp.org.au, a leading evidenced based provider of digital mental health and well-being services.
Prof. Katherine Mills
Prof. Katherine Mills
Professor Katherine Mills is Director of Early Intervention and Treatment Research at The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use. Her awarding winning program of work focuses on improving our understanding of the relationship between mental and substance use disorders, evaluating innovative treatment approaches, and improving the translation of research into practice. In particular, Prof Mills’ work focuses on the challenging area of post traumatic stress disorder and substance use. She is recognised as a leader in the field and has published and presented widely in the area.
Prof. Greg Murray
Prof. Greg Murray
Professor Greg Murray conducts research into mood disorders, circadian rhythms, and personality. He is ranked in the top 1% of researchers worldwide in each of these fields, and is recognised as a world expert in bipolar disorder (top 0.1%, Expertscape.com). After a first career in music, he took out his PhD from University of Melbourne in 2001, and has been a full Professor at Swinburne since 2011.
A/Prof. Amanda Neil
A/Prof. Amanda Neil
Amanda is a health economist and Associate Professor at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania. Amanda established the Menzies’ Mental Health & Wellbeing Research Group in 2019. She is an AI on MAGNET, the Health Economics Lead for the ALIVE National Centre for Mental Health Research Translation, and Tasmanian Representative on the Society for Mental Health Research Executive Committee.
Prof. Mark Nelson
Prof. Mark Nelson
Mark is Professor and Chair, Discipline of General Practice, and Senior Member, Menzies Research Institute for Medical Research, both at the University of Tasmania, and an Adjunct Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University. He is in general practice in Lindisfarne, Tasmania and is a past president of the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care. His research interests are around large-scale clinical trials in health ageing, including mental health.
Dr. Fiona Nemeh
Dr. Fiona Nemeh
Fiona Nemeh is a Senior Project Officer at the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA). After completing a PhD in Neuropsychology at the University of Melbourne, Fiona joined ACTA in 2020. Since then, she has worked with new and emerging Clinical Trial Networks (CTNs) to support the establishment of efficient, effective, and sustainable CTNs in areas of major importance to public health.
Prof. Chee Ng
Prof. Chee Ng
Chee Ng is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne and Healthscope Chair of Psychiatry at The Melbourne Clinic. He is also Director of WHO Collaborating Centre in Mental Health at St Vincent’s Melbourne. He is President of the Pacific Rim College of Psychiatrists and the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Asia-Pacific Psychiatry Journal.
Prof. Meaghan O’Donnell
Prof. Meaghan O’Donnell
Professor Meaghan O’Donnell is the Head of Research at the Phoenix Australia, Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne. She has published widely in the area of posttraumatic mental health. She is the Research Director of the Phoenix Australia Traumatic Research Clinic, which tests new and emerging treatments to promote recovery following trauma exposure.
Prof. Adrienne O’Neil
Prof. Adrienne O’Neil
Adrienne is an NHMRC Emerging Leader (2) and Professor and Co-Director at the Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University. She is a behavioural scientists who is leading the HARMON-E clinical trial which seeks to evaluate whether lifestyle-based mental health care for mood disorders is as good as gold standard talk therapy.
Prof. Richard Osborne
Prof. Richard Osborne
Richard Osborne is Distinguished Professor of Health Sciences and Director, Centre for Global Health and Equity. He holds a prestigious NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship (2019-23), is an adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), and is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (2021 and 2018 top 1% most influential researcher globally). Professor Osborne and his team have an exceptional track record in building new methods and tools that are implemented globally to serve Public Health, Healthcare, Digital Health and Policy sectors. These outputs include measurement tools (e.g., HLQ, eHLQ, heiQ, MAPT, CHAT) that enable improvements in health and community services to reduce health inequalities.
He led the development of the Ophelia (Optimising Health Literacy and Access) process which is applied in many parts of the world, including within WHO National Health Literacy Demonstration Projects (NHLDPs).
Prof. Christos Pantelis
Prof. Christos Pantelis
Professor Christos Pantelis is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow, Foundation Professor of Neuropsychiatry and Scientific Director of the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre at The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health.
He holds an Honorary Professorial Fellow position at the Florey Institute for Neuroscience & Mental Health and heads the Adult Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit at Sunshine Hospital.
Prof. Andrea Phillipou
Prof. Andrea Phillipou
Andrea is a Principal Research Fellow in Eating Disorders at Orygen and the University of Melbourne. Her research takes a biopsychosocial approach to better understanding, treating and preventing eating disorders.
Prof. Saxby Pridmore
Prof. Saxby Pridmore
Professor Christopher Reid
Professor Christopher Reid
Professor Christopher Reid is a distinguished cardiovascular epidemiologist and clinical trialist, serving as a Research Professor at Monash University and Curtin University. In 2022, he was reappointed as a John Curtin Distinguished Professor and currently directs the Monash and Curtin Centres for Cardiovascular Research and Education (CCRE). Professor Reid has secured over $178M in funding and has maintained NHMRC support since 2001. His research focuses on clinical outcome registries, randomized controlled trials, and epidemiological cohort studies. He was the Founding Chair for the Australian and New Zealand Alliance for Cardiovascular Trials (ANZACT) network and currently Board Chair of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA).
Prof. Anthony Rodgers
Prof. Anthony Rodgers
Professor Rodgers trained in medicine, public health and epidemiology and is Professor of Global Health at The George Institute for Global Health and of Clinical Epidemiology at Imperial College. His 30 years of experience in clinical trials, public-private partnerships and innovation has included being an investigator on over fifty clinical trials in diverse areas including cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment, nutrition, exercise, addiction and mental health.
Prof. Susan Rossell
Prof. Susan Rossell
Susan Rossell is Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow at Swinburne University, Melbourne. Her research has focused on understanding the cognitive impairments involved in psychosis, mood disorders and body-image related disorders, aiming to develop new interventions for these debilitating cognitive symptoms.
Prof. Jessica Roydhouse
Prof. Jessica Roydhouse
Jessica is a Select Foundation Senior Research Fellow in Health Services Research at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania. Her research interests include clinical trials and patient-reported outcomes. She is an AI on MAGNET and a member of committees/working parties for different collaborative cancer clinical trials groups in Australia.
Dr. Sarah Russell
Dr. Sarah Russell
Sarah trained as a critical care nurse before completing a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) and a PhD at the University of Melbourne. She has been the principal researcher at Research Matters since 1999. Her work focuses on public health, mental health, ethics and aged care.
Dr. Orli Schwartz
Dr. Orli Schwartz
Orli is Clinical Research Co-ordinator at the Department of Psychiatry, the University of Melbourne and is a clinical psychologist. Her research has focused on understanding the onset, prevention and treatment of depressive disorders. She has a particular interest in novel treatment approaches to depression and has experience in clinical trial co-ordination.
Dr. Clinton Shultz
Dr. Clinton Shultz
Gamilaraay man Dr Clinton Schultz has joined the MAGNET Operations Group advising on First Nations inclusion. Clinton is the Director of First Nations Strategy and Partnerships at Blackdog. Dr Schultz joined Black Dog Institute in May 2022. Clinton is a registered psychologist with a keen interest in holistic wellness for First Nations peoples. Clinton’s PhD is titled: Winanga-li-gu (Higher order listening), Guwaa-li-gu (higher order speaking), Maruma-li-gu (higher order healing) Factors of holistic wellbeing for members of the Aboriginal health and community workforce. Clinton received the award for academic excellence in a thesis from Griffith University for this work in 2020. He was the Indigenous Allied Health Association (IAHA) Professional of the year in 2019 and the Griffith University First Nations Alumni of the year in 2018.
Prof. Dan Siskind
Prof. Dan Siskind
Dan trained as a psychiatrist in Australia and the United States. He works clinically as a psychiatrist in Brisbane, Australia with people with treatment refractory schizophrenia. His research interests include treatment refractory schizophrenia, clozapine and the physical health comorbidities associated with schizophrenia. He has over 200 publications and over $40million in competitive research grants.
Prof. Tony Stevenson
Prof. Tony Stevenson
Tony has more than 30 years experience in the non-profit sector. As a visionary leader, he strives to promote organisational growth, cohesive operations, effective communications, positive outcomes and staff engagement. Tony is experienced in business management. Through extensive strategic planning, he works alongside leadership staff to develop and achieve meaningful outcomes across the organisation.
Prof. Suresh Sundram
Prof. Suresh Sundram
Professor Suresh Sundram is the Chair and Head of the Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University; Director of Research, Mental Health Program, Monash Health; and Clinical Director, Cabrini Outreach. He leads the Translational Molecular Psychiatry Research Program which uses a bedside to bench and back philosophy to discover new molecules and genes of relevance to the major psychiatric disorders. In addition, he co-supervises the Clinical Psychedelic Research Laboratory and is co-Chair of the Monash Partners Neuroscience and Mental Health Theme.
Dr. Scott Teasdale
Dr. Scott Teasdale
Dr Teasdale is a senior research fellow with the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, UNSW Sydney based within the Mindgardens Neuroscience Network. He has clinical experience as a mental health dietitian in a public mental health service. His research program focuses on translational/implementation research for the physical health of people living with mental illness.
Prof. Maree Teesson
Prof. Maree Teesson
Professor Maree Teesson AC is Director of the Matilda Centre, Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Prevention and Early Intervention in Mental Illness and Substance Use (PREMISE), and an NHMRC Leadership Fellow at the University of Sydney. Maree is Chair of Australia’s Mental Health Think Tank and Chair of the Million Minds Mental Health Research Mission Expert Advisory Panel.
Maree is a Former National Mental Health Commissioner (2018-2021), an Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences. Maree was announced as a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day 2018 Honours List, awarded a Westpac/Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence (Innovation), and awarded an Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Outstanding Mentor of Young Researchers.
Maree has made a major contribution to Australia’s health and medical research effort in the field of mental health and substance use. In particular, she is known nationally and internationally for her research on the comorbidity between mental health and substance use disorders.
A/Prof. Neil Thomas
A/Prof. Neil Thomas
Neil is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Director of the National eTherapy Centre at Swinburne University of Technology, and Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Alfred Health. He conducts research on psychosocial interventions for adult mental health problems, spanning the use of psychotherapies, online and mobile interventions, virtual reality, and peer support.
Prof. Stephen Touyz
Prof. Stephen Touyz
My major research interests are in the areas of clinical psychology, psychiatry, neuropsychology and behavioural medicine. I have gained strong international recognition for studies reporting on body image disturbance in patients with anorexia and bulimia nervosa as well as specific aspects relating to the treatment of these disorders.
Dr. Viet Tran
Dr. Viet Tran
Viet is an Emergency Physician at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Director of Emergency Medicine Research at the Royal Hobart Hospital and chair of TASER – the Tasmanian Emergency Medicine Research Group as part of the University of Tasmania. His research interests centre on emergency medicine and critically ill patients and therefore encompass a wide range of health-related themes including health service innovation, critical care, low value care and registry data maintenance.
Prof. Alyna Turner
Prof. Alyna Turner
Alyna is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of TRIALS and the Clinical Trials and Innovations theme at the Institute for Innovations in Mental and Physical Health And Clinical Translation (IMPACT) at the School of Medicine, Deakin University. Alyna is a clinical psychologist, and her research focuses on treatments for mental health and comorbid conditions, including substance use and cardiovascular disease.
Prof. Svetha Venkatesh
Prof. Svetha Venkatesh
Svetha Venkatesh is an ARC Australian Laureate Fellow, Alfred Deakin Professor and Co-Director of Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute (A2I2) at Deakin University. Professor Venkatesh and her team have tackled a wide range of problems of social significance, including the critical areas of autism, security and aged care. The outcomes have impacted the community and evolved into publications, patents, tools and spin-off companies. This includes three full patents, one start-up company (icetana) and two significant products – TOBY Playpad, Virtual Observer.
Prof. Tracey Wade
Prof. Tracey Wade
Tracey Wade has worked as a clinician and researcher in eating disorders for over 30 years. In 2015 she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia; in 2019 she was a recipient of the Australia and New Zealand Academy of Eating Disorders Distinguished Achievement Award; in 2020 she was the recipient of the Academy of Eating Disorders Outstanding Clinician Award. She is the director of the Flinders University Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing, the Blackbird Initiative, and the Flinders University Services for Eating Disorders (FUSED). Her research is focussed on developing interventions for people with eating disorders, as well as for people with clinical perfectionism, across prevention, early intervention, and treatment.
Prof. Ken Walder
Prof. Ken Walder
Prof Ken Walder is Chair of Metabolic Diseases in the School of Medicine and C0-Director of IMPACT Institute. His research focuses on mental health disorders and ME/CFS, and on the discovery of novel treatments for these diseases. Previous work in his laboratory has identified methazolamide as a new treatment option for type 2 diabetes, and trimetazidine for the treatment of bipolar disorder.
Dr. Adam Walker
Dr. Adam Walker
Adam is a postdoctoral researcher with the TRIALS team at Deakin University and Barwon Health’s Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT). Awarded the 2021–2022 Trisno Family Fellowship, generously endowed by the Trisno Family, Adam is investigating blood-based biological markers of treatment-response in several randomised control trials for psychiatric disorders.
Prof. Philip Ward
Prof. Philip Ward
Use of functional and structural brain imaging to investigate schizophrenia and first episode psychosis, including risk factors such as cannabis use. Research using MRI, ERPs and neuropsychological testing to study auditory sensory memory function in young people at increased risk for the development of psychosis. Collaborative research with colleragues at KU Leuven (Belgium), Kings College London (UK), Universidade Federale de Santa Maria (Brazil), Kyambogo University (Uganda) and University of Sydney. Recent research interests include brain plasticity in neuropsychiatry, efficacy of computerised cognitive remediation training in schizophrenia, and lifestyle interventions to improve physical and mental health outcomes in first episode psychosis and established severe mental illness.
Prof. Steve Webb
Prof. Steve Webb
Steve Webb is the Chair of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance, a Professor of Critical Care Research at Monash University, and Group Director of Research for St John of God. Healthcare. He has had a leadership role in clinical trials, across a range of disease- and discipline areas, with an accumulated sample size of more than 60,000 patients. The results of these trials have been incorporated into international guidelines and into clinical practice, saving and improving lives.
Prof. Naomi Wray
Prof. Naomi Wray
The Wray laboratory focusses on understanding the genetic contribution to psychiatric and neurological disorders. The group specialises in applying new analytical methods of genomic data to provide insights into these complex disorders, with an ultimate goal to improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatments. The lab plays a key role in the international Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and Prof Wray co-leads the sporadic ALS Australia systems genomics consortium (SALSA), funded by the IceBucket Challenge.
Mr. Matt Wright
Mr. Matt Wright
Matt is Partner at Deloitte Access Economics, responsible for leading their significant contributions to schooling policies, programs and systems. He brings more than a decade of leadership in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of some of Australia’s most significant and contemporary education, training and labour market assistance initiatives.
Matt is also Deloitte’s Lead Partner for Education in Victoria. Through this Matt leads a multidisciplinary team of Partners across Victorian education clients, spanning considerations of technology, human capital, procurement, risk and assurance.
Matt brings a proven ability to lead long-term monitoring and evaluation. This includes 10-years running with Many Rivers, 8 years running in Victorian schooling, and 5 years running at McAuley Community Services for Women, among other 5+ year assignments that Matt has recently commenced. The continuity of those assignments has taught Matt a lot about how to establish a Learning Organisation, as well as the patience that evidence-based policy demands.
Prof. Murat Yücel
Prof. Murat Yücel
Yücel is an AHPRA registered Clinical Neuropsychologist currently appointed as a Professorial Fellow at Monash University (2013-current). He is the Founding Director of BrainPark. Concurrently, Yücel has held an appointment within the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) fellowship scheme (2007-2021). He is a Clarivate HiCi researcher (ie, in the top 0.1% of all researchers globally), a merit that he has achieved in 6 of the past 8 years (2015, 2017-20, 2022). To date, he has helped obtain >$70M in research funding, which has led to ~400 peer-reviewed publications and >35K citations (h-index = 108). His work cuts across academia, industry, enterprise, clinical, community, government, and philanthropy.
His work combines neuroscience with lifestyle and technology to drive immersive interventions and a new generation of tools that enable engaging and effective monitoring and enhancement of brain health.
Prof. Alison Yung
Prof. Alison Yung
Alison Yung is Associate Director, Graduate Research at Orygen; Professor of Psychiatry and NHMRC Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne; and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manchester. She has held positions as Professor and Consultant Psychiatrist at Orygen Research Centre and the Centre for Youth Mental Health.
In 2012 she moved to take up a Professorship at the University of Manchester, UK. She returned to Melbourne in late 2018 to and now holds an NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship.
Prof. John Zalcberg
Prof. John Zalcberg
Professor John Zalcberg was the Director, Division of Cancer Medicine, at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre for 17 years prior to taking up the position of Professor of Cancer Research in the School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine at Monash University in 2014. Professor Zalcbergs clinical research interests include gastrointestinal cancer and new drug development, and he has published more than 230 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He was a Principal Investigator for the EORTC advanced GIST trial in Australia and continues an active involvement in trials in this disease as well as other GI cancers. He continues an active clinical practice in GI cancer.
Prof. Sophia Zoungas
Prof. Sophia Zoungas
Professor Sophia Zoungas is an endocrinologist and a leading clinician scientist and trialist. She is Head of the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University and Professor of Diabetes, Vascular Health and Ageing. Her research focus is on the generation and implementation of evidence for the prevention, screening and management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and its complications of kidney and cardiovascular disease.
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