Neurobiologist, Sydney Horizon and Al & Val Rosenstrauss Senior Fellow, Head, MINDS Lab 

2019 NSW Tall Poppy, 2017 Forbes 30 under 30, TEDx speaker, and former fellow of the NHMRC, International Brain Research Organisation, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Currently supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC), Australian Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Rebecca Cooper Medical Research Foundation, and the Network of European Funding for Neuroscience Research (ERA-NET Neuron).

Recent media appearances:
The Weekend Australian April 15 2023, Feature in the Inquirer
Triple RRR Radio Einstein A-Go-Go March 2023

Research overview

I have spent over a decade specialising in neuroscience and the examination of the human brain (surgically resected and postmortem) to understand the workings of the human brain at a resolution not possible in the living. My lab harnesses the exclusive value of postmortem brain tissue to determine how the molecular and cellular landscape of the brain changes in brain illnesses in order to find better treatments.

My research comprises two major arms:

1. Uncovering the cellular and molecular architecture of the human brain at unprecedented resolution

Despite that humans have been studying the brain since the 18th century, we still do not fully understand the different cell types that comprise the brain and how they contribute to brain function. My lab is dedicated to performing fundamental neuroscience research to help us systematically understand the building blocks of the neurotypical brain. We use single-cell sequencing and spatially resolved multi-omics approaches to study brain cells at individual cell resolution, and to characterise newly discovered cell subtypes at both the molecular and morphological level. We are currently focusing on characterising novel glial subtypes and adult human neurogenesis – the brain’s putative intrinsic ability to birth new neurons in adulthood.

2. Understanding the pathology of psychiatric illnesses

The brain biology of psychiatric illness – the leading cause of disability worldwide – is poorly understood yet essential for development of new and effective drug treatments. My research program has provided major insights into the brain biology of psychiatric illnesses, influencing industry partners, international researchers, and clinicians to drive drug discovery and inform human clinical trials. We have a special focus on understanding the neurobiology of stress, which is the strongest environmental risk factor for the development of psychiatric disorders. My work has uncovered more than 20 genes and proteins affected in depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. I am currently using novel genomic tools to discover new ways to classify patients’ underlying pathology and biological processes to develop personalised medicine approaches for the field of psychiatry. We undertake this research using cutting-edge genetic and molecular experimental analysis approaches in ex vivo human brain tissue as well as through our clinical refugee research program, TRIP (The Refugee Intervention Project).

My work involves collaboration with world-leaders at research institutes, universities and brain banks spanning Australia, Canada, Germany, Iceland, Sweden, and the USA. My work has been featured in the The Guardian.

Wikipedia
Google Scholar
MINDS Lab website

Career trajectory

After receiving my PhD in Neuroscience at UOW and early postdoc training at UNSW, I received an Overseas Biomedical NHMRC Fellowship (CJ Martin) to undertake advanced postdoctoral training at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich with Prof Elisabeth Binder, a global leader in psychiatry, stress and genetics. I developed highly specialised expertise in bulk/single-cell/spatially resolved next generation sequencing methods and state-of-the-art histology approaches which I apply to the analysis of postmortem human brain tissues. This provided me with the capability to innovate in postmortem brain research to address neuroscience’s most pressing questions. I returned to Australia joining the University of Wollongong in 2018 to establish my independent research laboratory. Since January 2024, I am an inaugural Sydney Horizon Fellow at the University of Sydney, Faculty of Medicine and Health and the School of Medical Sciences.

Mentoring the next generation

I am committed to promoting and retaining researchers from marginalised groups as well as early career researchers. My blog contains articles to aimed at helping early career researchers and researchers who are mothers of young children.

Outreach

I believe that for research to be truly impactful, it must be communicated outside of the lab, clearly and transparently. I have made significant efforts to make my research accessible to the broader community via my many science outreach activities. These include my science blog, my Twitter and Instagram feeds, writing for The Conversation and providing scientific expertise for ABC Radio and other online and print media (e.g., The Guardian and Nature Blogs). I regularly participate in community outreach programs to promote awareness of mental illness as well as supporting high school students to pursue STEM careers.  I advocate for the responsibility of all scientists to communicate their findings to the public. When given the TEDx stage in Hamburg, rather than promoting my research, I used this platform to encourage other scientists to communicate their research.

In the media:

UOW Young Alumni Award October, 2023
The Weekend Australian April 15 2023, Feature in the Inquirer
The Australian April 2 2023 
Triple RRR Radio Einstein A-Go-Go March 2023
The Illawarra Mercury March 2022
The Guardian February 2019
Illawarra Mercury August 2019
ABC Illawarra Radio September 2018
TEDx Hamburg, “Rock the Boat” June 2017
Australian Academy of Science: Feature Story
Forbes Austria, May 2017
NHMRC In Focus, March 2017
Women in STEM Podcast, Angry Bean May 2017
“The Stress Scientist” UOW The Stand, March 2017
Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe, Science and Healthcare: profile
Illawarra Mercury January 2017
University of Wollongong Media January 2017