Mental Health

Rebecca Sheriff is a Full Editor for the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group a global independent collaborative network producing high quality systematic reviews (since 2013). She is a member of the Advisory board for the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (since 2013). Rebecca is also a board certified Consultant Psychiatrist both in the UK (since 2009) and in Australia (since 2015). Rebecca recently completed research on risky driving in the military which has been published in the BMJ Open she has presented at multiple national and international conferences and is regularly invited to peer review work for academic journals and funding organisations. Rebecca has authored/coauthored over 15 peer reviewed papers and chapters.

Ivana Kihas began working as a Research Assistant at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC) in May 2013. She has worked across three research projects: a post-marketing surveillance study of Suboxone-film, an opioid substitution treatment; a prospective cohort study examining non-medical use of pharmaceutical opioids and related harms; and on a randomised control trial investigating the efficacy of a Behavioural Activation Treatment for co-occurring depression and substance use disorder.

Ivana completed a B.Sc. Psychology (Honours) in 2012 at Macquarie University. Her thesis explored the effects of letter confusability on visual word recognition. Between 2012 and 2014, Ivana also worked at the Emotional Health Clinic (Macquarie University) as a Research Assistant on the Cool Kids Stepped Care Program study, working with children, adolescents and their parents to help them overcome anxiety.

Bryan became interested in mental health through his studies in psychology. Bryan has conducted courses and workshops in mental health and illness for the past 7 years. More recently Bryan founded, and is the director of a small business on the Sunshine Coast providing psychoeducation to the community in an effort to raise people’s mental health literacy leading to better intra and inter-personal responses to mental health challenges.

In 2018, Bryan implemented multi-week stand up paddle board programs for people with mental health conditions – increasing physical activity, social engagement, skills and self-efficacy, and engagement with nature.

I am a Ramindjeri man who has spent most of my adult life living and working on Kaurna land (Adelaide). My interest in Aboriginal health and education came primarily out of the unanswered questions I had growing up. I say ‘unanswered’ because the mainstream schooling system and curriculum in the 70s and 80s was ill-equipped to answer the questions I had, let alone address the gamut of Aboriginal issues. Regardless, for an Aboriginal kid at the time, I am the first to admit that I had somewhat of a privileged education that was supported by my loving parents. My non-Aboriginal father was a dedicated high school teacher, and my Aboriginal mother had passionately devoted herself to working in Aboriginal early childhood education.

My name is Harry Dempsey and I grew up in Melbourne. In primary school, I loved making video games. In secondary school, I played the clarinet and piano and competed in lawn bowls and fencing competitions. During this time, I also fell in love with science which motivated me to study science, so I enrolled in a double degree of Biomedical Science and Physics at Monash University. I knew I wanted to become a researcher, but I was not sure which scientific field to pursue. Over time, I became fascinated by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. I noticed that problems, previously thought to be unsolvable, were cracked in the span of just a few years using AI. I love coding in the same way I enjoyed making video games when I was in primary school, so I decided to pursue a PhD where I will use machine learning to crack problems in mental health research.

After completing a Graduate Diploma of Professional Psychology at Monash University in 2017, I decided to take a break from studying and gain some work experience. This led me to working in a sports rehabilitation centre before becoming a Teaching Associate for undergraduate psychology at Monash University in 2019. It was here that I developed my passion for education and decided to pursue a career in research and education. This encouraged me to complete a research internship at the Danny Frawley Centre in 2022, which provided me with essential skills in research and data analysis. In 2023 I continued my studies by becoming a PhD candidate, exploring the mental health of retired athletes.

Jordan completed her Master of Biomedical Science in 2017 from the University of Melbourne (UoM), where her project looked at utilising adult stem cells to prevent and treat heart failure in patients following myocardial infarction. Following this, she worked as a Junior Research Assistant at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, establishing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines and optic cup organoids from patients with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma.

With a background in Information Technology in the corporate world, Phillipa changed careers around 2015, delving into the world of natural therapies. Building upon a passion for helping others, Phillipa completed a Graduate Diploma in Psychology at Monash University in 2021 and went on to undertake an honours degree in Psychological Sciences at Swinburne University in 2022. During her honours degree, Phillipa discovered a passion for research that was nurtured by her supervisors.

Phillipa is now undertaking a PhD in Clinical Psychology at Swinburne University with a particular interest in complex trauma, men’s mental health, and the mental health experiences of Australians living in regional and/or rural areas.

My name is Nina Perry, I am 24 years old and have recently commenced my PhD after completing my Honours program in Neuroscience. My Honours research was completed at the Autism Clinic for Translational Research at The University of Sydney, with a focus on addressing ways to effectively support people with neurodevelopmental conditions in clinical settings.

My PhD project will expand on this area of research, with the overarching aim to improve the wellbeing of people living with various health challenges on daily basis. Aside from research, I am also actively involved in the community, being a Weekend Play volunteer at the Sydney Children’s Hospital for the past 4 years.

For the past several years, I have volunteered as a peer-support counsellor, workshop facilitator, and well-being support officer for various LGBTQIA+ organisations. Since completing my Bachelor of Psychology (Hons) in 2019, I have worked as a mental health and disability support worker and more recently as a research assistant within the gender research team at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Through these roles, I have developed a passion for working with LGBTQIA+ youth who, due to stigma and lack of family support, are disproportionately at risk of developing mental health difficulties.