Dr Anne SwinbourneCollege of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University Title: The interface of psychology, natural hazards and extreme events Abstract: The CSIRO/BoM State of the Climate 2020 report delivers an expected message: Australia is undergoing, and will continue to experience, long-term climate change. This will interact negatively with Australia’s preexisting vulnerability to extreme weather events and […]

Please join us this Friday 5 March for a special two-part colloquium: A celebration of the School’s ARC, NHMRC and MRFF grant winners. Join us in congratulating our colleagues who were awarded significant research funding in 2020. The first in our series of laureate talks given by grant winners – Prof Louise Sharpe, who, with co-investigators […]

Please join us for a special two-part colloquium, with Laureate talks by two NHMRC Investigator Grant winners in our School: Dr Caitlin Cowan – Title: “The developing microbiome as a predictor and modulator of mental health risk and resilience: A translational gut-brain axis approach to improving childhood mental health”. Project Summary: A child’s development sets […]

Dr Melissa SharpeDepartment of Psychology, UCLA Title: The cognitive (lateral) hypothalamus Abstract: The lateral hypothalamus is generally thought of as a switch that drives feeding. The idea is that if you turn on your lateral hypothalamus, you will instantaneously start eating whatever is in front of you. However, we have recently shown that this nucleus is […]

Please join us for a special two-part colloquium, with Laureate talks by two grant winners in our School: A/Prof Carolyn MacCann (ARC Discovery Project, co-CIs Dr Rebecca Pinkus, A/Prof Helena Nguyen, A/Prof Anya Johnson) Title: “When, why, and how well do we regulate other people’s emotions?”. Project Summary: This project aims to understand when and […]

Please join us for a special two-part colloquium, with Laureate talks by two grant winners in our School: Prof David Alais (ARC Discovery Project, co-CI Prof Frans Verstraten) Title: “Multisensory perception in active observers”. Project Summary: Perception and action are usually studied separately, often under limited, non-ecological conditions. Recent evidence shows both functions are intrinsically […]

Dr Anand GururajanSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney Title: Novel Insights into the Neurobiology of Stress-Induced Psychiatric Disorders Abstract: Stress disorders such as major depression and PTSD are some of the most common psychiatric disorders and their prevalence has increased significantly against a background of growing global turmoil. I will present my research findings which have […]

Prof Stephan LewandowskySchool of Psychological Science, University of Bristol Title: Resisting the Knowledge Dementors: The Truth about “Post-Truth” Abstract: We are said to live in a “post-truth” era in which “fake news” has replaced real information, denial has compromised science, and the ontology of knowledge and truth has taken on a relativist element. I argue that […]

Professor Peter McEvoySchool of Psychology, Curtin University Title: Can imagery-based techniques enhance outcomes from cognitive behaviour group therapy for social anxiety disorder? Outcomes from a randomised controlled trial Abstract: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is one of the most common mental disorders, and it can have severely detrimental impacts on an individual’s ability to reach their social […]

Dr Rachel MenziesSchool of Psychology, University of Sydney Title: Death anxiety: The worm at the core of mental health Abstract: Our awareness of mortality is a universal part of the human experience, and fears of death have been recorded throughout our species’ history. More recently, death anxiety has been proposed to be a transdiagnostic construct, underpinning […]