Austin Health
The Unit
The Department of Psychiatry, leads the academic activity of the Mental Health Clinical Service Unit at Austin Health. There is a long tradition of excellence in teaching and research at the Austin Hospital that the Department is proud to sustain and develop. The rare diversity of clinical services makes Psychiatry at Austin Health both a sought after training experience and, with the Melbourne Brain Centre on site, a unique research resource. The Department fosters research across the wide range of clinical services at Austin Health, but has particular strengths in the somatoform disorders, psychopharmacology and perinatal psychiatry.
Professor Richard Kanaan located at Austin Health explores the neuropsychiatry of somatoform disorders, binding psychosocial complexity with the objectivity of brain imaging, collaborating closely with the Melbourne Brain Centre.
Associate Professor James Olver works in the psychopharmacology of mood and anxiety disorders, stress and circadian rhythms, exploring pharmacokinetics and metabolism in the laboratory techniques, neurotransmitter involvement with positron emission technology, and their cognitive and motor effects using neuropsychology.
Professor Richard Kanaan, Chair of Psychiatry
Professor Richard Kanaan is the Chair of Psychiatry. Professor Kanaan was previously based at the Maudsley Hospital Institute of Psychiatry in London where he pursued research in a range of areas, from the structural connectivity of schizophrenia to the psychosocial determinants of conversion disorder, using a breadth of methods from philosophical analysis to functional neuroimaging.
The most challenging problems in psychiatry will only be solved when biological investigation accommodates patients' psychological and social realities. Professor Richard Kanaan Chair of Psychiatry at Austin Health