News & Events

New research shows that some people with schizophrenia may have a protective mechanism that buffers against the ongoing impact of structural changes in the brain.

After a comprehensive recruitment process the Melbourne Medical School is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Nicola Lautenschlager as the Deputy Head and Research Director.

Recognition for dedication and significant contributions to the field of psychiatry​.

Recognising​​ current and former students for their outstanding achievements.

Researchers believe the genetic risk factors associated with schizophrenia may eventually evolve out of existence, but does this mean the condition will disappear?

The Melbourne Medical School is delighted to officially launch a brand new initiative: the Strategic Grants for Outstanding Women. This scheme aims to assist talented female academics to negotiate some of the challenges they face in sustaining and building their careers with a view to facilitating their progression to senior academic positions.

Dr Alex Bahar-Fuchs from the Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry discussed the link between olfactory loss and cognitive decline in older people with Norman Swan on Radio National's Health Report, and told listeners about a novel new trial his group will soon commence, focused on training cognition through the nose.https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/smell-training-and-your-brain/10936068

Congratulations to Department of Psychiatry AUPOA Research Fellow Dr Terry Chong who was recently inducted into the University of Melbourne Academy of Clinical Teachers.Members of the Academy share the following characteristics:They have made a substantial and valued contribution to the University’s medical education programs over a significant period of time;They are recognised as excellent, dedicated, committed and passionate educators;They serve as role models for all clinicians who teach;They provide advice to the School on matters relating to clinical teaching, student assessment and program evaluation.Please click here to find out more about the University's Academy of Clinical Teachers.

The Melbourne Medical School is a proud supporter of International Women’s Day and in 2019 we have answered the call for #BalanceforBetter through launching an exciting new initiative to support career progression in outstanding academic women.

Healthcare is a complex and rapidly changing environment and the Melbourne Medical School is poised to adapt to these real-world challenges.

The recipients of the 2019 Department of Psychiatry Travelling Scholarships announced:The Inaugural Graham Burrows Travelling Scholarship was in honour of Professor Graham Burrows a mental-health clinician, researcher and mentor and advocate for the mentally ill.  The funds were established through the generosity of the International Society for the investigation of Stress and Dr Barbara Burrows.The recipient of the 2019 scholarship is Dr Terence Chong.  The Nikolaos and Dimitra Pantelis Travelling Scholarship was generously established by Professor Christos Pantelis and Mrs Kimberley Pantelis in honour of Christos' parents, to support students undertaking schizophrenia research within the Department of Psychiatry.The recipient of the 2019 scholarship is Ms Cassandra Wannan.

Professor Bernhard Baune, Cato Chair & Head of Department of Psychiatry and Co-Head, Mental Health Theme, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health has resigned effective 28 February 2019.

AUPOA's Dr Anita Goh has been selected as one of Science and Technology Australia's 60 'Superstars of STEM'Please click here to view Anita's profile.

Jan Mariani recognised with Melbourne Medical School Reward and Recognition Award

A new brain scanning technique reveals how changes in white and grey matter seen in schizophrenia are linked, and how the brain compensates for these changes, at least in the illness’s early stages.

The Department of Psychiatry Awards event was held on the 4 December 2018. It was a pleasure to have the newly appointed Head of Melbourne Medical School, Professor John Prins, attend to present some awards. The awards which included Master of Psychiatry Teaching Awards and the John Adey Award and the John Cade Memorial Medal Award for 2017.  The Bruce Singh Award was presented by Professor Bruce Singh.

Department of Psychiatry Travelling Scholarships are now open until December 2018.Further information is found at the following links.Graham Burrows Travelling ScholarshipThe Nikolaos and Dimitra Pantelis Travelling Scholarship

The Department of Psychiatry was pleased to award the inaugural recipient of the Nikolaos and Dimitra Pantelis Travelling Scholarship earlier this year to Dr Ye Tian.

Congratulations to Dr Tamsyn Van Rheenen of the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre in the Department of Psychiatry, on being awarded a prestigious Club Melbourne Fellowship.

The annual Alice Barber Public Lecture is co-sponsored by the Department of Psychiatry and the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences who organise the lecture in alternating years. the title of his presentation was "Putting People first - a personalised approach to Mental Health".

"Psychiatry in the Digital Age" 16 August 2018The Annual Psychiatry Research Department of Psychiatry Symposium was held on 16th August 2018. The symposium was organised by the Department's Research sub-committee led by Associate Professor Ben Harrison together with Ms Jan Mariani. The Symposium was opened by Professor Bernhard Baune, Cato Chair and Head of Department of Psychiatry.This year’s theme was Psychiatry in the Digital Age.  The keynote speaker Scientia Professor Helen Christensen, Director and Chief Scientist of the Black Dog Institute guided the audience through her research in digital interventions for suicide prevention. Other speakers included Dr Peter Koval and Ms Fiona Foley.  Early career researchers presented their cutting edge research in mental health.Award prizes for the best posters were Marjolein Bareness, Carolina Barbosa and Dhamidhu Eratne and the oral presentation winner was Carra Aven Simpson.

Learn how an early interest in mental health led Tamsyn Van Rheenen to study bipolar disorder with a view to identifying new treatments.

Shenzhen Kangning Hospital has a long-term partnership with Department of Psychiatry under the Three Famous Project, which encompasses research, training and clinical supervision across a range of areas in mental health and psychiatry.   Department of Psychiatry Professor and FMDHS China Program member, Chee Ng delivered training to nearly 200 mental health professionals in Shenzhen, China from 11-15 June 2018.

The MMS departments at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (Parkville Precinct) held their Student Award Presentations on Friday, May 25

Professor Bernhard Baune (PhD, MD, MPH, FRANZCP) has been appointed as our new Cato Chair and Head of the Department of Psychiatry and will take up his position from 13 August 2018.

From a cup of tea behind the lines, to sophisticated psychological therapies, we are still working to improve treatments for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder By Catriona May, University of Melbourne

Emeritus Professor David Ames AO who has specialised in old age psychiatry since 1985 presented "Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease – a psychiatrist’s view" at the Annual Department of Psychiatry Beattie Smith Lecture on Tuesday, 8 May 2018 .His talk reviewed some of the progress that has been made in our understanding of dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease over the past three decades, with specific reference to work undertaken by staff of the University of Melbourne.

The PhD Mental Health Program is a joint initiative of the University's Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Centre for Mental Health, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of Psychiatry and will offer a unified training experience to PhD students addressing mental health from diverse disciplinary perspectives - psychiatry, psychology, epidemiology and community mental health, history, psychiatric nursing, among others.Students registered with the program will remain enrolled in their current faculties but will take part in a suite of activities that include joint seminars, colloquium series, peer learning and mentoring opportunities. For further information Visit the website link

Professor David Coghill from the University of Melbourne and Dr Alice Morgan from the Royal Children’s Hospital were invited by Shenzhen Kangning Hospital to provide a three-day training workshop in Shenzhen on Treating Depression in Adolescents using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

The Department of Psychiatry Awards event was held on the 7 December 2017. Professor Malcolm Hopwood presented the awards which included included Master of Psychiatry Teaching Awards, John Adey Award and the John Cade Memorial Medal Award.  The Bruce Singh Award was presented by Professor Bruce Singh.

Professor Chris Pantelis, from the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, was invited to make a keynote speech in China International Neuropsychiatry Imaging Research Forum held in Shenzhen on 8 November 2017. Over 70 neuropsychiatry imaging professionals across China attended this forum.

The Department is pleased to announce the following Travelling Scholarship Awards for 2019The Graham Burrows Travelling Scholarship was awarded to Dr Terence Chong.The Nikoloas and Dimitra Pantelis Travelling Scholarship was awarded to Ms Cassandra Wannan

Dr Tamsyn Van Rheenen, from the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry was highly commended for mental health research.Early Career Research Fellow,  Dr Tamsyn Van Rheenen (pictured with Professors Susan Rossell and Christos Pantelis) was highly commended in the 2017 Research Australia Health and Medical Research Award for her work investigating cognition in people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The John and Betty Lynch Fellowship Lecture Program is made possible through the generosity of Ms Betty C Lynch OAM and her late husband, Mr John Lynch. The Fellowship is an international collaboration with renowned scholars in the areas of bipolar disorder and other related serious mental illnesses, with a focus on sharing their knowledge with Australian academia and the community on current research and treatment options.Professor Allan Young was invited to present  "Lithium: from toxic placebo to magic ion?" on  Tuesday, 24 October 2017.

An initiative of Phoenix Australia the Centenary of Anzac Centre was launched on Friday 15th September, the Centenary of Anzac Centre was launched at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, the Hon Dan Tehan MP.

The School is delighted to announce a new interdisciplinary PhD Program in Mental Health, which will have its first intake in 2018.

The Department of Psychiatry welcomes Dr Xiaojian Jia, Dr Xiaoyin Ke and Dr Zhiwen Zeng from Shenzhen Kangning Hospital. Professor Chris Pantelis, Professor Nicola Lautenschlager and Ms Lina Pepe, on behalf of the Department, hosted a welcome session on Friday 1st of September 2017.

The Department farewells Professor Ian Everall who has held the Cato Chair in Psychiatry and Head of the Department of Psychiatry since November 2009.

In celebrating tripartite psychiatric research and education collaboration between Peking University, the University of Melbourne and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and highlighting Mental Health in Ageing, the Department of Psychiatry held the Annual Psychiatry Research Symposium in Melbourne on 10th August 2017. The symposium was organised by the Department's Research sub-committee led by Associate Professor Ben Harrison together with Ms Yue Li and Ms Jan Mariani.The Symposium was opened by Professor Shitij Kapur, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. Professor Qimin Zhan, Vice President, Peking University and Professor Yun Kwok Wing, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, the Chinese University of Hong Kong attended the symposium.Leading principal investigators from the University of Melbourne, the Peking University, Beijing and the Chinese University of Hong Kong showcased their latest psychiatric research and studies, which no doubt will have long lasting benefits for people with mental illness, families and communities. Keynote speaker Professor Ashley Bush from The Florey - Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health guided the audience through his ground breaking research in Alzheimer’s disease.   Early career researchers presented their cutting edge research in mental health.  Award prizes for the best poster presentation went to Ms Kate Bray and the oral presentation winner was Ms Hayley Drake.

An Australian-first research program will help improve treatment for military personnel and veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Congratulations to Dr Chad Bousman for his Lancet Psychiatry paper, Commercial pharmacogenetic-based decision-support tools in psychiatry, being selected as one of NEJM Journal Watch Psychiatry’s Top 10 Stories of 2016.

The Department of Psychiatry Awards event was held on the 8 December 2016. Professor Shitij Kapur, Dean of MDHS together with Professor Ian Everall presented the awards.

Inspired by his aunt's illness, Professor Christos Pantelis has pursued a career in schizophrenia research in the hope of discovering better treatment for sufferers.

Mental ill-health affects all Australians across their life span – whether it’s a personal experience of anxiety and depression or playing a support role to a family member or friend.

The Department of Psychiatry and Wenzhou Medical University Affiliated Kangning Hospital have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish an International Collaborating Centre focusing on research, training and academic fellow exchange of depression and related disorders.