| Food and Mood Centre

Professor Adrienne O’Neil

Professor O’Neil is the co-Director of the Food & Mood Centre and is supported by an NHMRC Emerging Leader (2) Fellowship.

Professor Felice Jacka

Felice Jacka OAM is Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry and Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University. She is also founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR)

Dr Amy Loughman

Amy completed her PhD thesis in psychology at the University of Melbourne and is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Food & Mood Centre.

Dr Anu Ruusunen

Anu is an honorary member of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University, having recently held a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the centre. Her primary research focus is clinical dietary interventions for psychiatric disorders, including eating disorders, depression and schizophrenia.

Dr Claire Young

Claire is an Associate Research Fellow (e-Health and m-Health) within the Food & Mood Centre whose research focusses on developing digital interventions to support dietary change for people with mental illness.

Dr Debbie Ashtree

Debbie joined the Food and Mood Centre in 2022 as an associate research fellow. Debbie has a BSc (Genetics), a MSc (Epidemiology) and has recently completed a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, all from the University of Melbourne.

Dr Hajara Aslam

Hajara Aslam is a Dean’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Food and Mood Centre, Deakin University. Her research focuses on developing novel functional foods/dietary strategies as an adjunctive therapy for common mental disorders targeting the gut brain-brain axis.

Dr Heidi Staudacher

Heidi is Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow an APD and with extensive experience in the clinical management of people with clinically functional gastrointestinal disorders. Her research program includes investigating dietary interventions in people with IBS who also have mental illness.

Dr Jenny Murfield

Jenny is a Research Fellow at the Food and Mood Centre, Deakin University. She works across projects at the centre, focusing on research development and translation of evidence into policy and practice.

Dr Jessica Green

Dr Jessica Green is a Consultant Psychiatrist, and PhD Candidate with the Food and Mood Centre, Deakin University. She is interested in the exciting and emerging field of the Gut-Brain Axis.

Dr Samantha Dawson

Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Samantha’s research area is around how early life nutrition influences the gut microbiome and mental health outcomes in mothers and infants.

Dr Sarah Dash

Sarah is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow currently based in Toronto, Canada at Ontario Tech University, and is an honourary member of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University. Her primary research interests include lifestyle factors and their association with physical and mental health.

Dr Tetyana Rocks

Dr Tetyana Rocks is Accredited Practicing Dietitian, Research Fellow and Head of the Translation and Education at the Centre. The focus of Tetyana’s work is to translate evidence into effective education and practice to support good mental health.

Dr Wolfgang Marx

Dr Wolfgang Marx is a postdoctoral research fellow and Head of the Nutraceutical Research stream at the Food & Mood Centre. Wolfgang’s current research program covers a broad range of projects involving the use nutraceuticals for mental health, fatigue, and cognition.

Amelia McGuinness

Amelia McGuinness is a PhD candidate within the School of Medicine at Deakin University, Geelong. She holds a Graduate Diploma of Human Nutrition, Bachelor of Health and Medical Science (Honours) and Bachelor of Biomedical Science.

Elizabeth Gamage

Elizabeth is a PhD student at the Food and Mood Centre at Deakin University. She holds a Bachelor or Nutrition Science and a Bachelor of Nutrition Science (Honours).

Gina Howland

Gina Howland is a PhD student within the Food and Mood Centre in the School of Medicine at Deakin University. Gina is a Clinical Psychologist, holds multiple degrees in psychology and teaching, and currently provides evidence-based clinical services to individuals with complex trauma needs.

Jessica Davis

Jessica is a PhD candidate within the Food and Mood Centre in the School of Medicine at Deakin University, Australia. She holds both a Bachelor in Food and Nutrition (Exercise Science) and a Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours), and has a professional background in exercise science and nutrition.

Jessica Batti

Jessica is a Biomedical Science student and Research Assistant at the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University. Her interests lie in exploring the treatment of mood disorders with dietary interventions, and the efficacy of nutraceuticals in healthy populations.

Madeline West

Madeline is a PhD student within the Food and Mood Centre at Deakin University, Australia. She has a Bachelor of Human Nutrition as well as a Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Honours).

Meghan Hockey

Meghan is a PhD candidate with the Food and Mood Centre. She holds a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours) and is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with the Dietitian’s Association of Australia. She is passionate about sharing emerging Nutritional Psychiatry research with her clients.

Melissa Lane

Melissa is a PhD student within Deakin University’s Food & Mood Centre. Melissa has a particular interest in the link between gut microbiota, diet and health outcomes.

Rebecca Orr

Rebecca is a PhD student at the Food and Mood Centre. She holds a Bachelor of Health Science, majoring in Psychology and Nutrition, and a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours).

Sam Collins

Sam is a PhD Candidate within the School of Medicine at Deakin University. Sam holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and Master of Psychology (Clinical). She is passionate about working to alleviate mental illness and promote better health and quality of life on both a local and global scale.