Rebecca Orr

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

Rebecca’s research interests include lifestyle behaviours and mental illness epidemiology. In particular, she is interested in the role of lifestyle behaviours in the development of depression and anxiety. Her PhD focuses on the prevention of common mental disorders through modifiable lifestyle behaviours, such as diet, physical activity, sleep, smoking, and alcohol. In particular, she is examining the proportion of depression and anxiety in the population that could be prevented if poor lifestyle behaviours were reduced or eliminated.

Rebecca is the Project Coordinator of the Global burden of disease Lifestyle And mental Disorders (GLAD) project, aiming to introduce lifestyle factors and mental illness as risk-outcome pairs in the Global Burden of Disease Study.\

Rebecca is also a Research Assistant at the centre, assisting Dr Samantha Dawson in her Bugs and Bumps RCT.