NEW TREATMENTS FOR PATIENTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
Associate Professor Bernadette Fitzgibbon
Director of Psychiatry Research
Paratus Clinical, Australia &
Associate Professor,
Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Melbourne, Australia | November 2025
Associate Professor Bernadette Fitzgibbon is a neuroscientist with several decades of experience in researching, developing, and translating novel therapies for mental health and chronic pain conditions. This includes the application and optimisation of brain stimulation and psychedelic therapies, overseeing large multi-site intervention trials, both within Australia and abroad. Through her work, she has developed meaningful collaborations with consumers, volunteers, policy makers, and services providers, ensuring that the outcomes of her work contribute towards real-world clinical impact.
She is currently the Director of Psychiatry Research at Paratus Clinical, where she leads the delivery of clinical trials in emerging therapies for psychiatry, collaborating with academic institutions, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. She is also an Associate Professor at the Australian National University, where she contributes to novel investigator-initiated trials within interventional psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, and a consultant at The Psychedelic Consultancy: a hub to connect and support professionals navigate the legal psychedelic assisted psychotherapy ecosystem in Australia and internationally. Together, she is dedicated to changing the landscape of mental health treatments to improve the outcomes for people living with mental illness.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5339-5304
-
Food and fasting periods as medicine to prevent disease
Professor Leonie Heilbronn is based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), where she leads the Obesity and Metabolism laboratory. Her research is at the interface between basic and clinical science. She is internationally recognised for her work in nutritional modulation in humans and has made major contributions to our current understanding of mechanisms underlying conditions such as insulin resistance, particularly inflammation and lipid metabolism. She has also contributed significantly to current concepts of caloric restriction (CR), intermittent fasting (IF) and time restricted eating (TRE) in humans. She has published more than 110 peer reviewed papers in scientific journals and is an Associate Editor of Obesity, and Obesity Research and Clinical Practice.
-
Cancer survivorship and exercise oncology
Professor Sandra Hayes is the Director of Research at Cancer Council Queensland (CCQ), where she leads a comprehensive cancer research program encompassing cancer epidemiology, prevention, detection, treatment, and survivorship.
With a BAppSci (Hons) and a PhD in exercise oncology, Professor Hayes’s expertise lies in quantifying the impact of cancer diagnosis and treatment on physical and psychosocial wellbeing, quality of life, and survival. She also evaluates innovative supportive care strategies, particularly exercise, to improve post-cancer lives.
-
Enhancing occupational therapy service provision with military veterans
Prof McKinstry was instrumental in the development of the occupational therapy course at the La Trobe University’s Bendigo campus and also the establishment of the Rural Health School.
Prof McKinstry’s research focus is on health workforce, particularly developing a sustainable rural health workforce through recruitment of rural students for health courses, innovative and flexible delivery of health courses, telehealth and emerging areas of practice for occupational therapists.
