Early and Mid-Career Researchers

Dr Ana Rita Barreiros

EMCR Chair

Dr Ana Rita Barreiros is a post-doctoral Research Associate at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney. With a background in clinical psychology and neuroscience, she has specialised in treatment-resistant depression and interventional psychiatry. With a PhD in neuroimaging and extensive experience leading clinical trials, she integrates advanced neuroimaging methods with clinical expertise to better understand and improve psychiatric treatment outcomes.

Dr Barreiros has worked across leading research institutions in Portugal and Australia, contributing to several NHMRC, ARC and industry funded research projects and RCTs, to identify MRI and EEG markers in mood disorders and schizophrenia and to investigate neurostimulation, ketamine, and emerging psychedelic therapies.

Georgia Caruana

Secretary

Georgia Caruana is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne. With a background in biomedical science and a PhD in neuropsychiatry, her research seeks to characterise the cognitive profile of bipolar disorder; with a particular focus on understanding how biopsychosocial correlaates such as brain structure, inflammation, aging, and resilience interact with intra-individual cognitive behaviours. Alongside her research, Georgia is passionate about community engagement, mentorship, and demystifying mental health research to bridge gaps between academic and consumer worlds. In addition to her contributions to the ASBDD EMCR Committee, she has been appointed as a National Mental Health Advocate with the Mental Health Foundation Australia, is a member of the Canada based Collaborative Research Team to Study Psychosocial Issues in Bipolar Disorder (CREST.BD), and is the Co-Chair of the Centre for Research Excellence in Bipolar Disorder (CORE.BD) Student Network.

Dr Carl Moller

Committee member

Carl is a registered psychologist and Research Fellow in psychosis research at Deakin University’s Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), School of Medicine. He holds a Master of Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology and a Master of Public Health, and completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Youth Mental Health, focusing on suicidality in young people with depressive disorders. His research interests span mood disorders, psychotic disorders, substance use, self-harm, suicide, and cognition in psychiatric conditions, along with a strong interest in addressing health inequities.

Dr Alec Jamieson

Committee member

Alec is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne. His research uses functional magnetic resonance imaging and computational modelling o improve our understanding of the altered social-affective processing present in mood and anxiety disorders. He has worked across several NHMRC-funded clinical trials examining neuroimaging predictors of treatment response in major depressive disorder.

Nga Yan (Connie) Tse

Committee member

I am a third-year PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne with formal training in clinical neuropsychology and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). My research vision centres on the optimisation of brain stimulation therapeutics, particularly TMS, in which functional neuroimaging methods are used to refine treatment targeting. This has led me to focus my PhD on elucidating brain circuit alterations central to youth major depressive disorder, as well as the interplay between functional connectivity and clinical factors in shaping connectivity-guided TMS outcomes in adults with treatment-resistant depression.

Dr Matthew Tennant

Psychiatrist Representative

Matthew is a consultant psychiatrist providing inpatient and community mental health care at Te Whatu Ora, Canterbury. He is also a senior lecturer at the department of psychological medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch.  Matthew has an interest in the treatment of mood disorders, recovery in chronic mental illness, medical education, and psychiatric ethics.

Princess Hanna Corre

Committee member

Princess Hanna is a second-year PhD candidate in the Mood Psychosis Spectrum Group at the University of Melbourne, investigating how modifiable lifestyle factors relate to cognitive function in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Neuroscience from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research aims to identify accessible, real-world targets for improving cognitive health in severe mental illness.

Bec Fitton

Committee member

Bec is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre of Research Excellence in Bipolar Disorder (CORE-BD), working across teams at Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology, and the University of Sydney. She completed her PhD at Monash University, where her research focused on light, circadian rhythms, and psychiatric treatment in mood disorders. Bec is currently broadening her research into women’s health, hypersexuality, lifestyle interventions, and common comorbidities in bipolar disorder. Her research aims to improve the lives of people living with mood disorders. Alongside her research, Bec co-facilitates a women’s health lived experience consultation group, is co-chair of the CORE-BD student network, and is a member of the Chronobiology International Society for Bipolar Disorders task force.

Liluo Gan

Committee member

Liluo Gan is a second-year PhD candidate in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests include health psychology, physical activity, health promotion, and behaviour change in culturally diverse populations. Her research aims to inform equitable and culturally responsive approaches to promoting physical activity and wellbeing in multicultural communities.