Students complete experiments in one of the medical labs

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Explore postgraduate research opportunities at ANU's School of Medicine and Psychology. Join our leading research community and advance your career in a supportive academic environment.

Join our research

At the School of Medicine and Psychology, we provide a supportive environment for postgraduate research. Our programs encourage innovation and excellence, giving you the resources and guidance to make important contributions to your field. Whether you are interested in clinical sciences, mental health, or medical education, you will find a community of dedicated scholars and state-of-the-art facilities to support your work. We offer a wide range of potential research topics. Contact a supervisor for further discussion and ideas. If you have a specific project idea that is not listed, you may contact a potential supervisor directly.

As a postgraduate researcher at the Australian National University, you will benefit from our strong industry connections and partnerships with leading health organisations. These relationships offer unique opportunities for practical experience and professional growth. Our commitment to mentoring and development ensures you are well-prepared for a successful career in academia, healthcare, or beyond. Join us at the Australian National University and be part of a community that is shaping the future of health research.

Projects

A nuanced model of Social Self-Concept

Social identify and self concept are ways we see ourselves in relation to other people. These have important impacts on self-regard, the amount and type of social support available to us and our wellbeing and resilience under stress.

Theme

Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for students

People

Dr Lillian Smyth, Principal investigator

Dr Kasia Banas (University of Edinburgh), Co-investigator

ACT Wellbeing Framework: Identifying life course drivers for success through new inter-disciplinary theoretical insights and data analytic techniques

This program of research is conducted in collaboration with the ACT Government to enable evidence-based policy decision-making.

Theme

Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

Group

Health and Identity Lab

People

Professor Kate Reynolds, Co-investigator
Professor Tegan Cruwys, Principal investigator

Arthroplasty

Our unit runs a number of studies which examine many aspects of upper and lower limb arthroplasty.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, PhD students

People

Dr Joseph Lynch, Supervisor
Dr Thomas Ward, Supervisor
Professor Paul Smith AM, Supervisor

Ms Tahlia Stewart

Assessment of Alignment Strategies in Total Knee Replacement - PhD applicants invited to apply

Assessment of Alignment Strategies in Total Knee Replacement - PhD Applicants invited to apply

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, PhD students

People

Dr Joseph Lynch, Supervisor
Dr Thomas Ward, Supervisor
Professor Paul Smith AM, Supervisor

Ms Tahlia Stewart

Australian Interventional Pharmacotherapy and Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy Research Registry (AIPPAP-RR)

The project has been designed for the collection of outcome and safety data on the use of novel interventional pharmacotherapy approaches. The AIPPAP Research Registry is designed to capture real-world clinical data on the use of ketamine, MDMA, and psilocybin.

Theme

Diagnostics, Therapeutic and Clinical Care

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

People

Dr Alex Gallo, Co-investigator
Professor Paul Fitzgerald, Principal investigator

Beyond directional motivated reasoning: Social identity and partisan truth

This project aims to develop and test a new model of psychological processes by which people come to understand information as true or not.

Theme

Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

People

Associate Professor Eryn Newman, Co-investigator
Dr Li Tay, Co-investigator
Professor Kate Reynolds, Co-investigator
Professor Michael Platow, Principal investigator

Beyond taxonomy: A process driven investigation of radicalisation

This project aims to significantly deepen understanding of the phenomenon of radicalisation toward violent extremism by moving beyond static descriptions of what antecedents are present in violent extremists to dynamic causal explanations of why people radicalise.

Theme

Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

People

Professor Michael Platow, Co-investigator

Dr. Emily Corner
Dr. Helen Taylor (ANU)
Professor Jane Goodman-Delahunty (University of Newcastle)

Biomarkers of arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty (TKA)

This project aims to analyze the circulating miRNA pre-operation of the TKA and knee tissue mRNA post primary TKA.

Theme

Diagnostics, Therapeutic and Clinical Care
Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

People

Associate Professor Rachel Li, Principal investigator
Dr Joseph Lynch, Co-investigator
Dr Thomas Ward, Co-investigator
Ms Yixuan Lei, Co-investigator
Professor Paul Smith AM, Co-investigator

Dr Tahlia Stewart

Can bone cells be “programmed” by electromagnetic fields?

Student intake

Open for Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, PhD students

People

Associate Professor Rachel Li, Supervisor
Professor Paul Smith AM, Supervisor

Climate-resilient primary health care and sustainable financing strategies in Indonesia: A participatory action research

Mitigating the effects of climate change on health outcomes requires adaptation within the health system. Primary health care providers are on the frontline in dealing with both direct and indirect health effects of climate change. This project will provide a proof of concept on climate resilient primary health care framework.

Theme

Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, PhD students

People

Dr Sutarsa Nyoman, Principal investigator

Dr Anak Agung Sagung Sawitri, Faculty of Medicine Udayana University (Bali Prov…
Dr Made Dwi Ariawan, Faculty of Medicine Udayana University (Bali Province, Ind…
Dr Cintya Denny Y, Faculty of Medicine Udayana University (Bali Province, Indon…
Dr Made Sri Nopiyani, Faculty of Medicine Udayana University (Bali Province, In…
Dr Utami Dwipayanti, Faculty of Medicine Udayana University (Bali Province, Ind…
Dr Sang Gede Purnama, Faculty of Medicine Udayana University (Bali Province, In…
Ayu Rissa Cempaka, MPH, Faculty of Medicine Udayana University (Bali Province, …
Wahyu Sulistya Affarah, MD, Faculty of Medicine Mataram University (West Nusa T…
Nurul Firdausi, MD., From Faculty of Medicine Mataram University (West Nusa Ten…
Riris Yunita, MPH, Sikumana Kupang Health Centre, Indonesia
Kristina J Tehangr, Sikumana Kupang Health Centre, Indonesia

Customized coating: Functionalized coating materials to prevent biofilm formation

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of the most serious challenges to global public health, as drug resistance has been found for all classes of antibiotics used in clinical practice.

Theme

Diagnostics, Therapeutic and Clinical Care
Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

People

Associate Professor Rachel Li, Principal investigator
Clinical Associate Professor Karina Kennedy, Co-investigator
Professor Paul Smith AM, Co-investigator

Dr Anindita Das
Associate Professor Xiaobo Chen

Developing Transdisciplinary Health Humanities Education at ANU

A cross-College project with the ANU College of Art and Social Sciences on Transdisciplinary Health Humanities Education at ANU.

Theme

Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for students

People

Associate Professor Alexandra Webb, Co-investigator
Associate Professor Anna Olsen, Co-investigator
Associate Professor Brett Scholz, Co-investigator
Associate Professor Krisztina Valter-Kocsi, Co-investigator
Dr Kristen Murray, Co-investigator
Dr Lillian Smyth, Principal investigator
Dr Riemke Aggio-Bruce, Co-investigator
Shelly Khatijatusshalihah, Co-investigator

Dr Bonnie McConnell (School of Music, ANU), Principle Investigator
Dr Georgia Pike-Rowney, Co-Investigator
Dr Stacey Ward, Co-Investigator
Dr Ta Ta, Co-Investigator
Dr Claire Hansen, Co-Investigator
Dr Keren Hammerschlag, Co-Investigator
Professor Christopher Sainsbury, Co-Investigator
Mr Sejul Mlade, Co-Investigator
Mr Joshua Robinson, Co-Investigator

Development of new animal models for retinal degenerations

Investigating the progression of retinal degeneration using new animal models.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, Doctor of Medicine and Surgery, PhD students

People

Associate Professor Riccardo Natoli, Principal investigator

Drug checking

Drug checking is a health intervention to reduce the harms of drug use.

Theme

Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

People

Associate Professor Anna Olsen, Principal investigator

Amy Peacock
Raimondo Bruno

Emotion regulation and cardiac health

This project aims to improve understanding of the relationship between emotions and heart health and investigate the ability of emotion regulation interventions to improve cardiac functioning and recovery.

Theme

Brain, Vision, Mental Processes and Health
Diagnostics, Therapeutic and Clinical Care
Society, Culture and Health

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, MPhil, PhD students

People

Associate Professor Amy Dawel, Principal investigator
Dr Junwen Chen, Co-investigator
Dr Kristen Murray, Co-investigator
Dr Nicole Vargas, Co-investigator
Honorary Clinical Associate Professor Rajeev Pathak, Co-investigator

Lukah Tan

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