Associate Professor Bernadette Fitzgibbon

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About
Associate Professor Bernadette Fitzgibbon PhD, is a neuroscientist with several decades of experience in clinical trials and research in mental health and chronic pain. She currently serves as the Director of Psychiatry Research at Paratus Clinical, and an Associate Professor at the Australian National University. Her research program has included the application and optimization of brain stimulation and psychedelic therapies, including 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.
Bernadette has published >80 journal articles, 3 book chapters, and has been awarded >5 million in research funding. Her work has been recognised through a number of awards including being invited to give the 2021 Tess Cramond Lecture at the Australasian Pain Society Meeting and the 2018 Australasian Brain Stimulation Society Early Career Award. She has presented her work at more than 70 conferences and events including being invited to provide a plenary at the 2022 & 2024 Neuromodulation Society of Australia & New Zealand 15th Annual Scientific Meeting.
Bernadette is also passionate about the advancement of brain sciences within Australia, as reflected in role as chair of the Australian Brain Alliance EMCR Network (2017-2021) and an Executive Member of the Australian Brain Alliance (2017-2021), an initiative of the Australian Academy of Science to bring together strategic brain research across Australia. She was also an executive member of the Australasian Brain Stimulation Society (2019-2023).
A full list of her publications can be found at https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5339-5304
Affiliations
Research interests
Pain
Neuromodulation
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Depression
Mental Illness
PTSD
Addiction
Psychedelic Therapy
Projects
- ASSESS: A study of the psychological, cognitive and physiological effects of Psychedelic Medicines, Co-investigator
- EMPACT: Evaluating the management of treatment resistant depression with psychedelic (psilocybin) assisted psychotherapy, Co-investigator
- FREED: Frequency and E-Field Enhancement of iTBS for Depression, Co-investigator
- OPT-PAP: Developing Optimal Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Co-investigator
- TACS-depression: Closed-loop transcranial alternating current stimulation in depression, Co-investigator
- TACS-OCD: Investigating the efficacy of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation in the treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Co-investigator
- TACS-theta: Investigating transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation protocols to increase theta activity in the healthy brain (tACS-theta), Co-investigator