Keynote Speakers
Professor Cheri Levinson
Professor Cheri A. Levinson is a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Louisville and Director of the Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) lab. She is also the Founder and Clinical Director of the Louisville Center for Eating Disorders, the only specialized eating disorder clinic in Kentucky. As Vice Chair of the Kentucky Eating Disorder Council, she works to improve treatment access in the state. Prof. Levinson's research focuses on developing new treatments for eating disorders using advanced technologies like network analysis, ecological momentary assessment, and wearable sensors. She has published over 135 peer-reviewed papers and is the principal investigator of several clinical trials on exposure therapy and personalized treatments. Her awards include the 2021 Association for Psychological Science Rising Star Award and the 2020 APA Theo Blau Award. Clinically, Prof. Levinson treats individuals with eating disorders, specializing in comorbid disorders like OCD and anxiety using evidence-based cognitive-behavioral techniques. She has experience in all levels of eating disorder care and trained at the University of North Carolina's Center of Excellence in Eating Disorders. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, where she developed technology-based treatments.
Professor Luke Wolfenden
​Luke Wolfenden is Director of the ‘National Centre of Implementation Science’ and of the WHO Evidence Informed Policy Network at the University of Newcastle and co-Director of Cochranes Thematic Group ‘People, health systems and Public Health. He is passionate about the use of evidence to improve public health decision making and ensuring that evidence-based policies are well implemented so they can benefit those for whom they are intended.
Speakers
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Associate Professor Emily Stockings
Associate Professor Emily Stockings is an NHMRC Investigator Fellow (2024–2029) and serves as the Program Lead of 'Smoking, Vaping and Mental Health' at the Matilda Centre, University of Sydney. She holds a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) and a PhD. Her research focuses on reducing the use and harms associated with smoking and e-cigarettes, particularly among adolescents and individuals with mental health conditions. Emily has contributed to numerous publications in the field and is recognised for her expertise in mental health and substance use prevention.
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Professor Susan Rossell
Professor Susan Rossell is a cognitive neuropsychologist and Professorial Research Fellow at Swinburne's Centre for Mental Health. She holds an NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship and has extensive experience in cognitive neuropsychology. Susan's research is internationally recognised, particularly her work on the neuropsychology of schizophrenia and body dysmorphic disorder. She has published over 640 research articles and has been cited more than 14,000 times.
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Dr Trevor Steward
Dr Trevor Steward is an NHMRC/MRFF Senior Research Fellow at the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, where he also serves as the Director of the Brain and Mental Health Hub. His research focuses on using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand the neurobiological basis of mental health conditions. Trevor has extensive experience in analysing fMRI data to investigate psychiatric disorders and aims to translate these findings into improved clinical outcomes.
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Associate Professor Robyn Brown
Robyn Brown is a DECRA Fellow and laboratory head in the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology. She completed her PhD at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2010 and a Bachelor of Commerce/Science (hons) in 2004 at the University of Melbourne. In 2011, she received a Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship to train at the Medical University of South Carolina, focusing on neuroplasticity in drug addiction. Robyn established research on the links between drug addiction and overeating, continuing this work upon her return to Australia in 2014 at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health. Her lab investigates the neural mechanisms behind behaviors like loss-of-control eating and drug addiction, using a range of cutting-edge techniques, including electrophysiology, optogenetics, and viral methods.
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Associate Professor Morgan James
Associate Professor Morgan James received his PhD in 2014 from the University of Newcastle, Australia, where he studied the neural circuits underlying drug-seeking behaviours. He completed postdoctoral training under Dr Gary Aston-Jones, combining advanced neuroscience techniques with sophisticated animal models of addiction to further probe the neural circuits that drive reward-seeking behaviour. Morgan is currently an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, where his lab examines the neural basis of substance use and eating disorders, as well as related conditions such as anxiety, depression, and sleep dysregulation.
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Professor Nick Haslam
Professor Nick Haslam is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Melbourne. He received his BA (Hons) from the University of Melbourne and his MA and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. Nick's research interests include social, personality, and clinical psychology, with a focus on psychiatric classification, prejudice, and refugee mental health. He has taught and written extensively in these fields and is known for coining the term "concept creep" to describe society's increasing sensitivity to harm.
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Associate Professor Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia
Associate Professor Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia completed her licenciatura in Psychology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and her PhD in Experimental Psychology at SUNY Stony Brook. She joined Australian Catholic University (ACU) in 2007, where she has developed and taught statistics subjects across various levels. Xochitl's research focuses on behavioural psychology, and she has published extensively in this area. She is also involved in initiatives to enhance student engagement through the use of reward contingencies in online activities.
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​Dr Matthew Varidel
Mathew Varidel is a postdoctoral research fellow within the Brain and Mind Centre Digital Mental Health Team. His expertise is in the real-world application of statistical models to learn causal pathways and aid decision-making for mental health problems. His work has allowed for improved identification of the multiple dynamic interacting factors related to mental health, the emergence of suicidal ideation, and to understand the causal effects of interventions on eating disorder symptoms. These learnings are now being adapted into clinical decision-making tools, with the aim of identifying intervention targets that optimally alleviate mental ill-health and improve overall wellbeing.
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