Senior Staff

Senior Research staff at MAPrc include psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, neuroscientists, and clinical researchers. They are a highly dedicated group with postgraduate research qualifications and/or substantial clinical research experience. Senior Research staff contribute to the strategic research direction of MAPrc, and occupy a diverse range of roles across all research streams. Primary responsibilities of MAPrc senior research staff include the coordination and management of research projects (under the guidance of the Executive Team), mentoring and supervising junior researchers and students, teaching, applying for competitive research funding, presenting at research conferences and seminars, and preparing research reports for publication.

Dr Caroline Gurvich

Dr Caroline Gurvich

Caroline is a Senior Research Fellow and a clinical neuropsychologist.

Caroline is the Deputy Director, MAPrc and Deputy Driector of the Women’s Mental Health Division at MAPrc, and Head of the “Hormones and Cognition Group". Caroline combines neuropsychological assessments with eye movement research to clearly characterise cognition. She has a particular interest in how hormones influence cognitive functioning in mental health and illness.

Caroline has over 75 publications that have ultimately contributed to a better understanding of how biological factors influence symptoms and cognition in mental health and mental illness. She is the recipient of several awards, prizes and competitive grant funding, including NHMRC project grants, an NHMRC early career fellowship, Rebecca Cooper Foundation project grant as well as institutional and philanthropic funding. She is a dedicated supervisor to PhD candidates, honours students, neuropsychology registrars and medical student placements. Caroline has established ongoing biodatabanks to better understand biological mechanisms underpinning symptoms across a range of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Caroline is also passionate about gender equity in science and is the Chair of the central clinical school Gender Equity Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) committee.

Current projects and key areas of interest

Sex hormones and cognition

"Hormones and the Mind" - tracking hormones and cognition across the menstrual cycle in healthy women and women with premenstrual mood disorders
Cognitive changes associated with the menopause transition
The role of sex hormones in healthy cognitive aging as well as cognitive decline

Eye movements in psychiatry

Establishing eye movement profiles across a range of neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia spectrum, complex trauma disorders, depression and hormone related conditions

Stress hormones, early life adversity and cognition

Understanding the impact of early life adversity and stress on adult cognition

If you would like to find out more about Caroline's research, please contact:

caroline.gurvich@monash.edu

Student Supervision and Research Team members

For available PhD projects: For Project Details Click Here

Sex hormones, cognition and aging
Cognitive functioning and emotion processing during the menopause transition
Impact of type and timing of childhood adversity on adult cognition and psychopathology

Current PhD Supervision

Jacqueline Riddiford PhD Student, The Mirror Neuron System and Autism Spectrum Disorder: An investigation into visual processing influences
Tanya Gilmartin, PhD Student, The relationship between dimensional models of personality pathology and disordered eating behaviour
Brad Stolz-Grobusch PhD Student, Characterisation of subgroups in Borderline Personality Disorder and the potential for Cognitive Bias Modification training
Paige Gray, PhD Student, Characterising premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Current Neuropsychology registrar supervision

Dr Melanie Emonson

Current Post-doctoral Supervions

Dr Natalie Thomas
Dr Elizabeth Thomas

Current (2020) honours supervision

Brienna Altman
Kali Fabiatos

Current (2020) medical student research placement supervision

Taran Giddey
Jessica Le

Completed PhD Candidates Supervision

Elizabeth Thomas (Monash University, PhD, 2019)
Sean Carruthers (Swinburne University, PhD, 2019)
Sacha Filia (Monash University, PhD 2016)
Phillip Law (Monash University, PhD 2017)
Mehrnaz Shoushstarian (Monash University, PhD 2008).
Kay McCauley (Monash University, PhD 2009)

Ms Emmy Gavrilidis

Emmy Gavrilidis

BAppSci (Psychology)– Women’s Mental Health Division - Research Manager

Emmy Gavrilidis is the Women’s Mental Health Division Research Manager at MAPrc, a position she has held since April 2017. Prior to this Ms Gavrilidis was the Women’s Mental Health Division Coordinator (2011-2017) and Research Assistant (2007-2011).

While working in these roles Emmy developed her skills in data collection and study coordination research methodology, protocol development and staff and student supervision. She has a strong career background in scientific research and has coordinated and managed several large international multi-centre research trials, with recruiting centres from all over the world.

Emmy has extensive research experience and her role encompasses facilitating communication between collaborators, liaison with internal and external stakeholders, preparation of research grants, manuscripts, reports and ethics submissions, promotions and budgeting and financial management. She is also a key player in the organising committee for a number of national and international conferences.

At MAPrc, Emmy is responsible for supporting strategic and operational processes with the goal to ensure growth and success of the division in research, teaching, learning and engagement. She is also a liaison for philanthropic, industry and partner collaborations in the Women’s Mental Health Division and is responsible for providing research progress reports to these bodies.

Dr Elizabeth Thomas

Dr Elizabeth Thomas is a post-doctoral research fellow who gained her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience (2019) and a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Hons)/Bachelor of Science (2014) from Monash University. Elizabeth has authored or co-authored one invited book chapter and 15 publications in high-ranking journals, and has presented her research at >30 national and international conferences in the areas of mental health, sex hormones and/or cognition. She has a passion for research in infertility and women’s mental health, and her research aims to better understand mood fluctuations across abnormal menstrual cycles in women suffering with infertility.

Dr Eveline Mu

Dr Eveline Mu BSc (Psychology and Psychophysiology), BHSc (Hons), PhD (Cognitive Neuroscience)

Research Fellow and Clinical Trials Co-ordinator

Eveline completed her Doctor of Philosophy (Cognitive Neuroscience) at Swinburne University of Technology in 2021 under the supervision of Professor David Crewther. her Ph research utilised electrophysiological measures to better understand the early visual processing in the broader autistic phenotype, particularly the mechanisms underlying emotion processing. Her thesis was nominated for the Wallace Research medal.

Currently, Eveline’s research focuses on emotion regulation in Complex Trauma Disorder (also known as Borderline Personality Disorder). Her interest in Complex Trauma Disorder stemmed from her initial role as a clinical trials coordinator for the various investigator-initiated and sponsored trials in this population. Eveline is a committed supervisor to Honours students and medical students on placements. She also coordinates the professional development and research forum sessions at MAPrc.

Current projects and key areas of interest

Emotion processing/regulation and cognition in Complex Trauma Disorder

The Alison Project – examining the effects of Memantine in emotion regulation and cognition in Complex Trauma Disorder
Understanding the early attentional processes using eye tracking and electroencephalograph

Migraines and Complex Trauma Disorder

Association between migraines and Complex Trauma Disorder

If you would like to find out more about Eveline's research, please contact eveline.mu@monash.edu

Dr Caroline Thew

Dr Thew is the endocrinologist at the Women's Mental Health Clinic (WMHC) with over 20 years experience working as a clinical endocrinologist, in private practice, and attached to Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Her PhD research topic was Studies of Insulin Resistance in Human Adiopocytes and she maintains a particular interest in Type II diabetes and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

She has developed a weight loss and exercise program with the motivational psychologist at the WMHC, Cindy Yu. This is particularly helpful for patients who may have experienced weight gain as a side effect of their psychiatric medication.

Dr Thew has experience in perimenopausal hormone management and this is an expanding area of clinical and research interest. She has also been involved in the development of the online short course in Women's Mental Health.