Research interests of the research team offering the project
The student will be embedded within the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program of Orygen/Centre for Youth Mental Health, led by Professor Lianne Schmaal. The Mood and Anxiety Disorders Research Program focuses on learning and understanding more about depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety in young people and how best to treat it.
The research is broad – ranging from clinical neuroscience identifying mechanisms underlying mood and anxiety disorders, to trialling new treatments including psychological, pharmaceutical, digital and brain stimulation treatments.
Details of the project
Major depressive disorder is a highly heterogeneous mental illness. It has been estimated that at least a thousand unique symptom combinations exist that all qualify for the same diagnosis of major depressive disorder.
Distinct biological mechanisms may underlie at least a proportion of these different symptom profiles, which could require different treatments. If we could refine the broad diagnosis of major depressive disorder into more homogeneous sub-types, we could hopefully improve our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying depression and, ultimately, potentially improve treatment options for people suffering from depression.
This PhD or MPhil project will focus on identifying clinical, behavioural and biological sub-types of depression using clinical, neuroimaging, genetic and mobile phone data available from local datasets of young people with depression, as well as from large-scale databases including the ENIGMA Major Depressive Disorder consortium and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study.
Project references
- Fried EI, Nesse RM. Depression is not a consistent syndrome: an investigation of unique symptom patterns in the STAR*D study. J Affect Disord 2015;172:96-102.
- Toenders YJ, Schmaal L, Harrison BJ, Dinga R, Berk M, Davey CG. Neurovegetative symptom subtypes in young people with major depressive disorder and their structural brain correlates. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10(1): 108.
- Baller EB, Kaczkurkin AN, Sotiras A, Adebimpe A, Bassett DS et al. Neurocognitive and functional heterogeneity in depressed youth. Neuropsychopharmacology 2021; 46(4): 783-790.
Scholarships and fees
A stipend is not available for this project.
To complete this project as a MPhil:
Scholarships are available through the University of Melbourne. More information here.
Other scholarship opportunities may also be available but are highly competitive. Please speak to the contact person below for more information.
Domestic Master of Philosophy students do not incur fees. Information on University of Melbourne fees for international students is available here.
To complete this project as a PhD:
Scholarships are available through the University of Melbourne – find out more here.
Other scholarship opportunities may also be available but are highly competitive, so please speak to the contact person below for further details.
Information on fees for domestic and international students is available here.
How to apply
To complete this project as a MPhil:
- Read information for future students here, and check your eligibility here.
- Read our frequently asked questions here.
- Liaise with, and gain the support of, the supervisor/s. Please contact them using the details below and attach a copy of your CV and university transcript(s).
- Once you’ve gained supervisor support, submit your application here.
To complete this project as a PhD:
- Read information for future students here and check your eligibility here.
- Read our frequently asked questions here.
- Liaise with, and gain the support of, the supervisor/s. Please contact them using the details below and attach a copy of your CV and university transcript(s).
- Once you’ve gained supervisor support, follow the steps outlined by the University of Melbourne here. You can go straight to step three.
You are strongly encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Contact
Professor Lianne Schmaal
[email protected]