Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Professor Tracey Wade has worked as a clinician in the area of eating disorders for almost 30 years. In 2000, she was awarded the Ian M Campbell memorial prize for outstanding contribution to the scientific or professional status of Clinical Psychology in Australia and in 2003 she was awarded the Australian Psychological Society Early Career Award.

Tracey’s current research interests are in the aetiology, prevention and treatment of eating disorders and perfectionism. She has co-written two books on the treatment of perfectionism and has over 200 publications in peer reviewed journals. In 2015, Tracey was elected a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.

She was the President of the Eating Disorder Research Society in 2017-2018 and is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. In 2018 she was appointed to the Expert Advisory Panel, Million Minds, a federal mental health research mission.

Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Professor Marika Tiggemann's major area of research is body image, very broadly defined. She is one of the most published and highly cited psychology researchers in Australia and has attracted continuous ARC funding since 2006. Her most recent ARC grant (2016-2020), entitled “Warning: This image has been digitally altered”: The effect of disclaimer labels on women’s mood and body dissatisfaction investigated the effectiveness of disclaimer labels attached to fashion magazine images. Her current research focus has turned to social media, particularly Instagram, as a risk factor for negative body image and disordered eating. Marika is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.

Professor, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Professor Eva Kemps has a strong background in cognitive experimental psychology and has extensive experience in its application to a range of eating-related problems, including obesity, disordered eating and eating disorders. She is a Consultant on a five-year NIH grant (2017-2022; US$2,581,134), led by Prof. Eric Stice (Oregon Research Institute, Eugene, USA) for a randomised weight loss trial in overweight adults, and a Partner Investigator on a 4-year Special Research Grant from Ghent University, Belgium (2017-2020; €240,080) to Dr. Lien Goossens to examine the role of self-regulation in binge eating among adolescents. Since 2006 she has consistently obtained funding from the Australian Research Council, attracting four Discovery Projects, all as Lead Chief Investigator, most recently for a collaborative project with Marika Tiggemann titled “Things don’t always go better with Coke” (2018-2021; $420,077).

Associate Professor, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Associate Professor Sarah Cohen-Woods heads the Behavioural Genomic and Environmental Mechanisms laboratory. Her research focuses on integrating environmental factors and epigenomics with genomic risk factors across a range of psychological disorders, including eating disorders. She recently presented a keynote at the ANZAED describing the current state of play of (epi)genomics of eating disorders and will be presenting a keynote the ISST in Copenhagen in 2020 on the neurobiology of psychological therapy. She has been awarded over $1.7 million in category 1 funding since moving to Australia in 2012. Sarah works closely with Professor Tracey Wade on the genomic bases of disordered eating behaviour through adolescence, funded by Breakthrough ($20,000). She recently secured funding to improve her laboratory infrastructure, further improving biobanking facilities and sample quality controls.

Professor, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Professor Reg Nixon is a clinical psychologist who specialises in the area of posttraumatic stress disorder. His research ranges from studying the mechanisms that lead to the maintenance of posttraumatic stress following trauma to testing adaptations and new methods to improve therapies for PTSD and its co-occurring problems. In the last 5 years he has received $940,000 in competitive grants from funders such as the Australian Research Council, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation, and he has previously received funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council and the Australian Rotary Health Fund. He acts regularly as a research and clinical consultant in the field of posttraumatic stress and was a member of the Multidisciplinary Panel for the Australian Guidelines for Treatment of ASD and PTSD in Children and Adults.

Senior Research Fellow, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Simon Wilksch is leading large-scale projects of both eating disorder prevention (school-based RCTs of risk reduction programs) and early intervention (Australia-wide RCTs of online programs for adolescents and young-adults at high-risk or already showing signs of an eating disorder).  He and Professor Tracey Wade developed Media Smart, which is regarded internationally as the leading school-based eating disorder risk reduction program.  His recent funding includes being CIA on a NHRMC Targeted Mental Health grant for prevention of, and early intervention in, mental illness in young people for the project titled Eating disorder prevention in young-adult women at risk: A randomised controlled trial of two online programs ($254,904, with Professor Tracey Wade and international collaborators), along with two 2 Australian Rotary Mental Health Grants related to prevention and early intervention in eating disorders ($177,887 with Professor Tracey Wade and $131,634, with Dr Sue Byrne and Professor Tracey Wade).  In addition to his research role, Dr Wilksch is also a Clinic Director at Advanced Psychology Services, a private practice providing treatment services to children, adolescents and adults experiencing eating disorders that he established 10 years ago with Dr Anna Steele.

Dr Anna Steele completed her PhD in eating disorders at Flinders University in 2007 and has been working primarily as a clinician for the past 12 years. She is one of the Clinic Directors of Advanced Psychology Services (APS), an eating disorder private practice that houses the largest clinical psychology outpatient eating disorder service in the state, with over 400 enquiries each year, and 8 clinicians. The clinic provides evidence-informed treatment to over 200 patients a year. Anna’s role includes clinical work, supervision of psychologists, and clinic management. She is a member of the ANZAED and has published research papers in the area of eating disorders. Anna is also employed in a strategic role within Workforce Services in SA Health.

Lecturer, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Ryan Balzan is a registered clinical psychologist. His research focuses on why people form misbeliefs – that is, beliefs not based on objective facts or reality. Misbeliefs are commonly observed in clinical populations, including the unrealistic (sometimes ‘delusional’) beliefs characteristic of eating disorders (e.g., unrealistic beliefs regarding body image, weight and shape). Dr Balzan has received funding to develop a metacognitive training (MCT) programme for eating disorders, a novel psychological treatment approach that targets the problematic thinking styles underlying these unhealthy beliefs about body image, weight and shape (Australia-Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme, $6,300). He is also the chief investigator on two grants with Professor Wade investigating the feasibility and efficacy of the MCT programme in improving the biased thinking styles in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (Flinders Foundation Health Seed Grant, $21,000; Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation Grant, $32,000).

Research Associate, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Mia Pellizzer is a Research Associate in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work. She has an interest in body image and eating disorders. Her PhD evaluated a shorter cognitive behavioural therapy for non-underweight eating disorders and focused on the predictive role of body image. She was awarded the 2018 Peter Beumont Young Investigator Award by the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED). Dr Pellizzer is employed part time by the Flinders Institute for Mental Health and Wellbeing in a co-design role and is passionate about incorporating lived experience into mental health research. Dr Pellizzer is also a practicing clinical psychologist and has worked in a variety of public and private settings, both in eating disorders and more general areas (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma). She currently works for the Statewide Eating Disorder Service in their newly formed adolescent team.

Research Associate, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Marcela Radunz has an interest in prevention and early intervention of mental health concerns, with a particular interest in disordered eating, weight, and shape concerns. Her PhD evaluated a novel early intervention strategy for eating disorders in primary mental health care (emerge-ED). She was short-listed for the 2022 Peter Beumont Award by the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders. Dr Radunz is also a clinical psychology registrar working with children, adolescents, and their families in private practice.

Academic Status, College of Medicine and Public Health

Dr Randall Long is a Senior Consultant Psychiatrist in the Southern Area Local Health Network, the Head of Unit of the Statewide Eating Disorder Service and Flinders Medical Centre Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Service and a Senior Lecturer at Flinders University. Randall collaborates with Professor Tracey Wade to deliver an embedded research and evaluation structure to assess the outcomes of the Statewide Eating Disorder Service Inpatient and Day patient programs. He has published in the area of eating disorder service challenges and development. Randall provides treatment for people living with Body Dysmorphic Disorder and works with the Department of Plastic Surgery at Flinders conducting pre-surgical assessments. He is collaborating with the Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity at Flinders University researching the social and psychological factors influencing patients receiving abdominoplasty in the public hospital system.

Senior Lecturer, College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Dr Ivanka Prichard's research focuses on the nexus between body image, exercise, and eating behaviour with an emphasis on the impact of social media. In the prevention and early intervention space, Dr Prichard works on promoting positive body image throughout the lifespan. This includes working with the Body Image Movement on film materials for children, supporting parents to foster positive body image environments (Body Confident Mums), and identifying key features of social media to target. She has received funding to progress research in relation to eating behaviour, physical activity, and social media ($40,000 Flinders University seed funding) and has external grants in this area currently review with the ARC and Instagram.

Professor, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Professor Murray Drummond's research interests are based around qualitative sport and health research with a particular interest and expertise in men’s and boys’ body image. He has recently a published a book titled Boy’s Bodies: Sport, Health and Physical Activity (Palgrave Macmillan), which investigates boys’ bodies from early childhood through to adolescence. Professor Drummond also has a strong track record in males and eating disorders using masculinities as a theoretical framework. These research cohorts include younger, older, gay and Asian men. He is regularly invited to present his work nationally and internationally. Of note, Murray’s expertise in sport research has led to three recent significant research projects on girls, women, and LGBTIQ+ community, in sports ($151,000).

Stephen Allison is a psychiatrist and an Associate Professor in the College of Medicine and Public Health and will contribute around contribute around EDs and health services research in psychiatry and general practice.

Dr Catherine Johnson is a Research Fellow in the College of Education, Psychology and Social Work under the broad banner of research translation into real world contexts. Dr Johnson has a particular focus on increasing the effectiveness of wellbeing education programs in schools, and sustaining their successful implementation. This work targets shared risk factors for depression, anxiety and eating disorders in sequenced programs across the school journey, matched to developmental age.

Associate Professor Dylan Mordaunt is a paediatrician and clinical geneticist by background and works as Executive Director of the Women's and Children's Division at Southern Adelaide Local Health District. His research is primarily focused on population health and health services, including health pathway modelling, service evaluation, healthcare quality and safety improvement, and child and youth health.

Research Associate, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Joanne Zhou investigated using imagery rescripting as an adjunct treatment for disordered eating in her PhD. She was awarded the 2019 Peter Beumont Young Investigator Award by the Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED), and the 2020 Flinders University Best Higher Degree by Research Student Publication. Dr Zhou is also a practising clinical psychologist working at the Advanced Psychology Services, providing evidence-based treatments to adolescents and adults experiencing an eating disorder.

Research Fellow, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Jamie-Lee Pennesi has a decade of experience working with eating disorders, as a clinician and as a researcher. Her research has primarily focused on informing the development of more effective interventions for eating disorders and disordered eating. Her portfolio also includes research on body image problems, disordered eating behaviours (e.g., muscularity-oriented behaviours), and changes in eating disorder behaviours over time (e.g., longitudinal, EMA, daily diary studies) among men, sexual minority populations, and clinical eating disorder patients. Dr Pennesi has presented her research at eating disorder and cognitive behavioural conferences globally and has published in high quality peer-reviewed journals. She has received awards for her work, including Flinders University Best Research Higher Degree Student Publication in 2016.

Research Fellow, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work

Dr Madelaine de Valle is currently involved with the evaluation of a program aiming to facilitate access to eating disorder treatment through the introduction of care coordinators in several Australian primary health networks. Her research interests span eating disorders, disordered eating, body image, and perfectionism. Her PhD research investigated factors contributing to the development of disordered eating, focussing on how social media use impacts body image in young people, the roles of self-criticism and perfectionism, and strategies for intervening in this relationship. She was awarded the 2021 Best Higher Degree by Research Student Publication Award for one of her PhD publications. She is also a practising psychologist, having worked in both public and private settings with a range of age groups and presenting concerns, including eating disorders.