Available PhD projects

Project type: PhD Scholarship

Supervisors: Dr Jasmin Grigg

Area: Alcohol brief intervention, breast screening

Research group: Clinical & Social Research (CSR), Turning Point (Richmond) and Eastern Health Clinical School (Monash University)

Alcohol is a major modifiable risk factor for female breast cancer, even in very low amounts. Yet, awareness of this risk remains surprisingly low, and is not systematically addressed in healthcare settings. The Health4Her program of research uses co-design and implementation science methods to raise awareness of the alcohol-breast cancer link among women participating in population-based breast screening programs, and support women to keep their consumption in a low-risk range.

A PhD scholarship is being offered to conduct research as part of the Health4Her program of research, to examine alcohol-related harms among women aged 40+ years through analyses of an existing population-level dataset, conduct a systematic review on alcohol preventive interventions offered in the context of population cancer screening programs, and contribute to co-design studies and effectiveness-implementation trials examining how a digital preventive alcohol and lifestyle intervention can be optimally embedded in breast screening services, and adapted for other healthcare settings and populations.

The project will involve quantitative and qualitative research methods, use of implementation research frameworks, and consumer and expert stakeholder participation approaches.

Project type: PhD Scholarship

Supervisors: Dr Rowan Ogeil and Dr Bosco Rowland

Area: Alcohol, burden of disease, epidemiology, health surveillance data

Research group: National Addiction and Mental Health Surveillance Unit (NAMHSU), Turning Point (Richmond) and Eastern Health Clinical School (Monash University)

Alcohol consumption is the fifth highest contributor to burden of disease in Australia and a major avoidable risk factor for disease and injury. Despite stable per-capita consumption over the past two decades, 3-in-4 Australians regularly drink alcohol, with 1-in-4 adults exceeding the NHMRC’s single occasion risky drinking guidelines at least monthly.

Hence, there is a need at the population level to: monitor harms associated with alcohol; identify locations and sociodemographic groups most at risk; understand the types of harm caused; work with stakeholders to contextualise these harms. This will be achieved through identifying times, places, situations, and development stages that elevate alcohol risks. This work will result in the development and validation of tools or instruments that policy makers and governments can use to reduce alcohol harms and promote the health of everyday Australians.

Project type: PhD Scholarship

Supervisors: Prof Dan Lubman AM, Prof Vic Manning, A/Prof Shalini Arunogiri, Dr Rowan Ogeil

Area: Sleep disorder, alcohol use disorder, clinical trial

Research group: National Addiction and Mental Health Surveillance Unit (NAMHSU), Turning Point (Richmond) and Eastern Health Clinical School (Monash University)

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a leading cause of injury and chronic disease and mortality in Australia, and the leading cause of disability or death for those aged 15-49, the most economically productive sector of society. Despite advances in our understanding of the neurobiology of AUD, and in particular the role of the orexin system in the drive to seek and consume alcohol, the clinical treatment of AUD by psychosocial and/or pharmacological interventions has proven difficult. While treatment can lead to striking improvements in physical and mental health outcomes, often the results are poor particularly when comorbid conditions including sleep disturbances such as insomnia are present. This is problematic given that sleep disturbances are a prominent clinical problem in AUD, and are recognised as an important predictor of relapse. This PhD project will work on clinical trials and studies at Turning Point to investigate sleep disturbances in patients seeking treatment for AUD. The project will involve collection and analysis of both subjective and objective measures of sleep with outcomes of this work helping to delineate the role and impact that comorbid sleep disturbances have on the course and progression of recovery from AUD.

This PhD program would suit applicants with a background in psychology, psychiatry or sleep medicine.

PhD Scholarship Opportunity

Project type: PhD Scholarship

Supervisors: Professor Victoria Manning

Area: Neurocognitive mechanisms, treatments & clinical trials

Research group: Clinical & Social Research (CSR), Turning Point (Richmond) and Eastern Health Clinical School (Monash University)

In recent years, there has been a growing appreciation of the role that subconscious “cognitive biases” play in addiction. This has led to the development of novel computerised interventions called cognitive bias modification” (CBM) that aim to alter these cognitive biases triggered by drug-related stimuli in the environment. Research suggests that one particular type of CBM is effective at treating alcohol use disorders, in certain treatment contexts, populations. Part of the mystery behind why and how CBM works in some contexts and not others, is that we don’t yet understand the neural, psychological, and behavioural mechanisms that underlie its efficacy.

This PhD scholarship is supported by two NHMRC funded studies and will fund a candidate to work as part of a multidisciplinary team in a program of research examining how cognitive biases vary across the spectrum of alcohol use disorder severity and how they are influenced by factors such as time of day, mood, and physical/social context. The candidate will receive training in, and use a range of psychophysiological, cognitive, behavioural, and psychological measurement techniques in both clinical trials and experimental laboratory-based studies. This program of research aims to both deepen our knowledge of the cognitive psychology of addiction at the theoretical level, and to broaden its practical application through improved CBM interventions that can be effective in a wider range of contexts, patients, and delivery platforms (including smartphone-apps).

The student will be co-supervised by A/Prof Kristian Rotaru at Monash Business Behavioural Laboratory (MBBL). MBBL offers a platform to conduct multimodal experiments utilising the latest technologies in eye tracking, skin conductance, electrocardiography (ECG), electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), automated facial expression analysis, and virtual reality. The use of these technologies will provide the candidate with a unique opportunity to design and test novel interventions that will advance our understanding of cognitive biases and its modification.

This PhD program would suit applicants from a psychology, neuroscience or related mental health background.