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Mental health research rewarded

7 December 2005

Monash researchers have received more than $140,000 in funding through the Australian Rotary Health Research Fund.

Dr Britt Klein (pictured), Mr David Austin and Dr Litza Kiropoulos from the Department of General Practice were awarded almost $55,000 to develop an online treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

The grant will fund the first year of the study, during which the researchers will also evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment on 40 patients.

The online treatment will also look at issues associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, including drug and alcohol use, sleeping problems, depression, panic and stress management.

The study builds on a Department of General Practice project that is testing the effectiveness of online treatments for panic disorder.

Professor Jayashri Kulkarni, Director of the Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, which coordinates research between the hospital and the university, also received $33,500 to study best practice in the management of psychosis in pregnancy.

Professor Kulkarni has established a register of pregnant women who have been prescribed medication for psychosis and will monitor the effects of medication on the pregnancy, the newborn child and the child's development.

Ms Julia Ellis from the Department of Physiology and Mr Timothy Silk from the School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine were each awarded $26,000 Ian Scott Fellowships under the grant scheme.

Ms Ellis received the fellowship for her project 'Nicotinic neuroreceptor imaging with PET in normal ageing and Alzheimer's disease', Mr Silk's project is investigating brain function in people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.