DrAmelia McGuinness

Dr Amelia McGuinness is a Clinical Trialist and Research Fellow at the Food & Mood Centre, Deakin University. Her research focuses on developing and evaluating novel microbiome-informed interventions for mental health, women's health, and other complex chronic conditions through investigator-led clinical trials.

She leads a growing program of translational research spanning conditions with substantial unmet clinical need, including Long COVID, chronic pelvic pain, adolescent mental health, recurrent urinary tract infections, and hormone-sensitive mood disorders. Her work combines clinical trial methodology, microbiome science, nutrition, and lived-experience engagement to develop interventions that are acceptable, scalable, and capable of improving real-world health outcomes.

Dr McGuinness has secured more than ~$3 million in competitive research funding as a Chief Investigator A, and leads multiple funded clinical trials. These include studies investigating faecal microbiota transplantation for Long COVID and chronic pelvic pain, and gut-focused interventions for adolescent mental health.

Her broader goal is to transform how complex conditions are treated by identifying and rigorously evaluating novel biological and behavioural interventions through high-quality clinical trials. Through partnerships with health services, consumers, community organisations, and industry, her research aims to accelerate the translation of emerging scientific discoveries into clinical practice.

Areas of expertise:

• Clinical Trial Design and Delivery: Investigator-initiated trials, feasibility studies, protocols, governance, ethics, regulatory and sponsor oversight.
• Microbiome Research: Gut microbiome analysis, faecal microbiota transplantation, probiotics, and dietary modulation of the microbiome.
• Mental Health Research: Depression, anxiety, psychological wellbeing, nutritional psychiatry and microbiome-gut-brain interactions.
• Women's Health: Chronic pelvic pain, hormone-sensitive mood disorders and emerging microbiome-based interventions.
• Translational Research: Developing and evaluating novel interventions and translating research findings into clinical practice.