ProfessorTim Silk
Professor
Faculty of Health/School of Psychology/Deakin Lifespan Institute
Orcid identifier0000-0002-7290-512X (opens in a new tab)
- ProfessorFaculty of Health/School of Psychology/Deakin Lifespan Institute
- +61 3 924 46894 (Work)
- Melbourne Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Neuroimaging
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Projects
Trajectories in brain structure and function for children with ADHD.
An arm of the Children's Attention Project, this is a large longitudinal
neuroimaging project conducted in order to understand how brain structure and
function change across late childhood to early adolescence for children with
and without ADHD, and how those changes reflect symptoms and functional
outcomes.
Understanding the role of epigenetic factors in both typical and atypical
brain and cognitive development
The field of developmental epigenomics is beginning to identify how specific
environmental factors influence brain structure and function at critical
stages of development. Using both a sample of ADHD and a typically developing
twin cohort we are examining whether epigenetic state, or changes in
epigenetic state, can predict brain and cognitive development or clinical
presentation. In addition, can we identify modifiable environmental factors
associated with the changes in epigenetic state.
The influence of puberty on brain and cognitive development.
Adolescence is a dynamic period of brain development that drives cognitive
maturity. The hormones involved in puberty directly contribute to shaping
brain development.
This project examines how trajectories of brain development and the related
maturation of cognitive ability are influenced by the sensitive transition
through puberty.
Neuroimaging
Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Projects
Trajectories in brain structure and function for children with ADHD.
An arm of the Children's Attention Project, this is a large longitudinal
neuroimaging project conducted in order to understand how brain structure and
function change across late childhood to early adolescence for children with
and without ADHD, and how those changes reflect symptoms and functional
outcomes.
Understanding the role of epigenetic factors in both typical and atypical
brain and cognitive development
The field of developmental epigenomics is beginning to identify how specific
environmental factors influence brain structure and function at critical
stages of development. Using both a sample of ADHD and a typically developing
twin cohort we are examining whether epigenetic state, or changes in
epigenetic state, can predict brain and cognitive development or clinical
presentation. In addition, can we identify modifiable environmental factors
associated with the changes in epigenetic state.
The influence of puberty on brain and cognitive development.
Adolescence is a dynamic period of brain development that drives cognitive
maturity. The hormones involved in puberty directly contribute to shaping
brain development.
This project examines how trajectories of brain development and the related
maturation of cognitive ability are influenced by the sensitive transition
through puberty.
GRANTS
- GRANTUnderstanding the contribution of cognitive, psychosocial and biological mechanisms to motor outcomes in children with DCD and ADHD: A 2-year longitudinal follow-up1 Jun 2025 - 1 Jun 2027People funded by this grant:
- GRANTModels of adolescent brain development to predict socioemotional function1 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2027People funded by this grant:
- Silk T,
- Vijayakumar N,
- Whittle S,
- Byrne M,
- Barendse M
- GRANTThe urge-to-tic: Examining the neural and experiential bases of Tourette syndrome1 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2027People funded by this grant:
- Silk T,
- Curtis-Wendlandt L,
- Maxwell A,
- Zouki J-J,
- Reynolds J
- GRANTExploring Gut-Brain Connections: Investigating Modifiable Microbial Determinants of Neurodevelopment in Mid-Childhood: A Twin Study Approach1 Oct 2024 - 31 Aug 2026People funded by this grant:
- Craig J,
- Silk T,
- Stephenson G,
- Dawson S,
- O'Hely M
- GRANTExploring the Role of White Matter and Brain Network Connectivity as Mechanisms for Explaining the Benefits of Physical Activity in Children with ADHD1 Mar 2024 - 1 Mar 2026People funded by this grant:
- Fuelscher I,
- Hyde C,
- Silk T,
- McGillivray J,
- Barhoun P
- GRANTDiet and the microbiome: implications for neurodevelopment in early to mid-childhood1 Jan 2022 - 30 Sep 2023People funded by this grant:
- Craig J,
- Loughman A,
- Silk T,
- Stephenson G
- GRANTDoes childhood white matter microstructure predict internalising problems in adolescents with ADHD?1 Jun 2021 - 31 May 2022People funded by this grant:
- Hyde C,
- Mostofsky S,
- Enticott P,
- Rinehart N,
- Silk T
- GRANTThe interplay between sleep and emotion dysregulation in adolescents with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) - Susannah Bellows1 Jan 2020 - 31 Dec 2022People funded by this grant:
- Silk T,
- Bellows S,
- Sciberras E
- GRANTThe microstructural basis of DCD and its co-occurrence with ADHD: an advanced constrained deconvolution1 Jan 2019 - 31 May 2023People funded by this grant:
- Hyde C,
- Caeyenberghs K,
- Williams J,
- Fuelscher I,
- Silk T
- GRANTUsing epigenetics to predict the onset and different development trajectories in ADHD18 Jun 2018 - 30 Jul 2019People funded by this grant:
- Silk T,
- Craig J,
- Sciberras E
- GRANTQuantifying the role of epigenetic factors in neurocognitive outcomes: a twin study1 Jan 2018 - 31 Dec 2021People funded by this grant:
- Craig J,
- Seal M,
- Silk T,
- Burnett A,
- Theda C