ProfessorAdrienne O'Neil

Professor Adrienne O'Neil is a behavioural scientist at Deakin University who specialises in lifestyle medicine and rehabilitation across mental and
cardiovascular disorders. She is an NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellowship (2022-26) at the Food & Mood Centre, Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT) Institute at Deakin University. Prof O'Neil's research focuses on understanding shared pathways, pathophysiology, and treatment of mental and physical disorders, with a focus on lifestyle interventions. Relative to opportunity, Prof ONeil has an exceptional track record, as evidenced by her Level E appointment at 8.5 years post-PhD (one career interruption). She has 1st author publications in Lancet, Circulation, JAMA Internal Medicine and BMC Medicine, and is cited in: (1) international guidelines on screening for depression in cardiac patients (2013 Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care), (2) National Heart Foundation of Australia position statement on screening, referral and treatment for depression in patients with heart disease; (3) Cardiac Society of Australia and NZ Position Paper Optimising Secondary Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation for Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic; (4) Australian clinical practice guidelines in mental health including the Royal Australia & NZ College of Psychiatrists Clinical Guidelines for Mood Disorders and (5) Australian Government Productivity Commission in Mental Health (2020). For more than 10 years, Prof ONeil has been supported by Cat 1 personnel funding. She secured an MRFF Mental Health & Covid19 grant as CIA (#2005584), as CI on grants including NHMRC Synergy (2020-4), MRFF CVD Mission (2023-26), MRFF Consumer Led Grant (2023-26), a $12 million MRFF Mental Health Million Minds Mission (2021-25), and Translating Targeted Research Accelerator schemes. She Co-Chaired the 2023 World Federation of the Societies of Biological Psychiatry Clinical Guidelines for Lifestyle-based Mental Healthcare for Major Depressive Disorder and leads the Global Burden of Disease Lifestyle and Mental Disorders (GLAD) taskforce (GLAD) which seeks to calculate for the first time the extent to which health behaviours explain the onset of mental disorders.