DrDebbie Ashtree

Debbie is an Associate Research Fellow at the Food & Mood Centre, with a focus on public health, epidemiology and biostatistics. Debbie has a BSc (Genetics), a MSc (Epidemiology) and a PhD (Epidemiology and Biostatistics), all from the University of Melbourne. She has a research background in the developmental origins of health and disease, with a focus on how gestational factors (including maternal diet and weight gain) can influence long-term health in children.

Debbie's current research interest is understanding the role of lifestyle risk factors for mental disorders, with a focus on epidemiology and public health. She is the current project manager and lead biostatistician for the Global burden of disease Lifestyle And mental Disorder (GLAD) Taskforce, which focuses on the links between common mental disorders and lifestyle behaviours – including diet, exercise, sleep, and smoking. This work aims to introduce lifestyle factors as risk-outcome pairs for mental health in the Global Burden of Disease database.