Our senior medical team is made up of our Consultant Neuropsychiatrists and a Consultant Neurologist.
Neuropsychiatry is a sub-specialty of psychiatry focusing on the interrelation of psychiatric disorders and neurology.
Neurology is a branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the nervous system.
Professor Dennis Velakoulis is a consultant neuropsychiatrist and director of the Neuropsychiatry Centre, Royal Melbourne Hospital. Following graduation from the University of Melbourne in Medicine, Professor Velakoulis completed a Diploma of Criminology before successfully completing his Fellowship for the RANZCP in 1994. He was then was appointed as an NHMRC Research Fellow at the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, where he worked in Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and began world-leading research into the volumetric measurement of the hippocampus and other brain regions in schizophrenia, publishing in journals such as The Lancet and high-impact psychiatric journals including Archives of General Psychiatry. He completed a Masters of Medicine in Neuroscience in 1997. In 2001, Professor Velakoulis was appointed Director of Neuropsychiatry at The Royal Melbourne Hospital and has led a multidisciplinary team providing clinical care to patients across the breadth of neuropsychiatry. In 2012 he successfully completed his doctoral thesis examining neuroimaging and neuropathological markers of brain changes in schizophrenia. Professor Velakoulis has published over 400 Medline-indexed scientific papers and been a chief investigator of numerous research grants.
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Associate Professor Samantha Loi is a neuropsychiatrist and old age psychiatrist, who graduated in medicine from Monash University in 2002 and obtained her Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 2011. She also completed Advanced Training in Psychiatry of Old Age in 2012, and her PhD in 2016. She has clinical expertise in the areas of neuropsychiatric disorders such as Huntington’s disease (HD) and other younger-onset dementias and has previously worked with older adults in metropolitan and regional settings. She has been involved with pro bono work with asylum seekers and refugees and is a firm believer in advocacy and supporting those who are most vulnerable.
Associate Professor Loi’s clinical experience is complemented by her clinical-research. She is a Principal Research Fellow at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, and has been funded by NHMRC Postgraduate and Early Career Fellowships. Her PhD investigated depression in older carers and she continues to explore ways to support carers of people who attend Neuropsychiatry. Current projects involve the Commonwealth Funded Joint Solutions Project, investigating gaps and barriers in the pathways of care for young-onset dementia. Associate Professor Loi is also involved with using technology to improve the care of people with dementia and other psychiatric disorders and developed the Symptom Assessment Manager (www.cerescape.com/sam) which monitors neuropsychiatric symptoms in real-time.
Dr Dhamidhu Eratne graduated in medicine from the University of Auckland in 2007. After extensive experience in consultation-liaison psychiatry and psychiatry of old age, he completed his two years of advanced training at Neuropsychiatry, obtaining his Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 2016. After working as an old age psychiatrist and senior lecturer, Dhamidhu was proud to join Neuropsychiatry in 2017, working in the younger-onset and neuropsychiatry outpatient and inpatient, and epilepsy services. Dhamidhu’s interests include younger-onset dementia, biomarkers, clinical reasoning, education, and the interface between psychiatry, neurology, and the rest of general medicine. He completed his certificate of advanced training in consultation-liaison psychiatry of advanced training, and is completing the certificate in old age psychiatry. In addition, he is an Honorary Fellow at the Walter and Elizabeth Hall Institute of Medical Research and the University of Melbourne, and is a keen clinician researcher, and enjoys lecturing and supervising students. Dhamidhu is undertaking a PhD and is the clinical/research fellow on the Markers in Neuropsychiatric Disorders Study (The MiND Study), investigating biomarkers and other markers in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, with a view to clinical translation to improve outcomes for patients, their families and clinicians, and the healthcare system.
Dr Sarah Farrand is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and has worked at the Neuropsychiatry Unit since 2016. Sarah completed her medical training at the University of Sydney in 2009 before joining the training program at NorthWestern Mental Health in 2011, receiving her fellowship with RANZCP in 2018. Sarah completed her Masters of Psychiatry through The University of Melbourne in 2015. Sarah currently oversees the Deep Brain Stimulation program for Obsessive-compulsive Disorder, which was the first of its kind in Australia set up by Prof Velakoulis and A/Prof Evans in 2010. Sarah has recently been involved in improving telehealth services for those in regional Victoria living with young-onset dementia. Sarah is involved in supervision and training of registrars as well as medical students through the University of Melbourne.
His main clinical interests are general neurology, pharmacological and surgical management of movement disorders, neurobehavioural medicine, neurophysiology and botulinum toxin treatment of dystonia and spasticity. Dr Evans has an active private practice based in central Melbourne.
Andrew Evans is a consultant neurologist and was trained at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in general medicine. He specialised in neurology at the Royal Melbourne and Western Hospitals and the Kingston Centre and then carried out a movement disorders fellowship at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London where he completed a doctoral thesis in dopaminergic function in Parkinson's disease. He is currently Director of Movement Disorders at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in addition to his role at the Neuropsychiatry Unit, and is a Honorary Senior Lecturer with the University of Melbourne.
Dr Tom Reilly is a consultant neuropsychiatrist in Neuropsychiatry at RMH. He completed a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery at Deakin in 2015 and a Masters of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne in 2021. Tom has academic interest in research and teaching, and clinical interests in neuroimaging, psychiatric aetiology, organic psychiatry, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Dr. Matthew Kang is a clinician-researcher obtained his Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and advanced certificate in Old Age Psychiatry in 2023. He is currently a research fellow for the MiND Study and Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuropsychiatry Centre, and is working on completing his PhD at the University of Melbourne. Through his research, he aims to gain a better understanding of the complex relationship between the brain and the mind, with the goal of improving assessment and care for patients and carers with mental illness.
Dr Pierre Wibawa is a consultant neuropsychiatrist who works in research and clinical trial at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He is a graduate from the University of Otago, New Zealand and has worked at the Neuropsychiatry Centre since 2017. He is currently involved in various disease-modifying clinical trials for Huntington disease, Niemann Pick type C, prion disease and frontotemporal dementia. He also delves into the neuroimaging research of various neurodegenerative diseases.
Sivenanthini is a Neuropsychiatry fellow at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. She is a psychiatrist from Malaysia with over 10 years experience working in the field of clinical psychiatry, community psychiatry and administrative roles in general hospitals and mental health institutions. She obtained her Bachelor of Surgery/Bachelor of Medicine(MBBS) from Manipal University, India in 2008 and Masters of Psychological Medicine (MPM) in Malaysia in 2019. She has been involved in neuromodulation therapy, online caregivers' support group and has been managing neuropsychiatry patients during her training in Neuropsychiatry in Malaysia since 2022. She has clinical interest in organic psychiatry, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disorders.
Jiunn Heng is a Neuropsychiatry fellow at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. He is a psychiatrist from Malaysia who began his training in the field of Neuropsychiatry in 2023. He attained his medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine, International Medical University, Malaysia in 2014 and awarded the Member of Royal College of Psychiatrists, United Kingdom in 2020. He has worked in many public hospitals in both East and West Malaysia. Having served a multitude of communities, he appreciates the nuanced variation in cultural experiences and understanding of mental health among people with different backgrounds. His keen interests include functional neurological disorders, younger-onset dementia and neuromodulation therapies.
Nicca is a neuropsychiatry registrar and advanced trainee in consultation liaison psychiatry. She completed her Doctor of Medicine in 2019. Nicca has published research concerning misconduct within the medical profession. She is currently studying a Masters of Internal Medicine at the University of Sydney. Prior to her medical career, Nicca worked as a lawyer in the private and public sectors. She holds a board position with the Melbourne-based homeless charity, 300 Blankets, and provides its volunteers with mental health “first aid” training. Nicca’s clinical interests include the organic psychoses, schizophrenia, and the psychiatric sequelae of medical illness.
Dr Seamus O’Hanlon is a Neuropsychiatry Registrar and Advanced Trainee in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry. He completed his undergraduate Medical Studies at Trinity College Dublin in 2016. He has always been passionate about the practice of Psychiatry and began his specialist training in 2020. Since then he was worked in various different hospitals across the state in both metropolitan and regional settings, and in both the Public and Private sector. Seamus has a special interest in Functional Neurological Disorders and the Mind Body connection. He is passionate about the education of medical students and is currently engaged in the Psychiatry teaching program at Melbourne University.
Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology that is concerned with how injuries or illnesses of the brain and the rest of the nervous system influence a person's cognition (memory thinking, attention) and behaviours. Clinical neuropsychologists assess and treat people with brain disorders that affect memory, learning, attention, language, reading, problem-solving and decision-making.
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Dr Wendy Kelso is a Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist (P4) at Neuropsychiatry, Royal Melbourne Hospital and is the co-ordinator of Neuropsychology services. She was the Clinical Lead on the Better Care Victoria BRIGHT-YOD Innovation Project: ‘Utilising telehealth to bridge the gaps in Young Onset Dementia’ working in collaboration Cognitive Dementia and Memory Services (CDAMS), Dementia Australia and Huntington’s Victoria. Dr Kelso was instrumental in establishing the Melbourne Young Onset Dementia Service (MYOD), a clinic specifically designed to provide assessment and diagnosis, psychological interventions, behavioural advice, practical support and referral for families living with Young Onset Dementia. She is the Fronto-Temporal Dementia Support Group facilitator for Dementia Australia and is an alumni of the Safer Care Victoria Clinical Leadership Mentoring Program. Dr Kelso has developed national educational and training programs for health professionals and consumers and carers in collaboration with Dementia Australia and Huntington’s Victoria. She is involved in translational research in the areas of telehealth and teleneuropsychology, cognition, Young Onset Dementia, Huntington’s disease, Niemann Pick Type C and Phenylketonuria. Dr Kelso has 18 years clinical experience in the fields of neuropsychiatry and dementia and is passionate about improving service provision and access to care for those living with neuropsychiatric conditions.
Joanna completed her Doctorate of Clinical Neuropsychology at La Trobe University. She commenced her career working in rehabilitation and old age psychiatry at the Caulfield General Medical Centre before joining the Neuropsychiatry Centre where she has worked within both the inpatient and outpatient settings. She has provided neuropsychological assessments, education and practical recommendations to patients and their families in addition to coordinating the neuropsychology student training program. Since 2018, Joanna has coordinated the NWMH Cognitive Assessment & Advisory Service (CAAS), an outpatient neuropsychology assessment clinic for consumers within the adult mental health setting. She provides diagnostic advice, education regarding the impact of mental health on cognition and cognitive remediation strategies for consumers and their support network. She is also involved in education and training for health professionals across RMH MH Services in addition to continuing to support neuropsychology students in their clinical training.
Joanna is currently a clinician researcher on an international observational project in Huntington's disease (ENROLL-HD). Her previous research experience has also included a number of projects investigating the measures used by neuropsychologists in the assessment of decision-making capacity; the influence of orthographic knowledge on phonological awareness tasks; and comparing the cognitive profiles in patients with schizophrenia and fronto-temporal dementia.
Patrick completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Melbourne. There his research investigated the neural correlates of decision-making and the factors that impact outcome after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in patients at The Alfred Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital. With regards to clinical experience, Patrick has worked as a neuropsychologist in oncology and rehabilitation settings in the past. Patrick is a senior clinical neuropsychologist and acting psychology manager at Epworth Richmond Acute Hospital, providing neuropsychological advice and intervention across the hospital. He has been working as a clinical neuropsychologist within the Neuropsychiatry Centre since 2020, where he provides diagnosis and support to patients with complex neuropsychiatric disorders.
Jodi completed her Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology degree at La Trobe University in 2012, with doctoral research publications in the field of cellular mechanisms of memory. She has over eight years of experience working as a clinical neuropsychologist across a variety of settings within the Victorian public health service, including mental health services, acute and subacute inpatient wards, geriatric evaluation and management, community rehabilitation, outpatient neurology, palliative care, and other specialist medical services. Jodi is passionate about education. She is a clinical supervisor and has worked as a sessional lecturer in undergraduate and postgraduate psychology at several Melbourne-based universities. Her research experience includes roles as a study rater for Biogen’s EMERGE and ENGAGE clinical trials and as a research coordinator for the Pathways in Autism Spectrum Disorder study at the University of British Columbia. Jodi joined the RMH Neuropsychiatry Centre in July 2023. She enjoys working within the multidisciplinary team to provide diagnostic input as well as education and cognitive management strategies to consumers and their families.
Priscilla is a clinical neuropsychology registrar and researcher at the RMH Neuropsychiatry Centre. She completed her undergraduate studies through a joint program between the University of Indonesia and the University of Queensland, and obtained her PhD through Monash University. Her doctoral research investigated access to mental health services following stroke and the efficacy of an adapted intervention to treat depression in stroke survivors with aphasia. Before joining the RMH Neuropsychiatry Centre, Priscilla worked in various Victorian hospital settings, including the state-wide acquired brain injury rehabilitation service at Caulfield Hospital. In her current clinical role, she works within a multidisciplinary team providing diagnosis and support to consumers with complex neuropsychiatric disorders. Priscilla has also worked as a research assistant at the Florey Institute, contributing to the AIBL and ADNeT projects by conducting cognitive assessments and interviews for longitudinal ageing and dementia research. Additionally, she assisted with translational research on cognitive processes affected by various disorders and relevant diagnostic methods at UQ’s Neuropsychology Research Clinic.
Feiven currently works as a neuropsychology registrar at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) Neuropsychiatry Centre. In this role, Feiven works within a multidisciplinary team to provide neuropsychology assessment, diagnostic advice, and cognitive rehabilitation to patients with complex neuropsychiatric conditions. Feiven completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours and Master of Psychology (Clinical Neuropsychology) at the University of Melbourne. In 2024, Feiven completed her PhD doctoral thesis examining neuroimaging and blood markers of post-traumatic headache after paediatric concussion at the Royal Children’s Hospital and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). Feiven has lead and published scientific research in international paediatric neurology and behavioural neuroscience journals. As an honorary researcher at the MCRI, Feiven continues to contribute to traumatic brain injury research grants.
Mental Health Social Work is a practice-based profession and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to social work. Mental health social workers work with individuals, couples, families, and groups.
Speech pathology is the diagnosis and treatment of speech, communication, and swallowing disorders. This includes difficulties with speaking, listening, understanding language, reading and writing, social skills, stuttering, voice, and eating and drinking. Speech pathologists work with people who have difficulty eating and drinking, and communicating due to developmental or acquired disorders such as cerebral palsy, learning disability, stroke,brain injury, neurological disorders and dementia.
Trish is a certified Speech Pathologist with over 16 years of experience working in acute and subacute neurosciences. She has worked across a range of public health services around Melbourne. Starting at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2017, Trish joined the RMH Neuropsychiatry team in 2022. She has a particular interest and experience in the assessment and management of neurocognitive and neurodegenerative conditions affecting communication and swallowing (including younger onset dementia, primary progressive aphasia and Huntington's Disease). She has additional expertise in videofluoroscopy of swallowing (VFSS), fibreoptic endoscopic evaluations of swallowing (FEES) and tracheostomy management. In addition to her clinical role, Trish enjoys going for walks with her dog Frankie and singing. You may find her moonlighting as a wedding singer with her band on a weekend!
Occupational therapy is a client-centred health profession that involves assessments to identify strengths and limitations in activities and occupations that people are experiencing due to developmental or acquired disorders. Occupational therapists work with a goal-centred approach and offer practical advice/techniques about how to do activities more easily and safely to help create a meaningful life and to engage with society and culture.
Leanne Hayes is an Occupational Therapist working at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Neuropsychiatry Centre. She works with people with neuro-cognitive disorders. Leanne values working collaboratively with people to improve their quality of life, overcome barriers to activity and community participation and achieve occupational goals.
The nursing team consists of experienced nursing staff graduates and students on placement. The role of the nursing team is a flexible and varied one, and includes the following activities: ensuring the day-to-day core business of the unit is achieved, delivery and facilitation of high-quality patient care, and individual support for patients and families. The team engages in and facilitate health promotion activities, patient-focused education, patient advocacy and collaborative patient assessment and treatment.
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Kate McHardy is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse with 15 years’ experience in the field. Completing her post graduate studies at the University of Melbourne Kate commenced at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2007, initially working within Neurology and Cardiology prior to moving into Psychiatry. Kate has worked in a variety of mental health settings including Acute Inpatient, ECT Coordination, homeless outreach, mental health rehabilitation and community area mental health. Kate returned to Neuropsychiatry and Eating Disorders in 2017 as the Team Leader, moving in to the Program Manager role in 2020. She was the recipient of Nurse of the Year 2020 for leadership within Northwest Mental Health. Kate is a passionate consumer advocate and is driven by service improvement and positive consumer and carer outcomes.
Sarah Downes is an experienced registered nurse, specialised in Advanced Mental Health Nursing care. Within her role as Team Leader on the Neuropsychiatry Unit, Sarah provides contact with consumers, families and significant others prior to their admission and throughout. Contact prior to an admission, gives the consumer an opportunity to convey how the ward environment and therapeutic engagement can be shaped to best support them. With lived experience as a carer of a loved one with a Neurological condition, Sarah’s aim of personalising the care provided to consumers is both of professional, and personal significance.
By gaining insight and utilising a consumer-centred approach, the nursing care team can provide a more personalised and supportive experience for the consumers during their admission.
Liza Burton is new to the team and is the first point of contact for Neuropsychiatry at the RMH for health professionals, patients and their families, and other health services, peak bodies and partner organisations. Liza manages patient appointments (outpatient clinic & telehealth) including email/phone communication to the Service as well as organisation of an interpreter service where required. She provides support for our Clinical Review Meetings, and is instrumental across the work of our entire multidisciplinary team, from the Director of the service, the senior consultants, allied health staff, nursing staff, and registrars and medical students.
Outside of the team, Liza is a competitive ballroom dancer (Nationally/Internationally) with her coach of 14 years and her favourite movie is “Strictly Ballroom”.
Wei-Hsuan Chiu is a PhD candidate enrolled through the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Melbourne and holds an honorary research position at the Neuropsychiatry Centre of the Royal Melbourne Hospital. Her research focuses on unravelling the intricate associations between neuropsychiatric symptoms, cognitive functions, and biomarkers in young onset neurodegenerative disorders and primary psychiatric disorders. Wei-Hsuan is a current executive committee member and student representative of the Australian Young Onset Dementia Special Interest Group, a national network committed to research, policy, and clinical care to improve outcomes for people with young onset dementia and their families. Globally, Wei-Hsuan is an ambassador of the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment, amplifying the impact and awareness of the association’s events such as the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. Wei-Hsuan is also a research assistant within the Aged Care Division of the National Ageing Research Institute, working on the development of an intervention to reduce loneliness and increase social support and service access for people living with dementia and their caregivers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
As a student, with an interest in neuroscience research, Diana's studies focus on understanding the overlap between symptoms of Alzheimer's and non-Alzheimer's Disease conditions, with the aim of addressing the prevalent issue of misdiagnosis. My goal is to develop a deeper understanding of various diagnostic measures used in research and clinical settings, particularly through the exploration of Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) and its applications in diagnosing dementia.
