The MINDS Lab is committed to understanding the complexity of the human brain, our response to stress, and the processes that lead to brain disorders.
The MINDS Lab broadly aims to understand fundamental brain functions, the (neuro)biology of stress and the processes that lead to brain disorders. We have a focus on mental illnesses, a leading cause of disability worldwide, and our work also has relevance for other neurological conditions and how we can optimise wellbeing through management of stress. At the same time, we foster a supportive environment with world-class training of the next generation of scientists with our international research team spanning Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Iceland, Sweden and the USA. We are based at the Charles Perkins Centre as part of the University of Sydney’s School of Medical Sciences.
Our goal
Our lab has a focus on examining human brain specimens (postmortem and ex vivo) and from people who have donated their tissues to medical research either after death or through surgical procedures. We use these specimens to pinpoint differences in the shapes, numbers, orientation and connections of brain cells, as well as what is happening inside them using cutting edge single-cell molecule and cell profiling methods. We also study clinical populations such as refugees to better understand how stress contributes to mental illness, as well as how the lasting effects of stress may be biologically passed on to subsequent generations. Our research provides the fundamental knowledge needed to develop new treatments and interventions for brain illnesses, and to target the rising levels of psychological stress being experienced worldwide.
