Prof Whittle completed her PhD at The University of Melbourne in 2007. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Orygen – The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health from 2008-2011, and joined the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre (MNC) at The University of Melbourne in 2012. She was the Co-Director of MNC in 2023, prior to joining Orygen and the Centre for Youth Mental Health in 2024. Her primary research interests lie in child and adolescent development, both from a neurobiological and psychological perspective. She is particularly interested in how environmental and biological factors shape brain development, and in turn have consequences for the development of depression and other common adolescent-onset mental disorders.
Recent Funding
N Vijayakumar, S Whittle, S Sawyers (2024-2026).
Adolescence as a ‘sensitive window’ for stress exposure and implications for mental health.
National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant
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K Felmingham, B Harrison, R Richardson, B Graham, R Bryant, M O’Donnell, S Whittle, M Korgaonkar (2024-2028).
Boosting Exposure Therapy Through Enhanced Research
National Health and Medical Research Council Centre for Research Excellence
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S Whittle, M Seal, N Vijayakumar, J Simmons, G Youssef, M Herting (2022 - 2025).
The impact of female sex hormones on neurodevelopment.
Australian Research Council Discovery Grant
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S Whittle, J Simmons, D Ganella, O Schwartz, J Kim, K Felmingham, B Harrison (2019 - 2021).
Neural mechanisms of anxiety across development and sex.
National Health and Medical Research Council Project Grant