Biography

Dr Breukelaar is an early career researcher and postdoctoral fellow working with CI’s Bryant and Korgaonkar at the Brain Dynamics Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research. She completed her PhD in 2019 at the University of Sydney examining longitudinal changes in structural and functional MRI signals reflective of cognitive control in healthy controls and how this is altered in mood disorders.

Dr Breukelaar’s postdoctoral work focuses on the impacts of trauma and stress on the brain and its relationship with the spectrum of psychiatric disorders. She has experience with large multimodal brain imaging datasets and data analysis tools which she has used to identify biomarkers of specific disorders as well as transdiagnostic brain features associated with childhood abuse, suicidality, and treatment response. This work has attracted >900k in philanthropic funding and been featured in an SBS Documentary reflecting broad public interest. Dr Breukelaar has published 22 journal articles in top-tier journals such as Nature neuroscience, Nature mental health, and JAMA Open, and been cited 681 times. Dr Breukelaar has been awarded >100k in funding and supported 3 other NHMRC-funded projects lead by CI Korgaonkar and Bryant, most recently being part of an NHMRC granted CRE on Exposure Therapy for PTSD. Dr Breukelaar has supervised 1 PhD student, trained 3 PhD students (1 current), and managed 6 research assistants all who have gone on to post-doctoral positions, enrolled in higher degree research programs or completed clinical training in psychology/medicine. Dr Breukelaar is heavily engaged with the brain imaging community in Australia and internationally that advise on best practises and lead innovation in neuroimaging research.

Additional information

Dr Breukelaar’s current research focus is on investigating how childhood adversity and adult trauma changes the brain and increases risk for mental illness. She is also working on investigating how neuroimaging methods can be improved and adapted to give the most meaningful data on brain function and psychological health.