Felice Jacka
Professor of Nutritional Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Deakin University
Professor Felice Jacka is the Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University. She is founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR) and immediate past president of the Australian Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders (APMD). Professor Jacka has pioneered and led a highly innovative program of research that examines how individuals’ diets interact with the risk for mental health problems. This research is being carried out with the ultimate goal of developing new, evidence-based prevention and treatment strategies for mental disorders. Professor Jacka is an ISI Highly-Cited Researcher (2020).
abstract
Nutritional Psychiatry: New Opportunities for Prevention and Treatment
In this presentation Prof Felice Jacka will give an overview of the compelling evidence from around the globe demonstrating the important role that diet plays in mental and brain health in children, adolescents and adults. This new research is transforming the way mental disorders are conceptualised and treated. The presentation will particularly focus on the evidence for the gut microbiota as a key factor mediating the link between diet and mental illnesses and the application of gut-focused dietary interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders. It will provide an update on the latest research outcomes and activities from the Food & Mood Centre.