About us
Meet the team behind the Uni Virtual Clinic.
The Uni Virtual Clinic project began in 2012, led by researchers at the Centre for Mental Health Research (CMHR) in the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH) at the ANU. CMHR is known for developing innovative online mental health programs, including MoodGym, eCouch, and BluePages.
The original Uni Virtual Clinic was developed by a collaborative team of researchers, IT professionals, clinicians and students who contributed to its content and web infrastructure. Since then, the program has evolved into the UVC-Lite, a streamlined version that builds on the original clinic’s foundation.
Today, UVC-Lite is managed by a team of experts in digital mental health, university student mental health, youth mental health, and suicide prevention. This team has re-developed the content from the original Uni Virtual Clinic into 12 brief video-based modules, designed to support student mental health in a more flexible and accessible way.
Meet the team
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Dr Lou Farrer, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health Research ANU, is the Chief Investigator and has led the Uni Virtual Clinic project since its inception in 2012. Dr Farrer is an expert in digital mental health and the mental health of unversity students, and uses her expertise as a researcher and psychologist to inform the ongoing development and evaluation of the UVC program.
Dr Amelia Gulliver is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health Research ANU. Dr Gulliver has been a key contributor to the Uni Virtual Clinic project alongside Dr Lou Farrer since 2012, leading the project in 2016. Dr Gulliver is an expert in digital mental health, help-seeking and lived experience research.
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Professor Alison Calear is Co-Head of the Centre for Mental Health Research ANU and has contributed to the Uni Virtual Clinic Project since 2012. Professor Calear is an expert in youth mental health, digital mental health and the prevention and early intervention of anxiety, depression, suicide and self-harm.
Professor Phil Batterham is Co-Head of the Centre for Mental Health Research ANU, and joined the team for the development of the UVC-Lite. Professor Batterham is an expert in biostatistics, suicide prevention, assessing mental health in the population, and digital mental health implementation.
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Associate Professor Liana Leach is a mental health epidemiologist at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), ANU, and joined the team for the development of the UVC-Lite. Associate Professor Leach is an expert in research that examines how social and environmental contexts impact mental health.
Professor Penelope Hasking is based at Curtin University School of Population Health, and joined the team for the development of the UVC-Lite. Professor Hasking is an expert in non-suicidal self- injury and mental health in adolescents and young adults, and has developed several tools for improving mental health in university students.
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Hayley Jackson is a research assistant who was involved in the evaluation of the UVC-Lite program. Hayley has expertise in how users engage with digital mental health programs.
Natasha Katruss was a research assistant who provided significant input into the development and evaluation of both the original Uni Virtual Clinic and the UVC-Lite program. Tash has expertise in the development of digital mental health programs and front-end web development.
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Past team members
Since 2012, many researchers, students, clinicians, and IT professionals have contributed to the development of the Uni Virtual Clinic. Professor Kathy Griffiths oversaw the project from 2012-2016, with significant contribution from Anthony Bennett and Kylie Bennett. Nhi Ha, Sandhu Singh, David Berriman, and Ada Tam were involved in web development; Julia Reynolds provided clinical input; and Edwina Wright, Jade Chan, John Gosling, Kathina Ali, and Daniel Fassnacht provided research assistance. The team wish to thank the university students and staff who contributed their expertise and lived experience to the co-development of this program.