top of page
Meet our team
Professor Jayashri Kulkarni AM
Director
Professor Jayashri Kulkarni AM graduated in Medicine from Monash University in 1981 and became a Fellow of the College of Psychiatrists in 1988, commencing her appointment as Professor of Psychiatry at The Alfred and Monash University in 2002.
Professor Kulkarni founded and serves as the director of two research centres, the Multidisciplinary Alfred Psychiatry research centre (MAPrc) and partner site HER Centre Australia, and also serves as Head of the Department of Psychiatry for the Monash University Central Clinical School. She also developed and launched Australia’s first women’s mental health hospital at Cabrini Health in September 2021, and was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) in 2019 for her services to Psychiatry.
Professor Kulkarni has conducted ground-breaking clinical research and is internationally acknowledged as a leader and expert in the field of Women’s Mental Health, particularly for her innovative work on reproductive hormones and mental illness. Her world-first research in hormones and mental health has led to the development of new treatments for women with mental ill health.
Dr Lakshini Gunasekera
Deputy Director
Dr Lakshini Gunasekera, the Deputy Director of MAPrc, is a consultant neurologist and headache specialist. She holds dual fellowships in general neurology and headache medicine. Her areas of expertise include headache diagnostics, and injectable/infusional treatments for migraine (including peripheral nerve blocks and Botox). Dr Gunasekera's research interests include the overlap between migraine and psychiatric conditions, impact of trauma on headaches, and hormonal influences on migraine (including menstrual migraine and menopausal migraine). She is actively involved in clinical research, medical teaching, formal mentoring and supervision of research students. Dr Gunasekera welcomes enquiries related to headache or migraine clinical trials from industry, philanthropic organisations, and research sponsors.
Management / Administration
Anthony de Castella
Research & Business Manager
Emmy Gavrilidis
Clinical Trials Manager
A/Prof Caroline Gurvich
Head, Cognition and Hormones Group &
Deputy Director, HER Centre Australia
Marie Iglesias
Executive Assistant to Professor Kulkarni & WMH Clinic Coordinator
Robyn Johnston
Receptionist & Executive Assistant to Anthony de Castella
Head, Cognition and Hormones Group & Deputy Director, HER Centre Australia
Dr Eveline Mu
Senior Research Fellow & Research Manager, HER Centre Australia
Research & Clinical Trial Support Staff
Dr Eva Gregertsen
Research Fellow & Study Coordinator, Li-THRED
Dr Jodie Tester
Medical Officer
Prue Read
Research Nurse
Marta Malicka
Clinical Trials Coordinator
Ebony Rauer
Clinical Trials Coordinator
Amanda Karagiannidis
Clinical Trials Coordinator
Dr Rebecca Ho
Medical Officer
Lucy Ingleby
Research Assistant
bottom of page