Rate My Professor Chris Sharpley

Professor Chris Sharpley serves as Professor of Neuroscience and Chair of Research in the School of Science & Technology at the University of New England. Holding qualifications including TPTC, BSc, BA, Grad Dip Psych, Grad Dip Couns, MSc, MA, MEd(Hons), PhD, FAPS, FCCLP, and FRSN, he commenced his professional journey as a school teacher for ten years. Subsequently, he trained as a clinical psychologist and taught psychological assessment and psychotherapy at Monash University and Bond University for two decades, serving as Professor of Clinical Psychology and Health Sciences and Founding Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine at Bond University. After retiring to sail for two years, at age 60 he retrained as a neuroscientist, completing a BSc majoring in Physiology and an MSc by research on the neurobiology of depression at UNE, and authored a book on the subject. Since joining UNE in 2012, he has founded and leads the Brain-Behaviour Research Group.

Professor Sharpley's research specializations center on the neurobiology and clinical manifestations of depression, viewing it as an adaptive behavioral response to overwhelming environmental stressors, along with subtypes of depression and endocrinal, immunological, and neurological pathways. His work also addresses anxiety and depression in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder and prostate cancer patients, as well as EEG patterns linked to depressive symptoms. He has supervised over 20 PhD students and nearly 50 minor thesis Master's students, authored over 350 peer-reviewed papers, one book, and presented at over 100 conferences. Notable publications include 'A Psychometric Evaluation of the Spanier Dyadic Adjustment Scale' (1982) and 'Preliminary Validation of the Abbreviated Spanier Dyadic Adjustment Scale' (1984). A Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society and Royal Society of New South Wales, and a registered psychologist with over 45 years of clinical experience, he coordinates the Master of Neuroscience and teaches courses in neurobiology of depression, clinical neuroscience, and research methods. He collaborates on projects concerning homelessness and mental health.