Rate My Professor Gemma Sharp

Professor Gemma Sharp is a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland. She earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Flinders University in 2017, investigating psychological predictors and outcomes of female genital body image concerns and cosmetic genital surgery. Her academic background includes a Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Honours) in Psychology from Flinders University, a Graduate Diploma in Psychology from the University of Adelaide, a Master of Science in Oncology from the University of Cambridge, a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Microbiology and Immunology, and a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology, both from the University of Adelaide. Career highlights encompass postdoctoral research at Curtin University, an NHMRC Early Career Fellowship at Monash University from 2018 to 2022, where she established and led the Body Image, Eating and Weight Disorders Research Program since 2018, and Senior Clinical Psychologist and Research Lead at Alfred Health from 2023 to 2024. She holds an NHMRC Emerging Leadership 2 Fellowship from 2023 to 2028, maintains a private psychology practice since 2019 as a registered clinical psychologist and Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician, and founded the Consortium for Research in Eating Disorders (CoRe-ED) in 2024.

Gemma Sharp's research focuses on biological, psychological, and sociocultural factors in body image concerns, eating and weight disorders across the lifespan and genders, novel digital interventions including chatbots such as JEM for prevention and ED ESSI for early intervention, genital self-image across genders, and intersections with women's health including pregnancy and perimenopause. She developed a world-first online educational resource on eating disorders and menopause in 2023-2024, owns intellectual property for digital interventions through Sharp AI Psychology, and led the Australian Psychological Society's Practice Guidelines for AI and emerging technologies in 2025. Key publications include 'An online educational resource addressing eating disorders during the menopause transition: a brief evaluation study' (Journal of Eating Disorders, 2025), 'The Effectiveness of a Chatbot Single-Session Intervention for People on Waitlists for Eating Disorder Treatment: Randomized Controlled Trial' (Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2025), 'Co-design of a single session intervention chatbot for people on waitlists for eating disorder treatment' (Journal of Eating Disorders, 2025), and earlier influential works such as 'The role of media and peer influences in Australian women's attitudes towards cosmetic surgery' (Body Image, 2014). Her contributions extend to national eating disorder strategies, clinical guidelines for cosmetic procedures, and committees including the National Eating Disorders Collaboration Right Care Right Place Advisory Group. Major awards include Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (2025), Association for Psychological Science Janet Taylor Spence Award (2025), national finalist for the Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science (2025), Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Paul Bourke Award for Early Career Research (2022), and multiple NHMRC fellowships. Sharp has delivered a TED talk (2017) and engages extensively in media and public education.