Rate My Professor Paul Fitzgerald

Professor Paul Fitzgerald serves as the Director of the School of Medicine and Psychology at the Australian National University. A qualified psychiatrist, he holds an MBBS, Masters of Psychological Medicine (MPM), PhD, and Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP), all obtained from Monash University. After completing specialist training in Psychiatry and a fellowship at the University of Toronto, he earned his PhD in 2003. Previously, he established the Epworth Centre for Innovation in Mental Health (ECIMH), leading a team dedicated to developing novel brain stimulation treatments. At ANU, he heads the Interventional Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience group, overseeing approximately 30 fellows, post-doctoral researchers, nurses, assistants, and doctoral students.

Professor Fitzgerald's research specializes in novel interventions for mental health conditions, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, developmental and cognitive disorders, and autism. His expertise encompasses non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), alongside psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. He has conducted over 20 clinical trials, secured continuous National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding for more than 20 years, and obtained over $10 million in research support in the past five years from sources including the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), Australian Research Council (ARC), and others. With over 550 peer-reviewed journal articles and several books to his name, his work has been cited more than 30,000 times. Notable contributions include founding TMS Australia clinics across three Australian states, Resonance Therapeutics, and the nation's first rTMS training program. He spearheaded a national application to the Department of Health, securing Medicare funding for rTMS therapy for depression in 2021, amounting to $283 million in the first year. Additionally, he is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS).