Rate My Professor Sylvia Gustin

Professor Sylvia Gustin (PhD, BPsych, MPsych) is a Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Faculty of Science. She serves as Director of the NeuroRecovery Research Hub at UNSW, Founding Director of the Centre for Pain IMPACT at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Senior Principal Research Scientist at NeuRA, and Rebecca L. Cooper Senior Medical Research Fellow. Gustin completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Tübingen, Germany in 2006 and immigrated to Australia in 2007. She is an AHPRA-registered psychologist trained as a clinical psychologist in chronic pain and mental health disorders, including anxiety and depressive disorders. With 25 years of experience in brain imaging techniques such as functional, structural, and biochemical magnetic resonance imaging, she uses multimodal neuroimaging and psychological assessments to investigate central nervous system circuits underlying chronic pain and spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Her research aims to understand the development and maintenance of these conditions, particularly their psychological and central components and their interrelations.

Gustin's translational research program develops and tests novel therapeutic interventions, including Virtual Reality Walking and gamified Brain-Computer Interface neuromodulation for neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury, phantom pain, complex regional pain syndrome, and chronic orofacial pain. She also focuses on haptic virtual reality walking treatments to restore somatosensory perception in individuals with spinal cord injuries classified as having total sensorimotor loss. Her work has secured funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, Medical Research Future Fund, Rebecca L. Cooper Medical Research Foundation, International Association for the Study of Pain, Wings for Life, US Department of Defense, NSW Defence Innovation Network, and NSW Health. Key publications include 'Brain anatomy changes associated with persistent neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury' (Cerebral Cortex, 2010), 'Thalamic activity and biochemical changes in individuals with neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury' (Pain, 2014), and 'Psychological, physical and complementary therapies for the management of neuropathic pain' (International Review of Neurobiology, 2024). She chairs the ENIGMA Chronic Pain Working Group and leads the Pain Research, Education and Management Program at UNSW and NeuRA. Her research has garnered over 3,800 citations across 111 publications.