About Professor Lea Williams
Lea's vision is for the Brain Dynamics Centre network to contribute to the current paradigm shift in psychiatry and neuroscience. Genuine new insights will come from the integration of these disciplines, and the information which is normally studied in isolation. An integrative approach will be essential to shedding real light on the cause and treatment of complex disorders of mental health.
Lea Williams is the Director of the Brain Dynamics Centre Clinics, a Pfizer senior research fellow (a peer-reviewed fellowship) and Professor in Psychological Medicine.
Prof Williams is internationally recognised for her research record in cognitive neuroscience and its application to understanding neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia. Her significant research outcomes have been recognised by several international awards. She was awarded the Pharmacia Foundation senior research fellowship (2004-8, now under the auspices of Pfizer), the Young Investigator award for the International Schizophrenia Congress (2001), Senior Scientist award for Biennial Winter Workshop on Schizophrenia (2000) and a Wellcome Trust-Ramaciotti Research Award to undertake training at the Institute of Psychiatry London (1998).Prof Williams has an extremely strong publication record (a total of 130 peer-reviewed publications, of which 97 are outcomes since 2002). She has also published over 100 conference abstracts, and has a further 8 papers under review in international journals. Of her publications, 98% are in international peer-reviewed journals, including journals ranked among top in their field Prof Williams also has a strong record of research grant income (totalling $4.25mill over the past 5 years), and is a chief investigator on an additional NHMRC CCRE ($2mill).She has given invited international conference presentations and presentations (including Wellcome Institute of Neurology in 2006, California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) in 2005, Human Brain Mapping 2004, International Organization of Psychophysiology, Montreal 2001 and Inaugural Mind to Matter conferences, London, 2000). The international impact of Prof Williams' research has attracted strong international collaborations with the Universities of London (Institute of Psychiatry), University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Reflecting the wider impact of this research, Prof Williams fMRI-arousal research was featured in three segments of the ABC TV science program Catalyst (2001, 2006), and has been the subject of over 45 national newspaper segments (including the Wall St. Journal). Prof Williams has also attained a substantial track record in supervision of research students. In the past 3 years, 7 PhD, 3 MSC and 6 Honours completions have been achieved.
Selected publications
- Williams, LM, Felmingham K, Kemp AH, Rennie C, Brown KJ, Bryant RA, Gordon E. (2007). Mapping frontal-limbic correlates of orienting to change detection. NeuroReport, 18:197-20 PubMedId: 17314656
- Williams LM, Das, P, Liddell BJ, Kemp AH, Rennie CJ, Gordon E (2006). Mode of functional connectivity in amygdala pathways dissociates level of awareness for innate signals of fear. Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 9264 - 9271. PubMedId: 16957082
- Williams LM et al. (2006) The `mellow years'. Neural basis of improving emotional stability over age Journal of Neuroscience, 26, 6422 - 6430 PubMedId: 16775129
- Williams LM, Sidis A, Gordon E, Meares R (2006). Missing links in borderline personality disorder: loss of neural synchrony relates to lack of emotion regulation and impulse control. J Psychiatry Neuroscience, 31(3), 181-188 PubMedId: 16699604
- Williams LM, Palmer D, Liddell BJ, Song L, Gordon E. (2006). The `when' and `where' of perceiving signals of threat versus non-threat threat Neuroimage, 31, 458-467 PubMedId: 16460966
- Williams LM. (2006). An integrative neuroscience model of `significance' processing. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, 5, 1-47 PubMedId: 16544365
- Williams LM, Kemp AH, Felmingham K, Barton M, Olivieri G, Peduto AS, Gordon E, Bryant RA (2006). Trauma modulates amygdala and medial prefrontal responses to consciously attended fear. Neuroimage, 29, 347-357 PubMedId: 16216534
- Williams LM, Liddell BJ, Kemp AH, Bryant RA, Peduto AS, Meares RA & Gordon E. (2006). An amygdala-prefrontal dissociation of subliminal and supraliminal fear. Human Brain Mapping, 27, 652 - 661. PubMedId: 16281289
- Williams, L.M. (1995). Further evidence for a multidimensional personality disposition to schizophrenia in terms of cognitive inhibition. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34, 193-213. PubMedId: 7647711
- Williams, L.M. and Gordon, E. (In press). The dynamic organization of the emotional brain: responsivity, stability and instability. The Neuroscientist (invited review). Submitted December 11, 2006