Professor Selena Bartlett

Professor of Neuroscience and Neuroplasticity

Professor Selena Bartlett is group leader of Neuroscience and Obesity at the Translational Research Institute and a professor in the School of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Health at QUT.

Her studies explore how our brains respond to the stress of addictive behaviours such as bingeing on sweet foods, drinking, and smoking.

Professor Bartlett has been studying the brain for 30 years. She is the author of MiGGiMatters: How to Train Your Brain to Manage Stress and Trim Your Body’ and ‘Smashing Mindset: Train Your Brain to Reboot, Recharge, Reinvent Your Life’ and also hosts the Thriving Mind podcast.

She is an international trailblazer in translational neuroscience being a chief investigator (CI) on a number of large multi-investigator translational research grants, in the USA and Australia.

In recognition, Professor Bartlett was awarded, the Lawrie Austin Award for contributions to neuroscience by the Australian Neuroscience Society, 2019. Professor Bartlett was the Director of Medications Development at the University of California San Francisco, California for 8 years.

The success of her translational approach is evidenced by significant research funding, as CI by the NIH, and NH&MRC and ARC, over 100 high quality scientific publications including Cell and PNAS, completing clinical trials of new therapeutics and novel strategies to prevent and treat alcohol and sugar addiction.

An ambassador for the organisation Women in Technology, Professor Bartlett has received the Biotech Outstanding Achievement award and Biotech Research awards. The strength and innovation of her lab’s research findings to impact public health is shown by regular invitations to speak at international conferences and interviews as a thought leader in public forums such as a TEDx, Ockham’s razor, World of Science Festival, Good Morning America, ABC news, and the Conversation.

She has presented her findings around the world, for state government, clinicians at Grand rounds, pharmaceutical, biotech and financial companies, high schools, and community organisations.