Stu Fillman has just finished his PhD this year in the School of Psychiatry at UNSW. He started off his research career doing an undergraduate in Biological Science from the University of Guelph in Canada. For his honors project he worked on the molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease which inspired his fascination with neuroscience. From there, he did a Masters in Neuroscience at McMaster University studying the effects of luminance on the visual system before leaving Canada to start his PhD here at the University of New South Wales in the Schizophrenia Research Laboratory. His research aims to identify changes in neurotransmitter systems both in schizophrenia and normal cortical development. He has published papers on the GABA(A) receptor and Serotonin receptors in human cortical development. His recent research has used Next Generation Sequencing to examining the impact of the immune system in schizophrenia. Each of these topics has increased our knowledge of the heterogeneity of schizophrenia. Early identification may lead to more effective treatments and restoration of healthy cortical activity in schizophrenia. Such drugs may enable these individuals to appropriately process information and function normally. He has already has four papers on this work published and another in preparation. He has given multiple national talks to date as well as a number of international and national poster presentations.
