Jerome Sarris

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PhD, MHSc
Executive Member, NICM Health Research Institute
Professor of Integrative Mental Health, NICM Health Research Institute
Healthy Minds Research Program Lead, NICM Health Research Institute

Jerome Sarris is Professor of Integrative Mental Health and leads the Healthy Minds Research Theme at NICM Health Research Institute. He holds an NHMRC Clinical Research Fellowship.

Moving from clinical practice as a Naturopath, Nutritionist, and Acupuncturist to academic work, he completed a doctorate at The University of Queensland in the field of psychiatry. Professor Sarris undertook his postdoctoral training at The University of Melbourne, Department of Psychiatry; The Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology; and The Depression Clinical and Research Program at Harvard Medical School.

He has a particular interest in anxiety and mood disorder research pertaining to nutraceutical psychopharmacology in complementary and integrative medicine; lifestyle medicine; and psychotropic plant medicine research including psychedelic medicines, medicinal cannabis and kava.

Professor Sarris has over 230 publications with an H-Index of 55 (cited over 13000 times), has published in many eminent psychiatry journals including The American Journal of Psychiatry, Lancet Psychiatry, JAMA Psychiatry, and World Psychiatry and has a combined Altmetrics score of greater than 9500. He has been collaboratively awarded approximately $25 million dollars in personal and study grants, including being CIA on six NHMRC or MRFF Fellowship or Project Grants.

Professor Sarris is a founding Vice Chair of The International Network of Integrative Mental Health and an Executive Committee Member of the International Society of Nutritional Psychiatric Research. He has been awarded the NHAA most notable contribution to herbal medicine research award, and the ANS Dr Tini Gruner Educator of the Year in the field of Naturopathy. Professor Sarris currently co-chairs the Taskforce on Integrative and Complementary Medicine for the World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry.

Research focus

• Evidence-based use of nutraceuticals and lifestyle modifications in the treatment of psychiatric disorders, specifically mood and anxiety disorders
• Adjunctive Pharmacotherapies
• Integrative Models
• Lifestyle Medicine
• Nutraceutical Psychopharmacology
• Pharmacogenomics
• Clinical trials and evidence based practice

Awards and recognitions

• The Australian Research 2023 Award, Field Leader in Natural Medicines and Medicinal Plants
• ARCADIA Nutraceutical and Lifestyle Medicine Research Group Head (Honorary position)
• The International Network of Integrative Mental Health (INIMH) Board Member (a founding Vice-Chair)
• International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR) Executive Committee member
• American Botanical Council Board Member
• Research Committee Deputy Chair and Research Subcommittee Chair(Department of Psychiatry; University of Melbourne)
• Group of Eight Future Research Leaders Program
• NHMRC grants, Beyond Blue, Swiss National Science Foundation, grant reviewer
• TGA contributor to GP clinical guidelines on depression treatment (evidence-based CAMs)
• Ethics committee member Endeavour College of Natural Health
• Assisted TGA Kava policy direction
• University of Melbourne, Department of Psychiatry "Cato Chair Champion"
• Section Editor (Mental Health) for Advances in Integrative Medicine (Elsevier)
• NHMRC Research Translation Faculty Member 2012-
• NHAA Distinguished Contribution to Research Award 2014
• ANS Dr Tini Gruner Naturopathic Educator of the Year Award 2016

Projects and grants

Professor Sarris has been collaboratively awarded over $21.7 million dollars in personal and study grants, including being CIA on three multicentre NHMRC Project Grants.

See a list of past and current projects.(opens in a new window)

Affiliations

• Co-Director, Psychae Institute.
• Visiting Principal Research Fellow, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne University.
• Honorary Principal Research Fellow, Department of Psychiatry, Melbourne University.

Education

• 2009 PhD (Field of Psychiatry), The University of Queensland, Austraila
• 2008 Master of Health Science (Plant Medicine), University of New England, Australia
• 2004 Bachelor of Health Science (Western Herbal Medicine), Australian College of Natural Medicine, Australia
• 2003 Advanced Diploma of Acupuncture, Australian College of Natural Medicine, Australia
• 2002 Advanced Diploma Naturopathy, Australian College of Natural Medicine, Australia
• 2002 Diploma of Nutrition, Australian College of Natural Medicine, Australia
• 2001 Diploma of Herbal Medicine, Australian College of Natural Medicine, Australia

Publications

For a full listing of publications please see:

• WESTERN SYDNEY UNIVERSITY PROFILE (opens in a new window)
• ORCID (opens in a new window)
• GOOGLE SCHOLAR (opens in a new window)
• THE CONVERSATION (opens in a new window)