Group leader
Our research
The Tye lab's research focuses on understanding and treating complex neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly depression and bipolar disorder. Her work integrates basic neuroscience with clinical research to develop more precise and effective therapies for treatment‑resistant mental illness.
- Neuromodulation and brain stimulation to target dysfunctional neural circuits
- Biomarkers to improve diagnosis, predict treatment response, and enable personalised care
- Mechanisms of treatment resistance, including the effects of stress and inflammation
- Brain and cellular energy metabolism in psychiatric illness, particularly depression
Research focus
The Tye lab employs an end-to-end translational approach, combining neuroscience, molecular biology, and neuroengineering to measure brain activity and neurochemistry in real time, enabling direct insights into how treatments affect neural function.
Using this approach, the team has identified altered cellular energy dynamics in young people with depression, revealing a potential biological basis for fatigue and early disease progression. They have also shown that chronic stress and inflammation can impair the brain’s response to antidepressants, limiting recovery.
Together, these findings highlight how systemic biology, brain function, and treatment response are closely linked, supporting the development of biomarker‑guided, personalised therapies and next‑generation neuromodulation approaches.
Latest news
- Research projects exploring decision-making, learning and memory, and brain function will open pathways to discovery after being boosted by the Australian Research Council (ARC).
- Queensland Brain Institute researchers will help develop some of Australia’s most exciting medical bionic discoveries after being announced as major winners at this year’s Bionics Challenge.
- 28 October 2022Stress is part and parcel of modern life but prolonged stress and overwhelming or traumatic events can negatively impact our health, including COVID.
- 12 October 2021The impact of mental health on the community sparked a couple to start a relationship with QBI.
- University of Queensland students have swapped a summer holiday at the beach for time in the lab as the annual UQ SEC Summer Research Program began at the Queensland Brain Institute.