Chantel Fitzsimmons

Dr. Chantel Fitzsimmons is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle's School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy. Her primary affiliation is with the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. She holds a PhD in Medical Genetics from the University of Newcastle and has conducted research at institutions in France, including the Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie (CIRI) and the Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon. Her research focuses on viral pathogenicity mechanisms, oncopharmacology, and neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia. She has contributed to studies on Ebola virus immune evasion, cancer drug interactions, and precision medicine strategies using cerebral organoids.

Education: PhD in Medical Genetics (University of Newcastle), Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology), and Bachelor of Biotechnology (Honours), both from the University of Newcastle.

Research Interests: Molecular virology, viral pathogenesis, pharmacogenomics, schizophrenia genetics, epigenetics, and miRNA/circRNA regulation. Her work spans from viral host interactions to neurobiological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders.

Publications: Over 12 peer-reviewed articles, including studies on schizophrenia genomic profiling, circRNA dysregulation, and mRNA post-transcriptional dynamics. Her work bridges basic science with clinical translation, particularly in neurodegenerative and psychiatric conditions.

Awards: Australian Postgraduate Award (2007), Alzheimer’s Association travel fellowship (2008), and the Philip Emlyn Thomas Honours Scholarship (2005).

Grants: Recipient of the Emlyn and Jennie Thomas Postgraduate Medical Research Scholarship (2015–2016) supporting her research into genetic and epigenetic complexity in schizophrenia.

Supervision: Co-supervised two PhD students (2019) focusing on genomic resolution in schizophrenia and miRNA/circRNA roles in synaptic plasticity.

Labs/Teams: Part of the Centre for Complex Disease Neurobiology and Precision Medicine under Conjoint Professor Murray Cairns, exploring pharmacogenomic strategies for schizophrenia treatment.