معرفی
Professor Colleen Loo, MBBS (Hons), FRANZCP, MD (research doctorate), is a clinical psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales and the Black Dog Institute in Sydney, Australia. She is an internationally recognized clinical expert and researcher in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), and ketamine, having led the first Australian RCTs of these interventions in depression. With over 300 peer-reviewed publications, she has established herself as a leading authority in interventional psychiatry.
Professor Loo's research expertise spans multiple domains of neuromodulation and novel psychiatric treatments. Her team at UNSW, based at the Black Dog Institute, focuses on transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, ECT, ketamine, and psychedelics. Current research streams include clinical trials of novel treatments for depression and anorexia, experiments improving brain stimulation approaches, cognitive neuroscience using brain stimulation to enhance cognition, combining brain stimulation with neuroimaging techniques, real-world treatment data collection through the CARE network, and computational modeling of brain stimulation effects. Her work bridges fundamental neuroscience with practical clinical implementation across diverse patient populations.
Analysis of Professor Loo's recent publication record reveals a strong emphasis on advancing clinical applications of neuromodulation techniques, with particular focus on ketamine therapy (especially through the KADS trial), ECT optimization, and expanding applications across different demographic groups including the elderly. Her work spans from fundamental biological mechanisms to economic evaluations and real-world implementation challenges.
- Grant funding from Australian NHMRC
- Grant funding from MRFF
- Grant funding from US-based NARSAD and Stanley Foundations
- Grant funding from UK NHS/MRC
- Grant funding from Singapore NMC
- Grant funding from Ramsay Hospital Research Foundation
Professor Loo has established clinics for novel treatments for depression (TMS, ketamine, tDCS) at the Black Dog Institute and Ramsay Clinic Northside, Sydney. She has developed professional training courses for psychiatrists in ECT, TMS, tDCS, and ketamine, and serves as an expert adviser to Australian government health departments and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. She is the first person outside North America to become President of the International Society for ECT and Neurostimulation (ISEN).
Professor Loo leads the Neurostimulation & Interventional Psychiatry Team at the Black Dog Institute and co-founded the Clinical Alliance and Research in ECT and Related Treatments (CARE) network, which collects real-world treatment data to improve clinical practice in neurostimulation and interventional psychiatry across multiple international sites.
