Richard Morris

Dr. Richard Morris is a Senior Research Fellow at the Central Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, and a member of the Brain and Mind Centre. His research specializes in modelling mental health and subjective wellbeing using large datasets (e.g., HILDA surveys, clinical records) to improve public health outcomes and inform government policy in Australia.

Education: PhD, MSc, and BA/BSc (Hons).

Research interests span psychological resilience, computational cognitive models of decision-making, Bayesian causal modelling, and data visualization. His work integrates neurosciences, epidemiology, and public health, with thematic focuses on healthy ageing, adolescent mental health, and occupational wellbeing. Key methodologies include biostatistics, machine learning, and longitudinal trend analysis.

Recent publications (15 most recent, 2020-2025) highlight trends in mental health epidemiology, COVID-19 impacts, neural mechanisms of behavior, and public policy applications. Dominant themes include generational mental health disparities, workplace stressors, Bayesian modelling in obesity research, and neurocognitive foundations of psychiatric disorders.

Teaching and Grants: Teaches 'Introduction to applied statistics for scientific research.' Current projects include:

• The cost of happiness in Australia and globally (20-year trends analysis)
• Bayesian causal modelling of childhood obesity drivers
• Impact of modern work practices on Australian mental health
• NSW Health's 'Get Healthy at Work' initiative

Labs/Teams: Active member of the Brain and Mind Centre, collaborating on neuroscience and mental health research initiatives.