Sibylle Schwab

Professor Sibylle Schwab is a leading academic in molecular psychiatry and psychiatric genetics, holding dual roles as Professor in the School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences and Associate Dean (International) at the University of Wollongong (since 2014 and 2022 respectively). She has over 25 years of academic experience across institutions in Australia and Germany, including prior roles as Professor Molecular Psychiatry at Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (2010–2014) and Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia (2003–2010).

Her research focuses on genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders, with particular emphasis on schizophrenia, stress-related mental illnesses, and opioid addiction. She has pioneered studies on astrocyte dysfunction in psychiatric disorders and contributed to large-scale genomic consortia analyzing schizophrenia risk variants across global populations. Her work integrates clinical, genetic, and ecological perspectives, including studies on endangered species' microbiomes post-wildfires and invasive species population genetics.

Professor Schwab has secured research funding for projects such as a multi-generational study on mental illness resilience in traumatized populations (2019). She supervises PhD candidates investigating topics ranging from greater glider health recovery post-fires to neurobiological mechanisms of psychiatric disorders. Her teaching expertise spans pharmacology, psychiatric genetics, and bioinformatics for genetic data analysis.

Her publication record includes over 200 peer-reviewed articles, with recent contributions on Mendelian randomization applications, genetic stratification of psychiatric patient subgroups, and astrocytic glutamate regulation mechanisms. She actively collaborates with international research networks, emphasizing translational research to bridge genetic discoveries with clinical practice.