Scientia Professor Bernard Balleine is a leading academic in behavioral and cognitive neuroscience at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) , affiliated with the School of Psychology . His career spans prestigious institutions including the University of Cambridge, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Sydney. He has held senior research fellowships (e.g., NHMRC, NIMH) and directed research at UCLA’s Brain Research Institute. Education: BA (1st class honours, University Medal, University of Sydney, 1988), PhD (University of Cambridge, 1992) Research Interests: Balleine’s work focuses on the neural bases of goal-directed action, habit formation, and decision-making, with a strong emphasis on corticostriatal circuits, dopamine signaling, and motivational systems. His studies explore how predictive learning, reward processing, and neural plasticity interact to shape behavior, particularly in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., addiction, OCD, Alzheimer’s). Scientific Trends: Recent publications analyze striatal dopamine dynamics, thalamostriatal pathways, and genetic models of cognitive dysfunction. His 2024 work highlights neural circuits governing action selection, while 2023 studies link TBI to apathy and Alzheimer’s to goal-directed impairments. Awards: Fellow of the American Psychological Association (2004), Australian Laureate Fellowship (2009), NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow (2015), NIMH Senior Investigator (2020) Grants & Collaborations: Funded by the Australian Research Council and NHMRC, with interdisciplinary collaborations in neuroethics, addiction studies, and cognitive neuropsychology. His lab integrates molecular, behavioral, and computational approaches to investigate neural mechanisms of action control.










