Professor Felise Jacka said she was “thrilled and surprised” at receiving an Order of Australia (OAM) Medal for services to nutritional psychiatry research.
The Ocean Grove resident is a global leader in nutritional psychiatry and director of Deakin’s Food & Mood Centre in the Faculty of Health.
“It’s a great honour and I am so grateful that someone took the time to nominate me, and also to those who provided information and recommendations supporting the nomination,” Professor Jacka said.
Across a 10 year career, Professor Jacka has been at the forefront of ground-breaking research linking diet and nutrition to the cause and treatment of mental disorders.
“I have always had a strong interest in nutrition and, when I came into psychiatry research during my psychology degree, I was surprised to find that there really wasn’t much in the way of research looking at the links between diet and mental and brain health,” she said.
“I set out with my PhD to address that research gap, and here we are a decade later.
“The work I have led has now been translated into policy documents and clinical guidelines and is having an impact around the world.”
Professor Jacka is also the author of two books – Brain Changer: The Good Mental Health Diet (2019) and There’s a Zoo in Your Poo (2020), which was illustrated by her husband Rob Craw. They are working on a second book together.
Away from work, Professor Jacka enjoys cooking and walking “on the beach and through the bush along the Great Ocean Road in particular”.
