Researcher

Professor Gavan Patrick McNally

My Expertise

Neuroscience, learning, motivation, addiction.

Keywords

Fields of Research (FoR)

Biological Psychology (Neuropsychology, Psychopharmacology, Physiological Psychology), Neurosciences, Mental Health

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Biography

I am a behavioural neuroscientist. I study the fundamental behavioural and brain mechanisms for learning and motivation and understanding how these apply to clinical conditions such as addictions, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders.  I am interested in identifying these mechanisms, at the cellular, circuit, and systems level and also in translating this fundamental information into new treatments of psychological conditions. To do so, I...view more

I am a behavioural neuroscientist. I study the fundamental behavioural and brain mechanisms for learning and motivation and understanding how these apply to clinical conditions such as addictions, anxiety disorders, and mood disorders.  I am interested in identifying these mechanisms, at the cellular, circuit, and systems level and also in translating this fundamental information into new treatments of psychological conditions. To do so, I adopt a systems neuroscience approach combining well controlled behavioural approaches with a variety of approaches (optogenetics, chemogenetics, in vivo calcium imaging, whole brain circuit mapping) in normal and transgenic animals to map and manipulate, at cellular and circuit levels, brain mechanisms. I pursue human clinical applications with colleagues at University of Sydney, Sydney Local Health District, Monash University, and Turning Point.

My research is supported by both the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council. I have previously been an ARC QEII (2008-2012) and Future Fellow (Level 3) (2013 - 2016).

I am Editor-In-Chief of Neurobiology of Learning & Memory and Senior Editor of The Journal of Neuroscience. I am editorial board member of Behavioral Neuroscience, Addiction Neuroscience, and Behavioural Pharmacology. I am the Scientific Program Chair for the 2024 World Congress of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism.

The lab currently comprises 5 Research Fellows, 4 PhD students, research assistants and undergraduate students. Please contact me if you would like to join us.

 

Education

BSc (Hon) (UNSW)
PhD  (UNSW)

Awards and Honours

2009 Association for Psychological Science, International Rising Star
2010 Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
2010 UNSW Faculty of Science Staff Excellence Award for Research and Training
2011 Pavlovian Research Award, The Pavlovian Society 
2017 D.G. Marquis Behavioral Neuroscience Award, American Psychological Association
2017 Fellow, American Psychological Association
2019 Fellow, Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
2021 D.G. Marquis Behavioral Neuroscience Award, American Psychological Association

Current Research Staff and Students

Senior Research Fellows

Dr E. Zayra Millan
Dr Joanna O-Y. Yau
Dr Phillip Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel

Technical Officer
Dr Eun A Choi

PhD

Bixuan Lin
Si Yin Lui
Sophia Gilchrist
Eddie Wise
Hannah Machet
Bart Cooley
Kelly Zhuang

 


My Grants

Current Funding

Australian Research Council
Discovery Project, 2022 - 2024. Punishment learning: From cells to circuits to behaviour (CI: McNally). Direct Research Costs: $581,153

National Health and Medical Research Council
Synergy Grant: 2022 - 2026. Linking clinical and basic science discovery to find new treatments for alcohol-use disorder (CIs; Haber, Morley, Lawrence, Manning, Lubman, McNally, Millan, Arunogiri). Direct Research Costs: $5,000,000

Ideas Grant: 2022 - 2026. Novel pathways to abstinence from alcohol seeking (CIs: McNally, Millan, Power). Direct Research Costs: $1,104,880


My Qualifications

BSc (Hon) (UNSW)
PhD  (UNSW)


My Awards

2009 Association for Psychological Science, International Rising Star
2010 Fellow, Association for Psychological Science
2010 UNSW Faculty of Science Staff Excellence Award for Research and Training
2011 Pavlovian Research Award, The Pavlovian Society 
2016 D.G. Marquis Behavioral Neuroscience Award, American Psychological Association
2017 Fellow, American Psychological Association
2019 Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia
2021 D.G. Marquis Behavioral Neuroscience Award, American Psychological Association


My Research Supervision


Areas of supervision

I have supervised more than 25 PhD students to completion and have served in major leadership roles relating to research training. I am available to supervise projects in behavioural neuroscience, learning, motivation, and addiction.


Currently supervising

Bixuan Lin
Si Yin Lui
Sophia Gilchrist
Eddie Wise
Hannah Machet
Bart Cooley
Kelly Zhuang


My Teaching

PSYC2081 Learning & Physiological Psychology

PSYC3051 Physiological Psychology

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Location

School of Psychology
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
Mathews Building
Room 512

Contact

02 9385 3044
02 9385 3641