Professor Jayashri Kulkarni AM

Jayashri Kulkarni is a Professor of Psychiatry at Monash University and Alfred Hospital.

She founded and directs the Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc) – one Australia’s largest and most innovative centres for clinical mental health research.

The aim of Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre is to develop new treatments, new understanding and new service deliveries for people with mental illness. It is a world leader in the translation of cutting edge neuroscience discoveries into innovative, life-changing treatments for people with mental illness.

Professor Kulkarni is also the Head of the Psychiatry Department for the Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University.

She is internationally recognised for her expertise in the treatment of mental illness, particularly in women’s mental health.

She has pioneered the use of oestrogen as a treatment in schizophrenia and has developed many other innovative treatments for mental illnesses.

Professor Kulkarni was recognised for her contribution to medicine, particularly psychiatry, by being made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in June 2019.

Over 2020 and 2021, Professor Kulkarni developed and designed Australia’s first Women’s Mental Health Hospital. Her dream was realised when this innovative hospital was opened in September 2021 as part of Cabrini Health in Melbourne. Named The Lisa Thurin Women’s Health Centre, this innovative hospital for women provides new treatments, based on Professor Kulkarni’s research, for women with mood disorders, trauma related conditions and addictions. Professor Kulkarni is proud to be the Founding Medical Director of the hospital.

Professor Kulkarni graduated from Monash Medical School and became a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1989. She became a Fellow of the prestigious Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences in 2017.

Professor Kulkarni is a passionate advocate of patient-focused mental health research. With more than a third of mental illness sufferers not responsive to current treatments, she believes there is an urgent need for investment in clinical psychiatry research so that new and effective treatments for mental illness can be developed.

She is a regular media commentator on mental health related issues and serves on many Ministerial Boards and Committees, as well as liaising with industry.