Director - HER Centre, Monash University

Professor Jayashri KULKARNI AM was appointed Professor of Psychiatry at the Alfred and Monash University in 2002.She founded and continues to direct 2 large psychiatric research groups, the Multidisciplinary Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (MAPrc), and HER Centre Australia. MAPrc is a clinical psychiatry research centre that conducts clinical trials in mental illnesses. In 2022, Professor Kulkarni founded and directs HER Centre Australia – a Monash University Centre dedicated to women’s mental health.  Honours and Awards: Jayashri has won many prestigious awards for her research work in Women’s Mental Health. Recent awards include: 2019 and 2025 she obtained two prestigious Level 3 Leadership NHMRC Investigator grants. She was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to Medicine in the field of Psychiatry in 2019. In 2024, Professor Kulkarni AM was the first psychiatrist to simultaneously win the two top awards from the RANZCP: the Senior Research Award and the Ian Simpson Award for clinical innovation. National and International Profile: Prof Kulkarni is nationally and internationally recognised for her pioneering work in psychoneuroendocrinology, trauma and women’s mental health.