
Overview
Background
Dr Cathy Franklin is passionate about improving the health of people with intellectual disability and those on the autism spectrum. Cathy is a psychiatrist who has specialised in the psychiatry of intellectual disability and autism in adolescents and adults since 2004. Her career focussed on clinical work and education until 2015, when she commenced a part-time research appointment, in addition to her clinical work. Cathy is the inaugural Director of the Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (MIDAS), a state-wide clinical service established in 2018 that works to improve the health and mental health of adults with intellectual disability and those on the autism spectrum. Cathy is also Director of QCIDD, the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability, a centre established in 1997 by Professor Nick Lennox, and best known for its many contributions to health of people with intellectual disability, including the CHAP health assessment tool and the AbleX massive open-online course that Cathy contributed mental health content to.
Cathy's research interests include health services research and the biological underpinnings and health sequelae of conditions occurring in this population. She is Chief Investigator on several projects, including the EASY-Health (Enhancing Access to Services for Your Health) Project, funded by the Australian Government NDIS ($2.3 million 2020-2024) and the NHMRC funded grant ($1.5M), Bridge to Better Health, investigating whether specialised support to primary care nurses can improve the health of people with intellectual disability attending their practice. Cathy also led MIDAS' successful application as a lead consortium member for the National Centre of Excellence in Intellectual Disability Health ($22.6M over 4 years; consortium led by UNSW). Cathy is a regular presenter at national and internaitonal conferences, often as an invited speaker. She has served on the committee of the RANZCP Section of Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability for over 10 years, is chair of the Qld Branch of the Section and also serves as Vice-President of the Australian Association of Developmental Disability Medicine (AADDM). In 2020 she was awarded the Mater Research Sister Regis Dunne award for Outstanding Contribution to research relative to opportunity.
Availability
- Dr Catherine Franklin is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and Medical Science, The University of Queensland
- Masters (Research), The University of Queensland
- Senior Member, Australian Association of Developmental Disability Medicine, Australian Association of Developmental Disability Medicine
- Member, Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group-USA, Down Syndrome Medical Interest Group-USA
- Fellow, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
- Member, Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes, Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes
Research impacts
Cathy, along with colleague Dr Katie Brooker, made a submission and gave evidence at the Queensland Parliament Mental Health Select Committee in 2022, outlining the evidence around the difficulties that people with intelelctual disabitliy and those on the autism spectrum experience when accessing healthcare. The Committee made a number of recommendations, including that there should be a Queensland Centre of Excellence established in this area. The Queensland Government accepted this recommendation and is funding a new Queensland Centre of Excellence in Intellectual and Developmental Disability Mental Health.
Works
Search Professor Catherine Franklin’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Conference Publication
Evaluation of the EASY Health (enhancing access to services for your health) project online education for mainstream healthcare professionals
Franklin, C., Brooker, K., Beck, C., Vinayagam, R., Meurk, C. and Heffernan, E. (2024). Evaluation of the EASY Health (enhancing access to services for your health) project online education for mainstream healthcare professionals. Re‐imagining Connections, The 17th IASSIDD World Congress, Chicago, IL United States, 5 - 8 August 2024. Chichester, West Sussex United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/jir.13166
2024
Conference Publication
Development of the easy health (enhancing access to services for your health) online education for mainstream healthcare professionals
Franklin, C., Beck, C., Vinayagam, R. and Brooker, K. (2024). Development of the easy health (enhancing access to services for your health) online education for mainstream healthcare professionals. Re‐imagining Connections, The 17th IASSIDD World Congress, Chicago, IL United States, 5 - 8 August 2024. Chichester, West Sussex United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/jir.13166
2024
Conference Publication
Disability support workers' perspectives on healthcare for people with intellectual disability and autistic people
Brooker, K., Beck, C., Vinayagam, R., Giesberts, A. and Franklin, C. (2024). Disability support workers' perspectives on healthcare for people with intellectual disability and autistic people. Re‐imagining Connections, The 17th IASSIDD World Congress, Chicago, IL United States, 5 - 8 August 2024. Chichester, West Sussex United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/jir.13166
2024
Conference Publication
Creating a scale to measure intellectual disability and autism knowledge of health professionals: development and psychometric properties
Brooker, K., Beck, C., Green, S., Vinayagam, R. and Franklin, C. (2024). Creating a scale to measure intellectual disability and autism knowledge of health professionals: development and psychometric properties. Re‐imagining Connections, The 17th IASSIDD World Congress, Chicago, IL, United States, 5 - 8 August 2024. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/jir.13166
2024
Conference Publication
Experiences of people with intellectual disability and autistic people going to hospital
Brooker, K., Beck, C., Vinayagam, R. and Franklin, C. (2024). Experiences of people with intellectual disability and autistic people going to hospital. Re‐imagining Connections, The 17th IASSIDD World Congress, Chicago, IL United States, 5 - 8 August 2024. Chichester, West Sussex United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/jir.13166
2024
Conference Publication
Experiences of hospital staff working with people intellectual disability and autistic people
Brooker, K., Beck, C., Vinayagam, R. and Franklin, C. (2024). Experiences of hospital staff working with people intellectual disability and autistic people. Re‐imagining Connections, The 17th IASSIDD World Congress, Chicago, IL United States, 5 - 8 August 2024. Chichester, West Sussex United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. doi: 10.1111/jir.13166
2024
Conference Publication
Is workplace education an effective intervention to upskill mainstream healthcare professionals to work more effectively with people with intellectual disability and those on the autism spectrum? A systematic review
Franklin, C., Brooker, K., Green, S., Meurk, C. and Heffernan, E. (2024). Is workplace education an effective intervention to upskill mainstream healthcare professionals to work more effectively with people with intellectual disability and those on the autism spectrum? A systematic review. Re‐imagining Connections, The 17th IASSIDD World Congress, Chicago, IL, United States, 5 - 8 August 2024. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/jir.13166
2024
Journal Article
De novo variants in immune regulatory genes in Down syndrome regression disorder
Jafarpour, Saba, Banerjee, Abhik K., Khoshnood, Mellad M., Vogel, Benjamin N., Boyd, Natalie K., Nguyen, Lina, Partridge, Rebecca, Santoro, Stephanie L., Gombolay, Grace Y., Fisher, Kristen S., de Asua, Diego Real, del Ortega, Maria Carmen, Franklin, Cathy, Rafii, Michael S. and Santoro, Jonathan D. (2024). De novo variants in immune regulatory genes in Down syndrome regression disorder. Journal of Neurology, 271 (8), 5567-5576. doi: 10.1007/s00415-024-12521-y
2024
Conference Publication
Catatonia in autism and intellectual disability
Franklin, C. (2024). Catatonia in autism and intellectual disability. RANZCP 2024 Congress, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 19 - 23 May 2024. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674241241938
2024
Conference Publication
Down Syndrome Regression disorder
Franklin, C. (2024). Down Syndrome Regression disorder. RANZCP 2024 Congress, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 19 - 23 May 2024. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674241241938
2024
Conference Publication
Clinical conundrums: neuropsychiatric presentations among people with intellectual disability
Trollor, J., Koncz, R., McDonald, J., Franklin, C. and Delves, M. (2024). Clinical conundrums: neuropsychiatric presentations among people with intellectual disability. RANZCP 2024 Congress, Canberra, ACT, Australia, 19 - 23 May 2024. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674241241938
2024
Conference Publication
Building the capacity of mainstream mental health service staff to work effectively with people with autism or intellectual disability: the EASY-Health project
Franklin, C. and Brooker, K. (2024). Building the capacity of mainstream mental health service staff to work effectively with people with autism or intellectual disability: the EASY-Health project. RANZCP 2024 Congress, Canberra, ACT Australia, 19 - 23 May 2024. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674241241938
2024
Conference Publication
Barriers to timely diagnosis of catatonia in people with development disability: a qualitative study
Johnston, M., Brooker, K. and Franklin, C. (2024). Barriers to timely diagnosis of catatonia in people with development disability: a qualitative study. RANZCP 2024 Congress, Canberra, ACT Australia, 19 - 23 May 2024. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674241241938
2024
Conference Publication
Experiences of mental health service staff working with people with autism or intellectual disability
Brooker, K. and Franklin, C. (2024). Experiences of mental health service staff working with people with autism or intellectual disability. RANZCP 2024 Congress, Canberra, ACT Australia, 19 - 23 May 2024. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674241241938
2024
Conference Publication
Intellectual disability and autism in mainstream mental health care
Franklin, C., Johnston, M. and Brooker, K. (2024). Intellectual disability and autism in mainstream mental health care. RANZCP 2024 Congress, Canberra, ACT Australia, 19 - 23 May 2024. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674241241938
2024
Conference Publication
Neuroimaging Abnormalities Predict Immunotherapy Responsiveness in Down Syndrome Regression Disorder
Santoro, Jonathan, Khoshnood, Mellad, Jafarpour, Saba, Nguyen, Lina, Boyd, Natalie, Vogel, Benjamin, Kammeyer, Ryan, Patel, Lina, Manning, Melanie, Filipink, Robyn, Santoro, Stephanie, Franklin, Catherine, Tamrazi, Benita, Worley, Gordon, Espinosa, Joaquin and Rafii, Michael (2024). Neuroimaging Abnormalities Predict Immunotherapy Responsiveness in Down Syndrome Regression Disorder. 2024 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, Denver, CO United States, 13-18 April 2024. Philadelphia, PA United States: Wolters Kluwer. doi: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000205290
2024
Journal Article
Neuroimaging abnormalities associated with immunotherapy responsiveness in Down syndrome regression disorder
Santoro, Jonathan D., Khoshnood, Mellad M., Jafarpour, Saba, Nguyen, Lina, Boyd, Natalie K., Vogel, Benjamin N., Kammeyer, Ryan, Patel, Lina, Manning, Melanie A., Rachubinski, Angela L., Filipink, Robyn A., Baumer, Nicole T., Santoro, Stephanie L., Franklin, Catherine, Tamrazi, Benita, Yeom, Kristen W., Worley, Gordon, Espinosa, Joaquin M. and Rafii, Michael S. (2024). Neuroimaging abnormalities associated with immunotherapy responsiveness in Down syndrome regression disorder. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology, 11 (4), 1034-1045. doi: 10.1002/acn3.52023
2024
Journal Article
Intellectual disability healthcare in Australia: Progress, challenges, and future directions
Brooker, K. S., De Greef, R., Trollor, J. N., Franklin, C. S. and Weise, J. (2024). Intellectual disability healthcare in Australia: Progress, challenges, and future directions. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 21 (1) e12497. doi: 10.1111/jppi.12497
2024
Journal Article
Health checks for people with down syndrome: a pooled analysis of three randomized controlled trials
Ware, Robert S., Franklin, Catherine, McPherson, Lyn and Lennox, Nicholas G. (2024). Health checks for people with down syndrome: a pooled analysis of three randomized controlled trials. Disabilities, 4 (1), 101-110. doi: 10.3390/disabilities4010007
2024
Journal Article
Australian psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists’ perceptions of chemical restraint of adults with intellectual disability
Edwards, Nicole, Franklin, Catherine, king, Julie and Watling, Hanna (2024). Australian psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists’ perceptions of chemical restraint of adults with intellectual disability. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 17 (1), 65-77. doi: 10.1080/19315864.2023.2192689
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Catherine Franklin is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Catherine Franklin directly for media enquiries about:
- autism mental health
- autistic adults
- chemical restraint in intellectual disability
- disability royal commission
- intellectual disability mental health
Need help?
For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team: