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Dr Catherine Franklin
Dr

Catherine Franklin

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 3163 1625

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

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

61 works between 2011 and 2024

1 - 20 of 61 works

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

Evaluation of the EASY Health (enhancing access to services for your health) project online education for mainstream healthcare professionals

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

Development of the easy health (enhancing access to services for your health) online education for mainstream healthcare professionals

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

Disability support workers' perspectives on healthcare for people with intellectual disability and autistic people

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

Creating a scale to measure intellectual disability and autism knowledge of health professionals: development and psychometric properties

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

Experiences of people with intellectual disability and autistic people going to hospital

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

Experiences of hospital staff working with people intellectual disability and autistic people

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

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

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

De novo variants in immune regulatory genes in Down syndrome regression disorder

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

Catatonia in autism and intellectual disability

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

Down Syndrome Regression disorder

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

Clinical conundrums: neuropsychiatric presentations among people with intellectual disability

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

Building the capacity of mainstream mental health service staff to work effectively with people with autism or intellectual disability: the EASY-Health project

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

Barriers to timely diagnosis of catatonia in people with development disability: a qualitative study

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

Experiences of mental health service staff working with people with autism or intellectual disability

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

Intellectual disability and autism in mainstream mental health care

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

Neuroimaging Abnormalities Predict Immunotherapy Responsiveness in Down Syndrome Regression Disorder

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

Neuroimaging abnormalities associated with immunotherapy responsiveness in Down syndrome regression disorder

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

Intellectual disability healthcare in Australia: Progress, challenges, and future directions

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

Health checks for people with down syndrome: a pooled analysis of three randomized controlled trials

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

Australian psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists’ perceptions of chemical restraint of adults with intellectual disability

Funding

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2026
    Evaluation of the Primary Care Enhancement Program Phase 2
    Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2027
    Bridge to Better Health: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial for Capacity Building in Intellectual Disability Health for General Practice
    NHMRC Targeted Research
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2027
    EASY Health: Enhancing Access to Services for Your Health
    Mater Misericordiae Ltd
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2020 - 2022
    Development and evaluation of educational and self-management resources for people with intellectual and developmental disability living with diabetes and their support people: Diabetes to the Point
    Diabetes Australia Research Program
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2020
    The RAPID (Reducing Antipsychotics in People with Intellectual Disability) study
    Endeavour Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2021
    Project 3.015C Health and Wellbeing for Adults (Autism CRC)
    CRC for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC Limited)
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2021
    Project 3.012RCb Program 3 Base Resourcing
    CRC for Living with Autism Spectrum Disorders (Autism CRC Limited)
    Open grant

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:

communications@uq.edu.au