Honorary Professor

Sarah Medland

Email: 

Background

Professor Sarah Medland (OAM, FASSA, FAHMS, PhD) is a Psychiatric and Statistical Geneticist working in Neuroimaging and Mental health genetics. Her work bridges Genetics, Psychology, Neuro-Imaging, Health Economics and applied Statistics with a focus on understanding the genetic and environmental contributions to human behaviour and disease. She chairs the genetics working group of the ENIGMA neuroimaging consortium and is an active member of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium.

Primary Appointment: Coordinator of the Mental Health Research Program and Group Leader (Psychiatric Genetics) QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

ORCID: 0000-0003-1382-380X

ResearcherID: C-7630-2013

Scopus Author ID: 34571085600

Email: sarah.medland@qimrberghofer.edu.au

Qualifications

2006 PhD (Psychology), University of Queensland

Dean's Award for Outstanding Research Higher Degree Thesis

2000 BA Hons (Psychology), University of Queensland, 2000 (Psychology Double Major, English Minor)

Availability

Honorary Professor Sarah Medland is:
Available for supervision

Fields of research

Applied economics Psychology

Search Professor Sarah Medland’s works on UQ eSpace

552 works between 2001 and 2026
All (552) Journal Article (466) Other Outputs (1) Conference Publication (80) Book Chapter (5)

21 - 40 of 552 works

2025

Conference Publication

Clinical and Genetic Correlates of Circadian Depression in the Australian Genetics of Depression Study

Tonini, Emiliana, Crouse, Jacob J., Byrne, Enda, Mitchell, Brittany L., Shin, Mirim, Carpenter, Joanne S., Medland, Sarah, Scott, Jan, Martin, Nicholas G. and Hickie, Ian B. (2025). Clinical and Genetic Correlates of Circadian Depression in the Australian Genetics of Depression Study. HOBOKEN: WILEY.

Clinical and Genetic Correlates of Circadian Depression in the Australian Genetics of Depression Study

2025

Conference Publication

Mental Health and Sleep Correlates of Self-Reported Outdoor Daylight Exposure in Over 13,000 Adults With Depression

Crouse, Jacob, Park, Shin Ho, Mitchell, Brittany, Byrne, Enda, Medland, Sarah, Lin, Tian, Scott, Jan, de Haan, Zsofi, Tonini, Emiliana, Iorfino, Frank, Wray, Naomi, Martin, Nicholas and Hickie, Ian (2025). Mental Health and Sleep Correlates of Self-Reported Outdoor Daylight Exposure in Over 13,000 Adults With Depression. HOBOKEN: WILEY.

Mental Health and Sleep Correlates of Self-Reported Outdoor Daylight Exposure in Over 13,000 Adults With Depression

2025

Journal Article

Sex-stratified genome-wide association meta-analysis of major depressive disorder

Thomas, Jodi T., Thorp, Jackson G., Huider, Floris, Grimes, Poppy Z., Wang, Rujia, Youssef, Pierre, Coleman, Jonathan R. I., Byrne, Enda M., Adams, Mark, BIONIC consortium, van Loo, Hanna M., Penninx, Brenda W. J. H., The GLAD Study, Medland, Sarah E., Hickie, Ian B., Olsen, Catherine M., Whiteman, David C., Whalley, Heather C., Penninx, Brenda W.J.H., van Loo, Hanna M., Derks, Eske M., Eley, Thalia C., Breen, Gerome, Boomsma, Dorret I., Wray, Naomi R., Martin, Nicholas G. and Mitchell, Brittany L. (2025). Sex-stratified genome-wide association meta-analysis of major depressive disorder. Nature Communications, 16 (1) 7960, 1-15. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-63236-1

Sex-stratified genome-wide association meta-analysis of major depressive disorder

2025

Journal Article

Multi-ancestral genome-wide association study of clinically defined nicotine dependence reveals strong genetic correlations with other substance use disorders and health-related traits

Johnson, Emma C., Lai, Dongbing, Balbona, Jared V., Miller, Alex P., Hatoum, Alexander S., Deak, Joseph D., Jennings, Mariela, Baranger, David A. A., Galimberti, Marco, Sanichwankul, Kittipong, Thorgeirsson, Thorgeir, Colbert, Sarah M. C., Adhikari, Keyrun, Docherty, Anna R., Degenhardt, Louisa, Edwards, Tobias, Fox, Louis, Giannelis, Alexandros, Jeffries, Paul W., Korhonen, Tellervo, Morrison, Claire L., Nunez, Yaira Z., Palviainen, Teemu, Su, Mei-Hsin, Romero Villela, Pamela N., Wetherill, Leah, Willoughby, Emily A., Zellers, Stephanie M., Bierut, Laura J. ... Agrawal, Arpana (2025). Multi-ancestral genome-wide association study of clinically defined nicotine dependence reveals strong genetic correlations with other substance use disorders and health-related traits. Psychological Medicine, 55 e234, e234. doi: 10.1017/S0033291725100883

Multi-ancestral genome-wide association study of clinically defined nicotine dependence reveals strong genetic correlations with other substance use disorders and health-related traits

2025

Journal Article

Exploring the relationship between polygenic scores, community-shared socioeconomic indicators and major depressive disorder outcome

Sepulveda, Dante T., Thorp, Jackson G., Lind, Penelope A., Martin, Nicholas G., Medland, Sarah E. and Mitchell, Brittany L. (2025). Exploring the relationship between polygenic scores, community-shared socioeconomic indicators and major depressive disorder outcome. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 28 (3), 241-249. doi: 10.1017/thg.2025.10011

Exploring the relationship between polygenic scores, community-shared socioeconomic indicators and major depressive disorder outcome

2025

Journal Article

Efficacy and safety of semaglutide versus placebo for people with schizophrenia on clozapine with obesity (COaST): a phase 2, multi-centre, participant and investigator- blinded, randomised controlled trial in Australia

Siskind, Dan, Baker, Andrea, Arnautovska, Urska, Warren, Nicola, Russell, Anthony, DeMonte, Veronica, Halstead, Sean, Iyer, Ravi, Korman, Nicole, McKeon, Gemma, Medland, Sarah, Parker, Stephen, Stedman, Terry and Trott, Mike (2025). Efficacy and safety of semaglutide versus placebo for people with schizophrenia on clozapine with obesity (COaST): a phase 2, multi-centre, participant and investigator- blinded, randomised controlled trial in Australia. The Lancet Psychiatry, 12 (7), 493-503. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(25)00129-4

Efficacy and safety of semaglutide versus placebo for people with schizophrenia on clozapine with obesity (COaST): a phase 2, multi-centre, participant and investigator- blinded, randomised controlled trial in Australia

2025

Conference Publication

Acne polygenic risk score derived from genome-wide association metaregression enables prediction of severity

Du-Harpur, Xinyi, Maxwell, Jessye, Mitchell, Brittany L., Pardo, Luba M, Witkam, Willemijn C. A. M., Dand, Nick, Bartels, Meike, Betti, Michael, Boomsma, Dorret I., Dong, Xianjun, Gerring, Zachary, Finer, Sarah, Hagenbeek, Fiona A., Hottenga, Jouke Jan, Hripcsak, George, Huilaja, Laura, Hveem, Kristian, Jacobs, Benjamin, Kals, Mart, Kaufman-Cook, James, Kettunen, Johannes, Khan, Atlas, Kingo, Kulli, Kiryluk, Krzysztof, Løset, Mari, Lunter, Gerton, Lupton, Michelle, Min, Josine L., Martin, Nicholas G. ... Simpson, Michael A. (2025). Acne polygenic risk score derived from genome-wide association metaregression enables prediction of severity. 105th Annual Meeting of the British Association of Dermatologists, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1-3 July 2025. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/bjd/ljaf085.025

Acne polygenic risk score derived from genome-wide association metaregression enables prediction of severity

2025

Journal Article

Genetics of monozygotic twins reveals the impact of environmental sensitivity on psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes

Assary, Elham, Coleman, Jonathan R. I., Hemani, Gibran, van de Weijer, Margot P., Howe, Laurence J., Palviainen, Teemu, Grasby, Katrina L., Ahlskog, Rafael, Nygaard, Marianne, Cheesman, Rosa, Lim, Kai, Reynolds, Chandra A., Ordoñana, Juan R., Colodro-Conde, Lucia, Gordon, Scott, Madrid-Valero, Juan J., Thalamuthu, Anbupalam, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Mengel-From, Jonas, Armstrong, Nicola J., Sachdev, Perminder S., Lee, Teresa, Brodaty, Henry, Trollor, Julian N., Wright, Margaret, Ames, David, Catts, Vibeke S., Latvala, Antti, The Within Family Consortium ... Keers, Robert (2025). Genetics of monozygotic twins reveals the impact of environmental sensitivity on psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes. Nature Human Behaviour, 9 (8), 1683-1696. doi: 10.1038/s41562-025-02193-7

Genetics of monozygotic twins reveals the impact of environmental sensitivity on psychiatric and neurodevelopmental phenotypes

2025

Journal Article

Identification of genetic biomarkers of blood cholesterol levels using whole gene pathogenicity modelling

Sunny, Sharon, Cheng, Guo, Haria, Joshua, Nazari, Iman, Chauhan, Jagmohan and Ennis, Sarah (2025). Identification of genetic biomarkers of blood cholesterol levels using whole gene pathogenicity modelling. Mammalian Genome, 36 (3), 914-927. doi: 10.1007/s00335-025-10140-0

Identification of genetic biomarkers of blood cholesterol levels using whole gene pathogenicity modelling

2025

Journal Article

Genetic and environmental contributions to ReHo and fALFF in early adolescence vary across brain regions

Strike, Lachlan T., McMahon, Katie L., Medland, Sarah E. and de Zubicaray, Greig I. (2025). Genetic and environmental contributions to ReHo and fALFF in early adolescence vary across brain regions. Cerebral Cortex, 35 (6) bhaf143, 1-14. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf143

Genetic and environmental contributions to ReHo and fALFF in early adolescence vary across brain regions

2025

Journal Article

Evaluating practical approaches for including MYOC variants alongside common variants for genetics-based risk stratification for glaucoma

Le, Ngoc-Quynh, He, Weixiong, Law, Matthew H., Medland, Sarah E, Mackey, David A., Hewitt, Alex W., Gharahkhani, Puya and MacGregor, Stuart (2025). Evaluating practical approaches for including MYOC variants alongside common variants for genetics-based risk stratification for glaucoma. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 274, 232-240. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2025.03.011

Evaluating practical approaches for including MYOC variants alongside common variants for genetics-based risk stratification for glaucoma

2025

Journal Article

Dissecting causal relationships between cortical morphology and neuropsychiatric disorders: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

Lin, Bochao Danae, Li, Yunzhi, Goula, Anastasia A., Chang, Xiao, Grasby, Katrina L., Medland, Sarah, Andreassen, Ole A., Rutten, Bart P. F., Guloksuz, Sinan, van der Meer, Dennis and Luykx, Jurjen J. (2025). Dissecting causal relationships between cortical morphology and neuropsychiatric disorders: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study. Nature Mental Health, 3 (6) 447, 613-625. doi: 10.1038/s44220-025-00397-4

Dissecting causal relationships between cortical morphology and neuropsychiatric disorders: a bidirectional Mendelian randomization study

2025

Journal Article

Genetic links between subcortical brain morphometry and suicide attempt risk in children and adults

Ceja, Zuriel, García‐Marín, Luis M., Hung, I‐Tzu, Medland, Sarah E., Edwards, Alexis C., Rentería, Miguel E. and Rabinowitz, Jill A. (2025). Genetic links between subcortical brain morphometry and suicide attempt risk in children and adults. Human Brain Mapping, 46 (7) e70220, e70220. doi: 10.1002/hbm.70220

Genetic links between subcortical brain morphometry and suicide attempt risk in children and adults

2025

Journal Article

Lifespan reference curves for harmonizing multi-site regional brain white matter metrics from diffusion MRI

Zhu, Alyssa H., Nir, Talia M., Javid, Shayan, Villalón-Reina, Julio E., Rodrigue, Amanda L., Strike, Lachlan T., de Zubicaray, Greig I., McMahon, Katie L., Wright, Margaret J., Medland, Sarah E., Blangero, John, Glahn, David C., Kochunov, Peter, Williamson, Douglas E., Håberg, Asta K., Thompson, Paul M. and Jahanshad, Neda (2025). Lifespan reference curves for harmonizing multi-site regional brain white matter metrics from diffusion MRI. Scientific Data, 12 (1) 748, 1-18. doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-05028-2

Lifespan reference curves for harmonizing multi-site regional brain white matter metrics from diffusion MRI

2025

Journal Article

Impulsivity behaviors and white matter mediate the relationship between genetic risk for cannabis use disorder and early cannabis use in adolescents

Cupertino, Renata Basso, Medland, Sarah Elizabeth, Ottino-Gonzalez, Jonatan, Cao, Zhipeng, Juliano, Anthony, Pancholi, Devarshi, Banaschewski, Tobias, Bokde, Arun L. W., Desrivières, Sylvane, Flor, Herta, Grigis, Antoine, Gowland, Penny, Heinz, Andreas, Brühl, Rüdiger, Martinot, Jean-Luc, Martinot, Marie-Laure Paillère, Artiges, Eric, Nees, Frauke, Orfanos, Dimitri Papadopoulos, Lemaitre, Herve, Paus, Tomáš, Poustka, Luise, Hohmann, Sarah, Fröhner, Juliane H., Smolka, Michael N., Walter, Henrik, Whelan, Robert, Schumann, Gunter, Conrod, Patricia ... Mackey, Scott (2025). Impulsivity behaviors and white matter mediate the relationship between genetic risk for cannabis use disorder and early cannabis use in adolescents. Addiction, 120 (5), 984-996. doi: 10.1111/add.16750

Impulsivity behaviors and white matter mediate the relationship between genetic risk for cannabis use disorder and early cannabis use in adolescents

2025

Conference Publication

A genome-wide association study of brain function across multiple cognitive domains

Waller, L, Bröcker, A-L, Elbersgerd, N, Jaeck, F, Lipka, R, Mograby, L, Neidhart, M, Puzicha, R, Rahimova, F, Reinhardt, P, Reppmann, Z, Schäfer, N, Serin, E, Vaidya, N, Vogel, B, Wellan, S, Winterer, J, Göller, D, Henze, G-I, Pizzagalli, F, D'Agostino, C, Liao, Z, Paus, T, Nyberg, L, Andersson, M, Hermesdorf, M, Berger, K, Dannlowski, U, Kircher, T ... Walter, H (2025). A genome-wide association study of brain function across multiple cognitive domains. 5th Symposium of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Neuropsychopharmakologie und Pharmakopsychiatrie (AGNP) e. V. and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Biologische Psychiatrie (DGBP) e. V., Berlin, Germany, 7-9 May 2025. Stuttgart, Germany: Georg Thieme Verlag. doi: 10.1055/s-0045-1807310

A genome-wide association study of brain function across multiple cognitive domains

2025

Journal Article

Recent breakthroughs in genetic and brain structural correlates of suicidal behaviours: a short review

Ceja, Zuriel, Van Velzen, Laura S., Campos, Adrian I., Jahanshad, Neda, Medland, Sarah E., Edwards, Alexis C., Schmaal, Lianne and Rentería, Miguel E. (2025). Recent breakthroughs in genetic and brain structural correlates of suicidal behaviours: a short review. Biological Psychiatry, 97 (8), 775-785. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2024.09.010

Recent breakthroughs in genetic and brain structural correlates of suicidal behaviours: a short review

2025

Journal Article

Caffeine consumption, psychological distress, and insomnia in a cohort of individuals with depression

McIntosh, Harry A., Borgas, Aleah J., Aouira, Nisreen, Mitchell, Brittany L., Crouse, Jacob J., Medland, Sarah E., Hickie, Ian B., Wray, Naomi R., Martin, Nicholas G., Middeldorp, Christel M. and Byrne, Enda M. (2025). Caffeine consumption, psychological distress, and insomnia in a cohort of individuals with depression. Complex Psychiatry, 11 (1), 37-49. doi: 10.1159/000545393

Caffeine consumption, psychological distress, and insomnia in a cohort of individuals with depression

2025

Journal Article

Markers of positive affect and brain state synchrony discriminate melancholic from non-melancholic depression using naturalistic stimuli

Mosley, Philip E., van der Meer, Johan N., Hamilton, Lachlan H. W., Fripp, Jurgen, Parker, Stephen, Jeganathan, Jayson, Breakspear, Michael, Parker, Richard, Holland, Rebecca, Mitchell, Brittany L., Byrne, Enda, Hickie, Ian B., Medland, Sarah E., Martin, Nicholas G. and Cocchi, Luca (2025). Markers of positive affect and brain state synchrony discriminate melancholic from non-melancholic depression using naturalistic stimuli. Molecular Psychiatry, 30 (3) 11605, 848-860. doi: 10.1038/s41380-024-02699-y

Markers of positive affect and brain state synchrony discriminate melancholic from non-melancholic depression using naturalistic stimuli

2025

Journal Article

Clozapine efficacy and adverse drug reactions among a nationwide study of 1021 Australians prescribed clozapine: The ClozaGene Study

Lind, Penelope A., Parker, Richard K., Northwood, Korinne, Siskind, Dan J. and Medland, Sarah E. (2025). Clozapine efficacy and adverse drug reactions among a nationwide study of 1021 Australians prescribed clozapine: The ClozaGene Study. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 51 (2) sbae065, 458-469. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbae065

Clozapine efficacy and adverse drug reactions among a nationwide study of 1021 Australians prescribed clozapine: The ClozaGene Study

Availability

Honorary Professor Sarah Medland is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Unveiling the Complexities of Psychotic Disorders: Enhancing Treatment Safety and Understanding Heterogeneity Through Biomarkers, Genetic Analysis, and Multimodal Data Integration

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Dan Siskind

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Genetic and environmental risk factors influencing mood disorders

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Genetic determinants of treatment outcomes in mental health: harnessing the shared genetic etiology of mental disorders for precision psychiatry.

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Dan Siskind

  • Master Philosophy

    Novel efficient statistical methods for biobank-scale prediction from brain imaging

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Genetic architecture of differences in symptomatology and treatment response in major depressive disorder

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Honorary Professor Nick Martin, Associate Professor Miguel Rentería

Completed supervision

Enquiries

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