Overview
Background
After completing neurology training at the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital(RBWH) in 1995, A/Prof O’Sullivan completed Fellowships in Movement Disorders at the Austin & Repatriation Medical Centre, Melbourne then the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and Middlesex Hospital in London, UK. He was awarded a doctorate in Medicine from Melbourne University in 2000 for studies into surgery for Parkinson’s disease. He returned to the RBWH in 2001 and set up the Movement Disorders Clinical Service including botulinum toxin and later Friedreich's ataxia clinics, and co-ordinating the Huntington's disease multidisciplinary clinic. Through these clinics he has established collaborations with local, interstate and international researchers in the fields of Parkinson's disease, and other movement disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. He is currently Associate Professor of Medicine and Principal Research Fellow at UQ Centre for Clinical Research, previously Royal Brisbane and Uniting Care Health Clinical Units in UQ School of Clinical Medicine. A/Prof O'Sullivan past President of the Movement Disorders Society of Australia and New Zealand (MDSANZ), having previously served as Chair of the MDSANZ Clinical Trials and Research Group. He is on the Council of the Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurolgists (ANZAN) and previously chaired the ANZAN Scientific Program Committee
Availability
- Associate Professor John O'Sullivan is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Research interests
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Non-motor features of Parkinson's disease
This research involves studies into depression, anxiety and cognitive function in Parkinson's disease in collaboration with Dr Nadeeka Dissanayaka, Dr Robert Adam, Prof Gerard Byrne, Dr Nancy Pachana & Dr Rodney Marsh
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Novel compounds and clinical trials in neurodegenerative diseases
Research involves novel compounds and repurposed drugs for treatment and disease-modification in Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, Friedreich's Ataxia, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and motor neurone diseases in collaboration with Dr Richard Gordon, A/Prof Trent Woodruff, A/Prof Rob Henderson, Prof Pam McCombe, Dr Robert Adam and Wesley Medical Research.
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Exercise in Parkinson's disease
In collaboration with Prof Sandy Brauer, Dr Robyn Lamont, and Wesley Medical Research, studies exploring maintenance of exercise, gait and boxing in Parkinson's disease.
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Sleep in neurodegenerative diseases
These studies in collaboration with Dr Simon Smith, Dr Jane Nikles and Wesley Medical Research explore novel aspects involving sleep in Parkinson's, Huntington's and motor neurone diseases and Friedreich's ataxia
Research impacts
A/Prof O’Sullivan’s novel investigator-initiated clinical trial in Parkinson’s disease (PD) (Mov Dis 2007; 22:1543-9) is cited in the American Academy of Neurology Practice Parameters and MDS Evidence Based Medicine Review of Management of Non-motor symptoms in PD. The initial description of syndrome of Dopamine Dysregulation in PD (JNNP 2000; 68:423-428) complicating dopamine replacement therapy in some patients with Parkinson’s disease has led to widespread recognition of the syndrome, and this paper has had more than 400 citations. The Movement Disorders Society revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS–UPDRS) includes a section to address features of the dopamine dysregulation syndrome as a result of this. This research has also contributed to debate about addiction in general (Addiction. 2012;107(2):253).
Works
Search Professor John O'Sullivan’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Conference Publication
Investigating resting state functional connectivity in sub-phenotypes of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s disease
Pourzinal, D., Yang, J.H.J., Byrne, G.J., O'Sullivan, J., Mitchell, L., McMahon, K.L., Copland, D.A. and Dissanayaka, N.N. (2020). Investigating resting state functional connectivity in sub-phenotypes of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s disease. 5th Annual NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR) Australian Dementia Forum, Adelaide, Australia, 31 May - 2 June 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Identification and clinical characteristics of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease
Yang, Ji Hyun, Forbes, Elana, Pourzinal, Dana, McMahon, Katie, Copland, David, Byrne, Gerard, O'Sullivan, John, Mitchell, Leander and Dissanayaka, Nadeeka (2020). Identification and clinical characteristics of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease. Australian Dementia Forum, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 31 May-2 June 2020. Canberra City, ACT, Australia: NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR).
2020
Conference Publication
Using cluster analysis to identify mild cognitive impairment phenotypes in Parkinson’s disease
Pourzinal, D., Yang, J.H.J., Byrne, G.J., O'Sullivan, J., Mitchell, L., McMahon, K.L., Copland, D.A. and Dissanayaka, N.N. (2020). Using cluster analysis to identify mild cognitive impairment phenotypes in Parkinson’s disease. 5th Annual NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR) Australian Dementia Forum, Adelaide, Australia, 31 May - 2 June 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Anxiety is associated with verbal memory impairment in Parkinson’s disease
Forbes, E. J., Byrne, G. J., Yang, J. H. J., O'Sullivan, J., Copland, D. A., McMahon, K. L., Mitchell, L. and Dissanayaka, N. N. (2020). Anxiety is associated with verbal memory impairment in Parkinson’s disease. 5th Annual NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR) Australian Dementia Forum, Adelaide, Australia, 31 May - 2 June 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Neural correlates of semantic fluency deficits in Parkinson’s disease patients with mild cognitive impairment
Yang, J., Copland, D., McMahon, K., Byrne, G., O'Sullivan, J. and Dissanayaka, N. (2020). Neural correlates of semantic fluency deficits in Parkinson’s disease patients with mild cognitive impairment. Macquarie University BioNetwork 3rd Annual Research Symposium on Dementia, Online, 14-15 September 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Identification and clinical characteristics of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's disease
Yang, J., Forbes, E., Pourzinal, D., McMahon, K., Copland, D., Byrne, G., O'Sullivan, J., Mitchell, L. and Dissanayaka, N. (2020). Identification and clinical characteristics of Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's disease. Macquarie University BioNetwork 3rd Annual Research Symposium on Dementia, Online, 14-15 September 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Anxiety is associated with verbal memory impairment in Parkinson’s disease
Forbes, E., Byrne, G.J., Yang, J.H.J., O'Sullivan, J., Copland, D.A., McMahon, K.L., Mitchell, L.K. and Dissanayaka, N.N. (2020). Anxiety is associated with verbal memory impairment in Parkinson’s disease. 53rd Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) Conference, Online, 18-20 November 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Emotional inhibition in Parkinson’s disease: a HD-EEG ERP study
Su, P., Hennessy, D., Au, T. R., Angwin, A. J., Iyer, K., Yang, J. H., Copland, D. A., O'Sullivan, J. D. and Dissanayaka, N. N. (2020). Emotional inhibition in Parkinson’s disease: a HD-EEG ERP study. Herston Health Precinct Symposium 2020, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 7-11 December 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Neural correlates of semantic fluency deficits in Parkinson’s disease patients with mild cognitive impairment
Yang, J. H. J., Copland, D. A., McMahon, K. L., Byrne, G. J., O'Sullivan, J. D. and Dissanayaka, N. N. (2020). Neural correlates of semantic fluency deficits in Parkinson’s disease patients with mild cognitive impairment. 5th Annual NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR) Australian Dementia Forum, Adelaide, Australia, 31 May-2 June 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Neural correlates of semantic fluency deficits in Parkinson's Disease with mild cognitive impairment
Yang, J., Copland, D., McMahon, K., Byrne, G., O'Sullivan, J. and Dissanayaka, N.N. (2020). Neural correlates of semantic fluency deficits in Parkinson's Disease with mild cognitive impairment. MDS Virtual Congress 2020, Online, 12-16 September 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Anxiety is associated with verbal memory impairment in Parkinson’s disease
Forbes, E. J., Byrne, G. J., Yang, J. H., O'Sullivan, J., Copland, D. A., McMahon, K. L., Mitchell, L. M. and Dissanayaka, N. N. (2020). Anxiety is associated with verbal memory impairment in Parkinson’s disease. Australian Dementia Forum, Adelaide, SA, Australia, 31 May – 2 June 2020. Canberra, ACT, Australia: NHMRC National Institute for Dementia Research (NNIDR).
2020
Conference Publication
Therapy to Reduce dementia risk In Parkinson’s disease (TRIP): Proof-of-concept protocol
Pourzinal, D., Bakker, A., Byrne, G., McMahon, K.L., O'Sullivan, J.D., Adam, R., Lehn, A., Copland, D., Yang, J.H., Au, T., Littleford, R., Chatfield, M., Pontone, G., Mari, Z. and Dissanayaka, N.N.W. (2020). Therapy to Reduce dementia risk In Parkinson’s disease (TRIP): Proof-of-concept protocol. Macquarie University BioNetwork 3rd Annual Research Symposium on Dementia, Online, 14-15 September 2020.
2020
Conference Publication
Identification and clinical characteristics of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease
Yang, J.H., Forbes, E., Pourzinal, D., McMahon, K., Copland, D.A., Byrne, G.J., O'Sullivan, J., Mitchell, L. and Dissanayaka, N.N. (2020). Identification and clinical characteristics of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease. MDS Virtual Congress 2020, Online, 12-16 September 2020.
2019
Journal Article
Protocol: using N-of-1 tests to identify responders to melatonin for sleep disturbance in Parkinson's disease
Nikles, J., O'Sullivan, J. D., Mitchell, G. K., Smith, S. S., McGree, J. M., Senior, H., Dissanyaka, N. and Ritchie, A. (2019). Protocol: using N-of-1 tests to identify responders to melatonin for sleep disturbance in Parkinson's disease. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 15 100397, 100397. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100397
2019
Journal Article
Updates and advances in the treatment of Parkinson disease
Hayes, Michael W., Fung, Victor S. C., Kimber, Thomas E. and O'Sullivan, John D. (2019). Updates and advances in the treatment of Parkinson disease. Medical Journal of Australia, 211 (6), 277-283. doi: 10.5694/mja2.50224
2019
Journal Article
The CuePed Trial: how does environmental complexity impact cue effectiveness? A comparison of tonic and phasic visual cueing in simple and complex environments in a Parkinson’s Disease population with freezing of gait
Marsh, Rodney, Cole, Michael H., Dissanayaka, Nadeeka N. W., Au, Tiffany R., Clewett, Sandra, O’Sullivan, John D. and Silburn, Peter A. (2019). The CuePed Trial: how does environmental complexity impact cue effectiveness? A comparison of tonic and phasic visual cueing in simple and complex environments in a Parkinson’s Disease population with freezing of gait. Parkinson's Disease, 2019 2478980, 1-6. doi: 10.1155/2019/2478980
2019
Journal Article
Improved language production with transcranial direct current stimulation in progressive supranuclear palsy
Madden, Daniel L., Sale, Martin V., O'Sullivan, John and Robinson, Gail A. (2019). Improved language production with transcranial direct current stimulation in progressive supranuclear palsy. Neuropsychologia, 127, 148-157. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2019.02.022
2019
Journal Article
Depression symptomatology correlates with event-related potentials in Parkinson's disease: an affective priming study
Dissanayaka, Nadeeka N.W., Au, Tiffany R., Angwin, Anthony J., Iyer, Kartik K., O'Sullivan, John D., Byrne, Gerard J., Silburn, Peter A., Marsh, Rodney, Mellick, George D. and Copland, David A. (2019). Depression symptomatology correlates with event-related potentials in Parkinson's disease: an affective priming study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 245, 897-904. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.094
2019
Conference Publication
Profiling atypical anxiety in Parkinson's disease
Forbes, E. J., Byrne, G. J., O'Sullivan, J. D., Yang, J. H. J., Marsh, R. and Dissanayaka, N. N. W. (2019). Profiling atypical anxiety in Parkinson's disease. University of Queensland Science Student Research Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 12 October 2019.
2019
Conference Publication
Identifying altered resting-state network in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment
Yang, J. H., McMahon, K. L., Copland, D. A., Byrne, G. J., Mitchell, L. K., O'Sullivan, J. D. and Dissanayaka, N. N. W. (2019). Identifying altered resting-state network in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment. 23rd Annual Meeting of the Organisation for Human Brain Mapping, Rome, Italy, 9-13 June 2019.
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor John O'Sullivan is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Master Philosophy
Digital symptom tracking - using digital tools for measuring and tracking motor, cognitive, and speech changes
Associate Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
The evolution of cognitive deficits in Lewy body disorders and related degenerative diseases.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Nestor
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Cognitive subtypes in Parkinson's disease: exploring phenotypes, neuroimaging targets, and therapeutics
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Gerard Byrne, Dr Ji Hyun Julia Yang, Professor Nadeeka Dissanayaka
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2008
Doctor Philosophy
Depression in Parkinson's disease: assessment methods and risk factors
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Michael Roberts
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor John O'Sullivan directly for media enquiries about:
- Botulinum toxin
- Dystonia
- Huntington's disease
- Movement disorders
- Parkinson's disease
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