Associate Professor Nadine Kasparian
BA (Psych, Hons I), PhD (Medical Psychology), Grad Certificate (Infant Mental Health), MAPS
Nadine Kasparian is Associate Professor in Medical Psychology at UNSW. She is also Head of Psychology at the Heart Centre for Children, where in 2010, under the auspices of The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network and UNSW Sydney, A/Prof Kasparian established Australasia's first integrated psychology research program and clinical service dedicated to childhood heart disease.
Current roles include:
- National Heart Foundation Future Leader Fellow (2017-2020)
- Co-Founder, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) Psychology and Supportive Care Working Group (2016-)
- Research Lead (Quality of Life), Australia and New Zealand Fontan Registry (2015-)
- Research Lead (Psychology), Australia and New Zealand Congenital Heart Disease Registry (2016-)
- Chair, Psychosocial Round in Cardiac Care, Heart Centre for Children, The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (2010-)
Since 2007, A/Prof Kasparian has published, or had accepted for publication, over 100 journal articles, abstracts and book chapters, and 10 evidence-based interventions.
In 2015 Nadine developed the Perinatal Psychology course in the UNSW Master of Women's Health degree. This was the first time a course of this kind had been offered at UNSW. She also regularly lectures and provides workshops for a range of organisations, including NSW Institute of Psychiatry, and numerous overseas-based groups.
Society Memberships & Professional Activities:
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Co-Founder, Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ) Psychology and Supportive Care Working Group (2016-)
- Research Lead (Quality of Life), Australia and New Zealand Fontan Registry (2015-)
- Research Lead (Psychology), Australia and New Zealand Congenital Heart Disease Registry (2016-)
- Co-Leader, Behavioural Science Research Program, International Melanoma Genetics Consortium (GenoMEL)
- Secretary, International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) Fear of Cancer Recurrence Group
- Chair, Psychosocial Round in Cardiac Care, Heart Centre for Children, The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (2010-)
- Executive Committee, National Psycho-Oncology Clinical Trials Group (PoCoG)
- Executive Committee, Australian Psychological Society Perinatal and Infant Psychology Interest Group
- Scientific Advisory Committee, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network Ethics Committee
- Member, Australian Psychological Society (APS)
- Member, World Association for Infant Mental Health
- Member, International Society of Community Genetics and Genomics
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
A/Prof Kasparian is the recipient of two research fellowships from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC). She has a career total of over $17 million in competitive research funding.
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Future Leader Fellowship, National Heart Foundation (2016).
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'Rising Star Who Will Change Our World', The University of New South Wales (2015).
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Award for Contribution to the Prevention or Management of Child Abuse and Neglect, The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (2014).
- International Psycho-Oncology Society Hiroomi Kawano New Investigator Award for Outstanding Contributions to Research (2011).
- GenoMEL International Exchange Program Award (2011, 2008).
- Dean's Rising Star Award, UNSW Medicine, University of NSW (2010).
- The Kerry Lockhart Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Award (2010).
- The CASS Foundation Early Career Researcher Travel Award (2010).
- Excellent PhD Thesis in Psychology Award, The Australian Psychological Society (2008).
- Best Presentation, Australasian Society of Behavioural Health and Medicine (2008).
- Young Tall Poppy Science Award, Australian Institute of Policy & Science, NSW Office for Science and Medical Research (2007).
A/Prof Kasparian's research focuses on improving the health and well-being of infants, children, adults and families affected by critical or chronic illness. Her multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians lead projects to:
- Discover factors that contribute to psychological and neurobiological risk and resilience
- Develop and implement cost-effective psychological interventions and treatments
- Understand patient and family experiences of new and emerging health technologies
- Cultivate compassionate teams in health and medicine
- Rapidly translate evidence into clinical practice and health policy
To undertake this work Nadine’s team uses a variety of research designs, including:
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Large, multi-centre randomised controlled trials
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Health service evaluations
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Prospective cohort studies
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Economic evaluations and cost-effectiveness trials
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In-depth qualitative analyses
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Cross-sectional studies
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Systematic reviews of the literature
Nadine's team is passionate about developing new and innovative ways of providing the best possible care to infants, children, adults and families from the time of medical diagnosis, through treatment, important life transitions, and beyond. This includes work involving people of all ages with complex congenital heart disease or rare and life-threatening genetic heart conditions, as well as their parents, siblings and wider family. We are also committed to better understanding and addressing the needs of bereaved families.
In addition to work in childhood heart disease, Nadine's team also applies their clinical research approach to other medical conditions, such as melanoma and other cancers, neuromuscular diseases, severe familial intellectual disability, and other critical or chronic illnesses.