I am a postdoctoral researcher working on sleep-wake cycles and circadian rhythms in the context of emerging mood disorders in adolescence at the Brain and Mind Centre, at the University of Sydney. Before joining BMC, I was working at Neuroscience Research Australia and have just been awarded a PhD in Neuroscience and Psychiatry from the University of New South Wales, in March 2023. During my doctorate, I investigated the associations between behavioural risks for psychosis and environmental risk factors (such as childhood trauma and socioeconomic disadvantage), genetic vulnerability for psychotic disorders, and brain functional correlates in a cohort of adults including individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Prior to this, I completed master’s degree in Neuroscience at the University of Geneva, in Switzerland, where I worked on a project focusing on the development of brain structures in relation to adolescence mental health.
Large pragmatic trial found metformin plus lifestyle intervention reduced weight gain in young people with bipolar disorder taking antipsychotics. Effect significant but modest at 6 and 24 months.
A massive new multi-ancestry genetic study of bipolar disorder has uncovered hundreds of risk loci and highlighted biological pathways that may guide more precise treatments and prevention strategies in the future.
Emiliana Tonini looks at how sleep is recorded and treated in people with serious mental illness—and how it affects their engagement with services. The study finds that sleep is rarely part of routine clinical assessment, and recommended sleep treatments are hardly ever used.
Emiliana Tonini summarises a recent Chinese study, which suggests that combining MRI scan and behavioural assessments data may increase the accuracy of diagnosing bipolar disorder in adolescents.
Emiliana Tonini summarises a large-scale cross-sectional study, which suggests that encouraging individuals to increase their exposure to bright natural light during the day and minimise exposure to artificial light at night may help with our mental health.
In her debut blog, Emiliana Tonini summarises a recent study exploring the healthcare pathways of children and adolescents seeking support for depression, from referral through to discharge.
