(she/her)
research
Kristi completed her PhD in behavioural neuroscience at the University of Sydney. She was subsequently awarded a Tenix Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, followed by a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship. She completed neuroimaging training with the fMRI Visiting Fellowship at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging in Boston.
Kristi has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers, which have been highly cited (1000+), and she has secured >1.3 million dollars in competitive research funding. She is a peer reviewer for top international journals and has served as a reviewer for international grant funding bodies (e.g. Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia).
Kristi's research program applies multimodal neuroimaging techniques to better understand mechanisms of psychiatric illnesses and how they are affected by pharmacotherapies, with the ultimate goal of advancing personalised medicine.
Kristi is available for HDR and PhD Supervision.
This study looked at how lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX) affects the brain in people with binge eating disorder. After treatment, people showed brain changes that went along with feeling and functioning better, suggesting the medicine may help by shifting how the brain handles appetite, reward, and self‑control.
This study seeks to develop a deep understanding of the biological, psychological and social factors contributing to an individual's eating disorder. Using this information, we plan to co-produce a universal measure of eating disorders.
The My Diet Study is the first longitudinal, observational investigation of self-directed dieting patterns in young people aged 16-25, combining in-depth psychological and biological data to understand factors impacting dieting experiences. By examining natural dieting habits before eating disorders emerge, the research aims to identify biomarkers for risk, inform safety frameworks for young people's dieting, and establish evidence-based guidance for diet-based lifestyle interventions.
This trial evaluates the safety, feasibility, and preliminary efficacy of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy for individuals with treatment-resistant anorexia nervosa who have not responded to standard evidence-based interventions.
This study investigates brain and hormonal responses to real-time food consumption decisions in individuals with anorexia nervosa using brain imaging and biomarker analysis. The research aims to identify biological drivers of restrictive eating and inform development of novel treatment targets.
This study examines who is using GLP-1 agonists (Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro) and their experiences, particularly regarding physical and mental health outcomes, side effects, and associations with disordered eating. Through surveys and interviews with users aged 18+, the research aims to identify the benefits and harms of these medications and provide insights into their real-world effects on health and wellbeing.
The Holistic Understanding study is a longitudinal, biopsychosocial dense-sampling study designed to uncover the mechanisms underlying eating disorder development and maintenance, addressing gaps in current understanding that limit treatment efficacy.
Exploring Bi-Directional Impacts of Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate on Psychological Comorbidities and Quality of Life in People with Binge Eating Disorder
Griffiths, K. R., Boulet, S., Barakat, S., Touyz, S., Hay, P., Maguire, S., & Kohn, M. R.
Journal of Eating Disorders.
12(1), 80.
Functional Connectivity Mechanisms Underlying Symptom Reduction Following Lisdexamfetamine Treatment In Binge Eating Disorder: A Clinical Trial
Griffiths, K., Breukelaar, I., Harvie, G., Yang, J., Foster, S., Harris, A., Clarke, S., Hay, P., Touyz, S., Korgaonkar, M., Kohn, M.
Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science.
4(1), 317 - 325.
White Matter Microstructural Differences in Underweight Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa and a Preliminary Longitudinal Investigation of Change Following Short-Term Weight Restoration
Griffiths, K., Martin Monzon, B., Madden, S., Kohn, M., Touyz, S., Sachdev, P., Clarke, S., Foroughi, N., Hay, P.
Eating and Weight Disorders.
26(6), 1903 - 1914.
Task-Evoked Effective Connectivity in Salience and Central Executive Networks Predicts Cognitive Control Ability and Inattention Symptoms in Children With ADHD.
Cai, W., Griffiths, K., Korgaonkar, M., Williams, L., Menon, V.
Biological Psychiatry.
85(10).
Impulsivity and Its Relationship With Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate Treatment in Binge Eating Disorder
Griffiths, K. R., Aparício, L., Braund, T. A., Yang, J., Harvie, G., Harris, A., ... & Kohn, M. R.
Frontiers in Psychology.
12.
neurobiological
digital-mental-health
understanding-illness-lived-experience
treatment-innovation
PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Sydney
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