Researchers

Dennis Chang

Professor Chang is the Director of NICM Health Research Institute and Professor of Pharmacology. Professor Chang originally trained in medicine and later finished his postgraduate research training in pharmacology. His research interests include clinical and preclinical studies of herbal medicine, yoga, and tai chi for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, metabolic disease and dementia.

Alan Bensoussan

Emeritus Professor Bensoussan is one of Australia's prominent researchers in complementary medicine. He has helped NICM Health Research Institute forge a broad network of links with other national and international organisations within government and industry.

Chun Guang Li

Chun Guang Li

Professor Li is NICM Health Research Institute's Director of Research. He is also the Institute's pharmacology team leader, commencing the role in 2012.

Gerald Muench

Gerald Muench

Professor Muench's project focus is on Alzheimer's disease with a special emphasis on carbonyl stress in age-related and neurodegenerative processes, and also looking at brain inflammation as a major progression factor in Alzheimer's disease.

Prof Jerome Sarris

Jerome Sarris

Jerome Sarris is Professor of Integrative Mental Health. He has a particular interest in anxiety and mood disorder research pertaining to nutraceutical psychopharmacology, in complementary and integrative medicine, lifestyle medicine, and psychotropic plant medicine research.

Xiaoshu Zhu

Xiaoshu Zhu

Professor Zhu is director of academic program and senior lecturer of the Chinese medicine program in School of Science and Health at Western Sydney University. She is also an inaugural practitioner member of the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia; she serves as working editor for the Cochrane Menstrual Disorders and Subfertility Group, the Cochrane Collaboration.

Bobby Cheema 

Bobby Cheema

Associate Professor Cheema is interested in investigating the health benefits of yoga, meditation, and multi-disciplinary interventions and currently collaborates with colleagues in traditional Chinese medicine, nutritional sciences, medicine, and nursing and midwifery.

Carolyn Ee

Carolyn Ee

Associate Professor Ee is a General Practitioner with clinical and research expertise in acupuncture for women's health. She joined NICM HRI in as a Research Fellow in January 2016, was appointed the Jacka Foundation Senior Research Fellow in November 2017, and Associate Professor in 2022. Associate Professor Ee is also the chair of the RACGP Integrative Medicine Specific Interest Group.

Dr Gen Steiner

Genevieve Steiner-Lim

Associate Professor Steiner-Lim is a NHMRC Dementia Research Development Fellow II and Neurocognition Laboratory Lead at NICM Health Research Institute. Her research investigates the psychopharmacological effects of complementary medicines on the neural activity of people living with the early signs of dementia.

Mike Armour

Mike Armour

Associate Professor Armour joined NICM Health Research Institute in 2016 as a Postdoctoral Senior Research Fellow working in the area of women's health, with a specific interest in dysmenorrhea and chronic pelvic pain. His background is a mixture of western and eastern medicine, having completed an honours degree in biomedicine before training as a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. Associate Professor Armour is also the Institute's HDR Director.

Deep Jyoti Bhuyan

Dr Bhuyan was appointed in 2021 as a Research Support Program Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute. His research centres on the development of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agents from natural sources and deciphering their molecular mechanisms of action.

Diana Karamacoska

Dr Karamacoska is a cognitive neuroscientist and was appointed in 2021 as a Research Support Program Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute. She has strong interest in improving the health of individuals at risk of, or diagnosed with, conditions that affect the brain.

Emily_Yang

Guoyan Yang

Dr Guoyan Yang joined NICM Health Research Institute in 2019 as Postdoctoral Research Fellow for clinical research and translation. In 2021, she was appointed in her current role as a Research Support Program Fellow. Her research explores the effectiveness and safety of complementary medicines, including Chinese medicine and tai chi, in the treatment of chronic illness including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mild cognitive impairment.

Michelle (Tianqing) Liu

Dr Michelle (Tianqing) Liu joined NICM Health Research Institute in 2020 as Western Sydney University Vice-Chancellor’s Research Fellow, working in the area of pharmacology and natural product chemistry. She has an interest in human cancers and neurological disorders, with her current research focus on the use of nanotechnology to overcome medical barriers in disease diagnosis and therapy.

Mitchell Low

Dr Low is an enthusiastic early career researcher who previously worked in NICM Health Research Institute's TGA accredited Analytical testing laboratory, as the Acting Commercial Laboratory Manager. Over the last 10 years with NICM HRI, he has acquired cross disciplinary technical skills as Quality Control Chemist, Research Assistant and Technical Office

Nerida Klupp

Nerida Klupp

Dr Nerida Klupp is Senior Lecturer in Interprofessional Health Sciences. Her academic background spans a range of disciplines including podiatric, cardiovascular, and complementary medicine.

Phoebe Zhou

Dr. Zhou, a Research Support Program Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute, specialises in natural products, cardiovascular health, and mental well-being. As an industry fellow, she collaborates with various national and international partners to enhance product mechanisms and research commercialisation processes.

Suzanne Grant

Suzanne Grant

Dr Suzanne Grant is a Senior Research Fellow at NICM Health Research Institute. Her research focuses on the use and effectiveness of mind-body and biologically based therapies in both cancer and integrative healthcare.

Srinivas Nammi

Srinivas Nammi

Dr Nammi has a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences, specialising in pharmacology. He has over 15 years of experience in pharmacological research in the areas of endocrine and cardiovascular pharmacology through working on various projects in academic and industrial setting with special focus on the cause and treatment of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes