Deakin Distinguished Professor Michael Berk and Deakin Distinguished Professor Felice Jacka, both renowned for their pioneering work in mental health treatment and prevention, have been once again recognised for their global contributions to the field.
A lifetime of work improving others’ lives
Deakin Distinguished Professor Michael Berk, Co-director of the Deakin Institute for Mental and Physical Health Clinical Translation (IMPACT), was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in this year’s King’s Birthday honours for distinguished service to epidemiology, preventative medicine, mental health and tertiary education.
Consistently ranked amongst the top 1% of researchers in his field in the world, Professor Berk’s work focuses on bridging the gap between research and clinical practice to provide real-world solutions for those suffering from mental health conditions. His research has discovered new and effective ways to tread mood disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, often by repurposing existing drugs used for other conditions. Many of his findings have been adopted into clinical guidelines and are now standard treatments that have improved the treatment of mental health conditions worldwide.
Professor Berk is also a champion of the next generation of mental health researchers. He’s fostered groundbreaking research by his team, including studies demonstrating the effectiveness of Lamotrigine, a mood-stabilising medication used to treat bipolar disorder, and naturally derived compounds such as mangosteen extract and N-acetylcysteine, an antioxidant compound that has shown promise in supporting mental health, along with many other important discoveries.
One of his team’s most innovative contributions is using stem cell technology for drug discovery and repurposing. By developing a platform using patient-derived stem cells, led by IMPACT’s Co-director Professor Ken Walder, the team can identify existing medications to treat psychiatric disorders, speeding up the development of new treatments. This research is paving the way for new approaches to conditions like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
At the time of being honoured, Professor Berk told the Geelong Advertiser that receiving an AO ‘was a deeply meaningful acknowledgement of a lifetime of dedication’.
‘It’s recognition of a lifetime’s work trying to better the lives of people who struggle with mental health, which remains one of the biggest health burdens in society today.’
Professor Berk was among more than 30 members of the Deakin community, including current and former staff and students and alumni. Read the full list of Deakin’s 2026 King’s Birthday Honours recipients.
Learn more about IMPACT’s work and how you can help support it.
Discovering the link between food and mental health
Distinguished Professor Felice Jacka OAM, founder and Director of Deakin’s Food and Mood Centre has been honoured in the 2026 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards as Laureate for Asia and the Pacific, acknowledging her ground-breaking research into the relationship between nutrition and mental health.
Professor Jacka’s research explores the complex relationship between diet, nutrition, and mental and brain health, highlighting the direct link with mental disorders across the life-course, and establishing the emerging and impactful field of nutritional psychiatry.
Her work has found that what we eat is not just a risk factor for heart disease or diabetes, but a powerful and modifiable determinant of depression, anxiety and brain health. She has influenced clinical psychiatry guidelines in Australia and elsewhere and is cited in more than 130 high level policy documents worldwide.
Professor Jacka believes the dominance of the industrial food and agricultural industries has created a food system that promotes physical and mental ill health, premature death and biodiversity loss, and she supports radical changes to the global food system.
‘My current focus is on the way planetary and human health are tightly interconnected via microbial diversity,’ Professor Jacka said.
‘Industrial food production and consumption destroys biodiversity above and below the ground and we as humans are losing our microbial diversity. This, in turn, is linked to autoimmune, allergic, mental and neurodevelopmental disorders as well as broader chronic health conditions.’
The L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Awards reflect the excellence of women in science worldwide. The five 2026 Laureates were selected from a record 504 nominations from 89 countries and join more than 5,000 women recognised by the program over 28 years.
Professor Jacka said she was incredibly honoured and grateful for the international acknowledgement of her decades of research establishing the link between diet quality and common mental disorders.
Learn more about Food and Mood’s research and how you can help support it.