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Research Group
Principal Investigator
Postdoctoral Research Fellows
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Leonardo Novelli
Current Position: Research Fellow, Monash University, Nov. 2020 - to date
Education:
PhD (Complex Systems), University of Sydney, Australia, 2017-2020. Supervisor: Joseph Lizier
MSc (Neural Systems and Computation), 2014-2016, ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, Switzerland
BSc (Mathematics), 2010-2013, Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy
Keywords: Network neuroscience; Information theory; Dynamic causal modelling
Google Scholar — Researchgate
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Devon Stoliker
Current Position: Research Fellow, Monash University, April 2023 - to date
Education:
PhD (Psychology) at Monash University, 2019-2023. Supervisors: Adeel Razi and Gary Egan
BSc (Psychology) with Honours, University of Guelph, Canada
Keywords: Psychedelics; Dynamic causal modelling; Consciousness
Website — Google Scholar
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Moein Khajehnejad
Current Position: Research Fellow, Monash University, May 2023 - to date
Education:
PhD (Data Science and AI), Monash University, Australia, 2019-2023. Supervisors: Bernd Meyer and Julián García
BSc (Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences), 2011-2016, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Game theory; Reinforcement learning, Graph representational learning, Active inference
Website — Google Scholar
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Mehran Bazargani
Current Position: Research Fellow, Monash University, June 2024 - to date
Education:
PhD (Machine Learning), University College Dublin, Ireland, 2017-2021. Supervisor: Brian Mac Namee
MSc (Computer Engineering), 2011-2013, Eastern Mediterranean University, Turkey
Keywords: Active inference, Generative models, Hallucinations
Website — Google Scholar
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Winnie Lau
Current Position: Senior Research Fellow, Monash University, October 2025 - to date
Education:
PhD (Clinical Psychology), RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, 2014. Supervisors: Trang Thomas and David Smith.
MSc (Clinical Psychology), RMIT, Melbourne, Australia, 2014,
BSc (Behavioral Science), La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, 1999,
Keywords: Clinical Trials, Psychedelics, Substance Use
LinkedIn
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Jie Sun
Current Position: Research Fellow (together with Antonio Verdejo-Garcia), Monash University, December 2025 - to date
Education: PhD (Psychology), Univeristy of Melbourne, Australia, 2025. Supervisors: Adam Osth and Daniel Feuerriegel
BSc Honours (Psychology), Univeristy of Melbourne, Australia, 2020,
Keywords: Reinforcement learning, Active inference, Decision-making
Google Scholar — LinkedIn
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PhD Students
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Salma Mansour
Education:
PhD candidate at Monash University
BSc (Psychological Sciences), University of Melbourne, Australia
Supervisors: Michelle Byrne (Main), Adeel Razi, and Sarah Whittle
Start date: July 2021 – present
Keywords: Brain Connectivity; Inflammation; Neurodevelopment
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Tamrin Barta
Education:
PhD (Clinical Neuropsychology) candidate at Monash University
MSc (Psychology), University of Melbourne, Australia
BSc (Communication), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main), Yifat Glikmann-Johnston, and Julie Stout
Start date: Feb 2022 – present
Keywords: Dynamic Causal Modelling; Huntington's Disease; Neurodegeneration
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Matthew Greaves
Education:
PhD candidate at Monash University
BSc (Psychology) with Honours, University of Melbourne, Australia
BFA, University of Melborune, Australia
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main), and Leonardo Novelli
Start date: Feb 2022 – present
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Structure-function relationships; Psychedelics
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Adam Manoogian
Education:
PhD candidate, Department of Philosophy at Monash University
MSc (Neuroscience), University of Geneva, Switzerland
BSc (Psychology), California State University Long Beach, USA
Supervisors: Jakob Hohwy (Main) and Adeel Razi
Start date: May 2022 – present
Keywords: Active inference, Dynamic causal modelling, Introspection.
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Vidushani Dhanwansa
Education:
PhD candidate, Department of AI and Data Science at Monash University
BE (Electrical & Electronics Engineering), Curtin University, Australia
Supervisors: Levin Kuhlmann (Main) and Adeel Razi
Start date: July 2022 – present
Keywords: Machine Learning, Consciousness, Anaesthesia
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Lars Sandved-Smith
Education:
PhD candidate, Department of Philosophy at Monash University
MSc (Modelling for Neuronal and Cognitive Systems), Université Côte d’Azur, Nice, France
MSc (Physics and Philosophy), University of Manchester and University of California, Berkeley, USA
BA (Bilingual English-French), Lycée International de Saint Germain-en-Laye, France
Supervisors: Jakob Hohwy (Main) and Adeel Razi
Start date: October 2022 – present
Keywords: Active inference, Meditation
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Sin Yee Yap
Education:
PhD candidate, School of IT, at Monash University
BSc (Bioinformatics) with Honours, University of Technology Malaysia
Supervisors: Ting Chee Ming (Main), Adeel Razi, Rapahel Phan, and David Dowe
Start date: October 2022 – present
Keywords: Deep learning, Brain connectivity
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James Walker
Education:
PhD candidate, School of Psychological Sciences, at Monash University
BEcon (Hons) (Econometrics), Monash University
BSc (Mathematical Statistics, with University Medal), Monash University
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main) and Moein Khajehnejad
Start date: Feb 2024 – present
Keywords: Active inference, Synthetic biological intelligence
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Sarah Wallace
Education:
PhD (Clinical Neuropsychology) candidate, School of Psychological Science, at Monash University
Bachelor of Psychology (Hons), Monash University
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main) and Ian Harding
Start date: Feb 2024 – present
Keywords: Cerebellar-cerebral connectivity, Dynamic casusal modelling
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Vismay Agrawal
Education:
PhD candidate, Department of Philosophy, at Monash University
BTech and MTech (dual degree), Engineering Design, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
Supervisors: Jakob Hohwy (Main) and Adeel Razi
Start date: Mar 2024 – present
Keywords: Active inference, Psychedelics, Meditation
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William Woodrow
Education:
PhD (Clinical Neuropsychology) candidate, School of Psychological Science, at Monash University
Bachelor of Psychology (Hons), Australian National University
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main), Leonardo Novelli, Devon Stoliker
Start date: Feb 2025 – present
Keywords: Bodily Self, Psychedelics, Dynamic casusal modelling
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Zhenzhen Yang
Education:
PhD candidate, School of Psychological Science, at Monash University
MSc in Electronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu
BSc in Electronic Information Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, China
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main) and Leonardo Novelli
Start date: Oct 2025 – present
Keywords: Dynamic casusal modelling, Multi-scale models
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Chenyin (Jack) Chu
Education:
PhD candidate, School of Translational Medicine at Monash University
MPhil (Neuroscience), 2023 – 2024, University of Melbourne, Australia
MSc (Mathematical Physics and Applied Mathematics), 2021- 2022, University of Melbourne, Australia
BSc (Applied Mathematics), 2016 - 2020, Harbin Institute of Technology, China
Supervisors: Yijun Pan (Main) and Adeel Razi
Start date: Oct 2025 – present
Keywords: Dynamic casusal modelling, Resting-state fMRI
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Navid Shams Masjedi
Education:
PhD candidate, School of Psychological Science, at Monash University
MSc (Cognitive & Clinical Neuroscience), 2022-2024, Maastricht University, Netherlands
BSc (Psychology), 2019–2022, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main) and Leonardo Novelli
Start date: Jan 2026 – present
Keywords: Psychedelics, Dynamic casusal modelling
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Clinical Staff and Research Officers
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Hannah Hawkes
Current Position: Senior Clincial Psychotherapist, Monash University, Nov 2025 - to date
Education:
MSc (Clinical Psychology), 2015, Cairnmillar Institute, Australia
BSc (Psychology) Honours, 2004, Open University, UK
BSc (Nursing) Honours, 2000, Anglia University, UK
Keywords: Psychedelics-Assisted Therapy; Mental Health
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Adrian May
Current Position: Research Officer, Monash University, Aug 2025 - to date
Education:
MSc (Public Health), 2018, Monash University, Australia
BSc (Pharmacy), 2001, Monash University, Australia
Keywords: Psychedelics; Sunbstance use, Pharmacology
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Mugdha Mukherjee
Current Position: Research Officer, Monash University, Dec 2025 - to date
Education: PhD (Psycholpogy) candidate, Deakin University, Australia
BSc (Psychology) hobours, 2021, Deakin University, Australia
Google Scholar — LinkedIn
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Shasya Khairunnisa
Current Position: Research Officer, Monash University, Nov 2025 - to date
Education:
MSc (Pharmaceutical Science), 2024, Monash University, Australia
BSc (Biomedical Science), 2021, Monash University, Australia
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Collaborators's & Visiting students
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Brett Kagan
Chief Scientific Officer at Cortical Labs 2019-present.
Education:
PhD (Neuroscience), Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia, 2014-2018.
MSc (Neuroscience), Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, 2013-2014.
BSc (Psychology) with Honours, Bond University, 2009-2013.
Keywords: Synthetic biological intelligence; Organoids; Stem cell engineering
Website — LinkedIn
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Forough Habibollahi
Applied Scientist at Cortical Labs 2019-present.
Education:
PhD (Neuroscience), University of Melbourne, Australia, 2019-2023.
BSc (Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences), 2011-2016, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
Keywords: Synthetic biological intelligence; DishBrain
Website — LinkedIn
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Helena Canals Fiol
Education:
MSc (Cognitive & Clinical Neuroscience), Maastricht University, Netherlands
BSc (Psychopharmacology), 2023, University College Maastricht, Netherlands
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Psychedelics
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Honours and Masters Students
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Thomas Robinson
Education:
BSc (Psychology) with Honours, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Psychedelics
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Alyssa Nunnink
Education:
BSc (Physiology) with Honours, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Young-onset dementia
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Fergus Forsyth
Education:
BSc (Psychology) with Honours, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Young-onset dementia
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Alumni
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Aswin Paul
Current Role: ML Engineer, VERSES AI, June 2024 - to date
Education:
PhD (Electrical Engineering) at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay - Monash Academy
MSc (Physics), National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur, India
BSc (Physics), St. Stephen’s College (Delhi University), New Delhi, India
Supervisors: Adeel Razi (Main) and Manoj Gopalkrishnan (Main)
Keywords: Active inference; Generative modelling
GitHub — Google Scholar
Last role: PhD Student, 2019-2024
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Mohsen Ghofrani-Jahromi
Current Role: Research Fellow, Monash University, Mar 2025 - to date
Education:
PhD candidate at Monash University
MSc (Biomedical Engineering), Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Iran
BSc (Electrical Engineering, Shiraz University, Iran
Supervisors: Nellie Georgiou-Karistianis (Main), Adeel Razi, and Govinda Poudel
Keywords: Deep Learning; Huntington's Disease; Multimodal Neuroimaging
Last role: PhD Student, 2021-2025
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Mahasen El Kantar
Education:
BSc (Psychology) with Honours, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Young-onset dementia
Last role: Honours Thesis Student, 2022
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Alexis Kanat
Education:
BSc (Psychology) with Honours, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Parkinson's disease
Last role: Honours Thesis Student, 2022
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Ethan Wills
Education:
MSc (Artificial Intelligence), Monash University, Melbourne, Asutralia
BSc (Mathematics) & BSc (Computer Science), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Deep active inference, World models
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Jack Schenkman
Education:
BE (Electrical Engineering) Candidate, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA
Keywords: Active inference, Biological neural networks
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Devon Stoliker
Current Role: Research Fellow, Monash University, April 2023 - to date
Education:
PhD (Psychology) at Monash University, 2019-2023. Supervisor: Adeel Razi and and Gary Egan
Bachelor’s of Science (Honours), Psychology, University of Guelph, Canada
Keywords: Psychedelics; Dynamic causal modelling; Consciousness
Last role: PhD Student, 2019-2023
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Lingbin Bian
Current Role : Research Assistant Professor, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China, 2022 - present
Education:
PhD at Monash University, Department of Mathematics, 2021, supervised by Jonathan Keith (Main), Adeel Razi, Tiangang Cui
Master’s of Science, Signal Processing and Communications, The University of Edinburgh
Bachelor of Engineering, Industrial Electronics and Control, Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) - University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST)
Keywords: Bayesian inference; Stochastic block models; Brain networks, Resting state functional MRI
Last role: PhD Student, 2018-2021
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Hoang Anh Mai
Education:
Bachelors of Psychology, (Honours), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Psychedelics
Last role: Honours Thesis Student, 2021
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Siti Raisya Audrea
Education:
Bachelors of Psychology, (Honours), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Young-onset Alzheimer’s disease
Last role: Honours Thesis Student, 2021
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Garance Delagneau
Education:
PhD candidate (Clinical Neuropsychology) at Monash University
Master’s of Psychology, University of Melbourne, Australia
Bachelor’s of Science, University of Montreal, Canada
Last role: Research Assistant, 2020-2021
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Sidhant Chopra
Current Role: Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University, 2022 - present
Education:
PhD (Clinical Neuropsychology) at Monash University
Bachelor’s of Science (Psychology), Australian National University
Last role: Research Assistant, 2020-2021
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Hannes Almgren
Current Role: Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Calgary, 2020 - present
Education:
PhD, Department of Data Analysis, Ghent University, 2020, supervised by Daniele Marinazzo and Adeel Razi
Master’s of Science, Experimental and Theoretical Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
Bachelor’s of Science, Experimental and Theoretical Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling; Resting state functional MRI; Ageing and functional compensation
Last Role: PhD Student, 2016-2020
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Hannah Cummins
Education:
Bachelors of Psychology, (Honours), Candidate, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Parkinson’s disease
Last role: Honours Thesis Student, 2020
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Sean Ng
Education:
Bachelors of Psychology, (Honours), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Keywords: Dynamic causal modelling, Alzheimer’s disease, Depression
Last role: Honours Thesis Student, 2019
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Anna Carmichael
Education:
PhD (Clinical Neuropsychology) at Monash University
Master’s of Arts, Psychology, Brandies University, USA
Bachelor’s of Science (Honours), Psychology, Texas A&M University, USA
Last role: Research Assistant, 2019
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Seda Sacu
Education:
PhD Candidate, Univesity of Mannheim, Germany, 2021 - present
Masters of Science (Brain and Mind), Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
Bachelor’s of Arts (Psychology), Hacettepe University, Turkey
Last role: Master’s Thesis Student, 2019
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Ensor Palacios
Education:
PhD Candidate (funded by Wellcome Trust) at University of Bristol, U.K, 2018 - present
Masters of Science (Psychology), Università degli Studi di Padova, Italy
Last role: Master’s Thesis Student, 2018
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Andrew Dixon
Education:
PhD Candidate, University of Queensland, 2019 - present
Bachelors of Aerospace Engineering (Honours) and Bachelor of Science, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Last role: Summer Research Student, 2018/19
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Didi Chi
Education:
PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne, 2019 - present
Masters of Engineering (Electrical), Bachelors of Science (Electrical Systems), University of Melbourne, Australia
Last role: Summer Research Student, 2018/19
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