Executive function refers broadly to the organization and management of thoughts and behaviours, and is a neurocognitive process thought to underpin eating disorder psychopathology. Generally, behavioural outcomes and associated neurobiological correlates indicate that performance on such tasks is typically compromised in participants with eating disorders.
However, when disorder salient (i.e., high-calorie food) stimuli are presented, participants with anorexia nervosa show superior performance, demonstrating an increased sensitivity to the potential for weight gain. This raises questions regarding the role of “hot” (i.e. emotive or rewarding) and “cool” (i.e. purely cognitive) executive function in eating disorder psychopathology, which will be the focus of the present project.
The research team have internationally recognised expertise in the fields of clinical/cognitive psychology and neuroscience, combined sharing over 50 peer-reviewed publications in relevant fields. Students who have at least an honours degree in psychology (or related field) with an interest in neuropsychology are encouraged to apply.
Supervisors: Dr Melissa Kirkovski, Dr Jessica Scarfo
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Melissa Kirkovski, [email protected]
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) is a sensory and perceptual phenomenon, often elicited by certain audio-visual “triggers” (e.g., whispering, hand movements, tapping). These triggers induce a “tingling” sensation across the scalp and spine, often resulting in a state of relaxation or calmness.
Research suggests those with heightened sensory sensitivity may experience ASMR more intensely, and that interoceptive awareness might facilitate this. Sensory sensitivity is a classic characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (autism), however, seemingly counterintuitively, autistic individuals often demonstrate poorer interoceptive ability and respond with hyporeactivity. This project will explore the link between ASMR, sensory sensitivity, interoception, and autism.
The research team have internationally recognised expertise in the fields of clinical/cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and autism research; combined sharing over 50 peer-reviewed publications in relevant fields. Students who have at least an honours degree in psychology (or related field) with an interest in neuropsychology are encouraged to apply.
Supervisors: Dr Melissa Kirkovski, Dr Jessica Scarfo
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Melissa Kirkovski, [email protected]
Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA), a State Government Funded Specialist Sports School Program, provides a unique training and education environment for aspiring athletes in Melbourne’s inner west. Currently, it consists of 575 enrolled students making it the largest and most prominent school-based sporting academy in Australia.
A key challenge in this environment, is understanding the multi-disciplinary nature related to holistic youth athlete development (e.g., physical preparation; skill development; coaching environment; injury prevention; rehabilitation; mental well-being; and academic performance).
This research project will attempt to address ‘real-world’ challenges faced with the provision of safe, supportive environments which will have a positive impact on the youth athlete’s performance, health and well-being. To address this, the project will attempt to understand the importance of youth athlete assessment and monitoring systems with the aim of improving current practice to enhance current and future athlete performance.
Supervisors: Dr Paul Larkin, Professor Michael Spittle
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Paul Larkin, [email protected]
How humans learn to actively explore, adapt to, and affectively relate with their surrounds is a question of fundamental importance asked across many disciplines. Though, in our current geopolitical era, finding space supportive of exploratory, varied and adaptive movement in the community is of concern for a variety of reasons.
Notwithstanding, declines in opportunities to engage in exploratory movement go hand-in-glove with global declines in physical and ecological literacy of people across the lifespan.
In offering an innovative way to think-with this societal challenge, the notion of 'leftover spaces' in urban environments has been recently espoused. These are defined as spaces with no assigned function, which are juxtaposed against those with pre-determined functions. Examples include spaces in-between building allotments, areas beneath bridges, and abandoned piers or jetties.
Our project aims to investigate how spaces leftover can be redesigned to solicit opportunities for exploratory, varied and adaptive movement in the community.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Carl Woods, Professor Camilla Brockett
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Associate Professor Carl Woods, [email protected]
Performance failure in sport has been researched primarily through self-report questionnaires and interviews, but limited knowledge is known about the objective measures of eye tracking and brain functioning when performance failures occur.
The objective of this PhD project is to investigate the eye tracking and brain functioning metrics associated with performance failure. The research team consists of sport psychology, sport science, and neuroscience experts who are eminent researchers in performance failure, eye tracking, and neuroscience.
Students who have at least an honours degree in psychology or sport psychology are encouraged to apply. An understanding of the mechanisms behind performance failure and choking under pressure with a keen willingness to understand eye tracking and EEG equipment are essential. Willingness to undertake (or have already obtained) eye tracking training and a basic knowledge of the use of EEG equipment are also essential.
Supervisors: Dr Christopher Mesagno, Professor Michael Spittle, Dr Melissa Kirkovski
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Christopher Mesagno, [email protected]
This project aims to improve the psychosocial wellbeing of family and friends caring for people living with dementia, and support the next generation of psychologists to work effectively with older adults and their families. The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr Imogen Rehm and clinician academics with expertise in clinical and neuropsychology to:
1. Develop a telehealth group-based intervention for family and friends caring for people living with dementia in partnership with carers and carer advocates, relevant healthcare professionals, and experts in geropsychology.
2. Support trainee psychologists to develop their skills to deliver the intervention to dementia carers.
3. Use mixed-methods research procedures to evaluate the intervention with regards to: (a) effects upon carers’ psychosocial outcomes; and (b) effects upon trainee psychologists’ knowledge, skills, and confidence.
We encourage mental health clinicians and/or those with a background in psychology and interested in dementia care to apply.
Supervisors: Dr Imogen Rehm, Dr Monika Coceski, Dr Bruce Walmsley
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Imogen Rehm, [email protected]
Mitochondria are often described as the energy-producing “powerhouses” of the cell. Given their pivotal role in providing energy, it is unsurprising that mitochondrial defects have been associated with poor health and impaired skeletal muscle function.
This project aims to use state-of-the-art techniques (e.g., proteomics, transcriptomics, advanced bioinformatics, and three-dimensional imaging) to better understand how mitochondria adapt to the stress of different types of exercise. Our team has published many highly cited papers on this topic in high-impact journals (e.g., Nature Communications, Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, Nature Reviews Endocrinology, and the Journal of Physiology), and we are looking to expand on this work with this project. To do this, we are looking to recruit a PhD student with a background in molecular biology and/or bioinformatics.
Ultimately, our goal is to improve the prescription of exercise to optimise mitochondrial adaptations important for health and human performance.
Supervisors: Professor David Bishop, Dr Nick Saner
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Professor David Bishop, [email protected]
This project offers an opportunity to improve Australian mental healthcare professionals’ skills, knowledge, and confidence to provide safe and evidence-informed care to people seeking support for body dissatisfaction and related concerns. This project seeks to:
1. Use co-design and participatory research methods that centre the lived experience of people with diverse body image experiences to develop accessible training programs and resources for upskilling the mental health workforce, in collaboration with experts by training, research, and industry partners.
2. Deliver the training to psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and allied mental healthcare professionals; and evaluate its impact upon participants’ adoption of best-practices for supporting people with body dissatisfaction and related concerns.
The successful candidate will be supervised by Dr Imogen Rehm and clinician academics with expertise in co-design, program evaluation, body image, and eating disorders. Candidates with backgrounds in psychology, multi-disciplinary settings, and interest in body image/eating disorders are encouraged to apply.
Supervisors: Dr Imogen Rehm, Dr Jo Doley, Dr Linda Chiodo, Dr Amy Quayle
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Imogen Rehm, [email protected]
Maribyrnong Sports Academy (MSA), a State Government Funded Specialist Sports School Program, provides a unique training and education environment for aspiring athletes in Melbourne’s inner west. Of the 575 enrolled students, 45% are female.
Research into female talent identification and development is sparse hence practitioners working in talent development environments have limited knowledge of the physical, psychological, technical and tactical markers that progress into high performance for female athletes.
This project will attempt to determine factors affecting talent development in female athletes using a multi-disciplinary approach. In an Australian first, MSA recently launched the Maribyrnong Sports Academy Research Centre (MSARC) in partnership with Victoria University, a multi-disciplinary research centre embedded within the sports academy.
The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work with a supervisory team consisting of academics and practitioners, who are experts in developing physical, psychological, technical and tactical excellence in youth athletes.
Supervisors: Dr Paul Larkin, Associate Professor Carl Woods
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Paul Larkin, [email protected]
There are multiple risk factors for the development of osteoarthritis (OA), with the most common of these being increased body weight and decreased muscle mass. Not only is the risk for developing OA increased with increasing body weight, pre-surgical obesity is also associated with worse clinical outcomes of hip or knee arthroplasty in terms of pain, disability and complications.
The aim of this PhD project is to determine nutrition knowledge, weight and dieting history and the nutritional intake in patients awaiting knee or hip arthroplasty and their correlation to clinical outcomes, pre and post surgery. It will also investigate dietary interventions to improve clinical outcomes in this cohort.
This project, to be completed in collaboration with Western Health Orthopaedic Department, would be well suited to a PhD candidate who is a dietitian who has a passion for research and is looking to enhance their training and expertise.
Supervisors: Professor Andrew McAinch, Professor Phong Tran (Western Health), Dr Lannie O’Keefe
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Professor Andrew McAinch, [email protected]
Our research team is situated within the Safety and Wellbeing in Sport research group, within the Institute for Health and Sport. Our overarching aim is to ensure sporting environments are safe (equitable, inclusive, respectful and free from abuse) for all so that the physical, mental, and social health benefits of sport participation can be actualized.
Our research explores issues of safety and wellbeing in sport that range from normative violence and abuse, to governance and regulation and safeguarding interventions.
We are looking for someone passionate about the field of safe sport and welcome applicants from a diverse range of relevant disciplines (sport science, psychology, sport management, sociology etc).
Supervisors: Dr Mary Woessner, Professor Alex Parker, Associate Professor Fiona McLachlan, Aurelie Pankowiak
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Dr Mary Woessner, [email protected]
This project seeks to chart the intersections between impactful images of sport, art, healing, and communal justice. More broadly it is interested in how forms of art (such as visual art, theatre, and music) can help make sport a place of truth-telling around racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia.
The project will be supervised by Associate Professor Matthew Klugman and Professor Christopher Sonn. It will also be linked to A/Prof Klugman’s Australian Research Council Future Fellowship, Representing, Debating & Protesting the Nation: The Visual Legacy of Sport.
Supervisors: Associate Professor Matthew Klugman, Professor Chris Sonn
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Associate Professor Matthew Klugman, [email protected]
Bone may play an important role in muscle health, however, this role may be different between men and women. In addition, the mechanisms of action of bone peptides in muscle is largely unknown. This project aims to uncover whether the bone peptides function in muscle is sex and/or age specific.
This project will lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of bone-muscle interaction and the functional and clinical implications of such interaction. The benefits of this include the development of future health interventions to improve muscle mass and strength so Australians can age healthier.
Supervisors: Professor Itamar Levinger, Professor Alan Hayes, Associate Professor Emma Rybalka
Eligibility: Open to Australian or New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents
For more information, please contact: Professor Itamar Levinger, [email protected]
Project & industry research scholarships
Victoria University is dedicated to undertaking research that makes a significant positive impact to business and society.
Project-based scholarships
Victoria University offers a range of scholarships to undertake a PhD on a specific topic as part of an externally funded research project. Conditions, stipend values and funding sources vary for these types of projects.
We also offer a number of graduate research scholarship packages, comprising of a generous stipend and tuition fee scholarship, to support graduate researchers applying for a PhD project in the research themes listed below.
Health, sport & wellness
First Nations knowledge
New generation skills & workforce impact
Green research translation
New frontiers in policy, advocacy & justice
Industry-supported scholarships
The Victoria University Industry Scholarship Partnering for Innovative Research Delivery (INSPIRED) program provides a new pathway for innovative training in applied research.
Through INSPIRED, we will work collaboratively with new and existing industry partners to:
- solve business challenges
- develop a culture of innovation
- build an industry-ready workforce for the future.
Student participants in the program will receive a tax-free co-funded stipend scholarship to support their living costs while undertaking the research, along with a tuition Fee Off-set Scholarship with general leave provisions included.
Projects under the VU INSPIRED Program will be displayed here when available.
How to apply
For information about scholarship eligibility requirements, refer to the Domestic Research Scholarships page and then follow the steps on the Apply for Graduate Research page.
Domestic applicants should select “RTP Stipend Scholarship” in their application and include the relevant project code (PRO-24xxx).
For all other projects, applicants should select “Project-based Research” and ensure your provisional thesis title reflects your chosen project.
For information about applying for the Aboriginal History Archive Research Scholarship, please read the 2025 Aboriginal History Archive Scholarship Guide.