Dr Maria Di Biase co-directs the Stem Cell Disease Modelling Laboratory and Systems Laboratory at the University of Melbourne.
After completing postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School (2018–2020), Dr. Di Biase returned to Australia to establish her own research program, focusing on uncovering developmental brain mechanisms underlying severe psychiatric illnesses. Dr. Di Biase is committed to advancing our understanding of mental health disorders and contributing to the development of more effective treatments.
Despite her relatively short career, Dr. Di Biase has published over 50 papers and received several prestigious fellowships and awards in recognition of her research contributions. These include an NHMRC Investigator Grant, a Strategic Grant for Outstanding Women from The University of Melbourne, and The Early Career Research Award from the Schizophrenia International Research Society.
Research
Schizophrenia—a severe and complex mental health disorder—has long been studied using animal models and post-mortem brain tissue. While these approaches have provided valuable insights, they fall short of capturing the complexity of the living human brain and the dynamic biological processes that drive the disorder.
With the support of the Al and Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship, Dr. Di Biase will pioneer the use of brain organoids—miniature, lab-grown human brains derived from stem cells—to study schizophrenia. These innovative models offer a unique opportunity to investigate the early developmental brain changes that contribute to the disorder. By combining these cellular models with neuroimaging, genetic, and clinical data from individuals recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, this research aims to revolutionise our understanding of the disorder and pave the way for more effective treatments.
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