Dr Caitlin Cowan

Scientia Fellow (Level C)

Ph.D. (Behavioural Neuroscience) & M.Psych (Clinical), UNSW

Science

School of Psychology

Dr Caitlin Cowan is an NHMRC Investigator fellow and a Scientia Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology. She is interested in the developing gut microbiome and how it contributes to mental health risk and resilience via the gut-brain axis. Her expertise in both behavioural neuroscience and as a trained psychologist informs her translational approach to research.

Dr Cowan completed her PhD and Masters of Clinical Psychology at UNSW. She then undertook a prestigious Marie Curie postdocto...

Phone

+61 2 9348 0495

E-mail

c.cowan@unsw.edu.au

Location

School of Psychology Room 1309 Mathews Building

Publications
Grants
Awards

Books | 2021

, 2021, Microbes and the Mind, Cowan CSM; Leonard BE, (ed.), S. Karger AG, http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/isbn.978-3-318-06856-6

Books | 2021

Cowan C; Leonard BE, 2021, Preface, http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000511097

Books | 2021

Cowan CSM; Leonard BE, 2021, Introduction, http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000510413
Book Chapters | 2023

Staudacher HM; Teasdale S; Cowan C; Opie R; Rocks T; Jacka FN, 2023, 'Diet Interventions for Anxiety and Depression', in Nutritional Psychiatry, Cambridge University Press, pp. 72 - 100, http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781009299862.006

Book Chapters | 2021

Cowan CSM; Cryan JF, 2021, 'The Microbiome-Gut-Brain Axis in Neurocognitive Development and Decline', in , pp. 12 - 25, http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000510414

Book Chapters | 2021

Cowan CSM; Leonard BE, 2021, 'Introduction', in Modern Trends in Psychiatry, S. Karger AG, pp. 1 - 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000510413
Journal articles | 2025

Staudacher HM; Teasdale S; Cowan C; Opie R; Jacka FN; Rocks T, 2025, 'Diet interventions for depression: Review and recommendations for practice', Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 59, pp. 115 - 127, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00048674241289010

Journal articles | 2024

Brinley SK; Tully LA; Carl T; McLean RK; Cowan CSM; Hawes DJ; Dadds MR; Northam JC, 2024, 'Universal Child Mental Health Screening for Parents: a Systematic Review of the Evidence', Prevention Science, 25, pp. 798 - 812, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11121-024-01693-8

Journal articles | 2024

McGuinness AJ; Stinson LF; Snelson M; Loughman A; Stringer A; Hannan AJ; Cowan CSM; Jama HA; Caparros-Martin JA; West ML; Wardill HR, 2024, 'From hype to hope: Considerations in conducting robust microbiome science', Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 115, pp. 120 - 130, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2023.09.022

Journal articles | 2024

Ritz NL; Bastiaanssen TFS; Cowan CSM; Smith L; Theune N; Brocka M; Myers EM; Moloney RD; Moloney GM; Shkoporov AN; Draper LA; Hill C; Dinan TG; Slattery DA; Cryan JF, 2024, 'Social fear extinction susceptibility is associated with Microbiota-Gut-Brain axis alterations', Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 120, pp. 315 - 326, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2024.06.009

Journal articles | 2024

Ritz NL; Brocka M; Butler MI; Cowan CSM; Barrera-Bugueño C; Turkington CJR; Draper LA; Bastiaanssen TFS; Turpin V; Morales L; Campos D; Gheorghe CE; Ratsika A; Sharma V; Golubeva AV; Aburto MR; Shkoporov AN; Moloney GM; Hill C; Clarke G; Slattery DA; Dinan TG; Cryan JF, 2024, 'Social anxiety disorder-associated gut microbiota increases social fear', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121, http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2308706120

Journal articles | 2023

Lynch CMK; Cowan CSM; Bastiaanssen TFS; Moloney GM; Theune N; van de Wouw M; Florensa Zanuy E; Ventura-Silva AP; Codagnone MG; Villalobos-Manríquez F; Segalla M; Koc F; Stanton C; Ross P; Dinan TG; Clarke G; Cryan JF, 2023, 'Critical windows of early-life microbiota disruption on behaviour, neuroimmune function, and neurodevelopment', Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 108, pp. 309 - 327, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2022.12.008

Journal articles | 2021

Boehme M; Guzzetta KE; Bastiaanssen TFS; van de Wouw M; Moloney GM; Gual-Grau A; Spichak S; Olavarría-Ramírez L; Fitzgerald P; Morillas E; Ritz NL; Jaggar M; Cowan CSM; Crispie F; Donoso F; Halitzki E; Neto MC; Sichetti M; Golubeva AV; Fitzgerald RS; Claesson MJ; Cotter PD; O’Leary OF; Dinan TG; Cryan JF, 2021, 'Microbiota from young mice counteracts selective age-associated behavioral deficits', Nature Aging, 1, pp. 666 - 676, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00093-9

Journal articles | 2021

Chruścicka B; Cowan CSM; Wallace Fitzsimons SE; Borroto-Escuela DO; Druelle CM; Stamou P; Bergmann CA; Dinan TG; Slattery DA; Fuxe K; Cryan JF; Schellekens H, 2021, 'Molecular, biochemical and behavioural evidence for a novel oxytocin receptor and serotonin 2C receptor heterocomplex', Neuropharmacology, 183, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108394

Journal articles | 2021

Secombe KR; Al-Qadami GH; Subramaniam CB; Bowen JM; Scott J; Van Sebille YZA; Snelson M; Cowan C; Clarke G; Gheorghe CE; Cryan JF; Wardill HR, 2021, 'Guidelines for reporting on animal fecal transplantation (GRAFT) studies: recommendations from a systematic review of murine transplantation protocols', Gut Microbes, 13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19490976.2021.1979878

Journal articles | 2021

Simpson CA; Diaz-Arteche C; Eliby D; Schwartz OS; Simmons JG; Cowan CSM, 2021, 'The gut microbiota in anxiety and depression – A systematic review', Clinical Psychology Review, 83, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101943

Journal articles | 2020

Cowan CSM; Dinan TG; Cryan JF, 2020, 'Annual Research Review: Critical windows - the microbiota-gut-brain axis in neurocognitive development', Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 61, pp. 353 - 371, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13156

Journal articles | 2020

Harmon-Jones SK; Cowan CSM; Shnier N; Richardson R, 2020, 'Is good memory always a good thing? An early offset of infantile amnesia predicts anxiety-like behavior throughout development in rats', Behaviour Research and Therapy, 135, pp. 103763, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2020.103763

Journal articles | 2019

Cowan CSM; Stylianakis AA; Richardson R, 2019, 'Early-life stress, microbiota, and brain development: probiotics reverse the effects of maternal separation on neural circuits underpinning fear expression and extinction in infant rats', Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 37, pp. 100627, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100627

Journal articles | 2019

Cryan JF; O’riordan KJ; Cowan CSM; Sandhu KV; Bastiaanssen TFS; Boehme M; Codagnone MG; Cussotto S; Fulling C; Golubeva AV; Guzzetta KE; Jaggar M; Long-Smith CM; Lyte JM; Martin JA; Molinero-Perez A; Moloney G; Morelli E; Morillas E; O’connor R; Cruz-Pereira JS; Peterson VL; Rea K; Ritz NL; Sherwin E; Spichak S; Teichman EM; van de Wouw M; Ventura-Silva AP; Wallace-Fitzsimons SE; Hyland N; Clarke G; Dinan TG, 2019, 'The microbiota-gut-brain axis', Physiological Reviews, 99, pp. 1877 - 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00018.2018

Journal articles | 2019

Kan JM; Cowan CSM; Ooi CY; Kasparian NA, 2019, 'What can the gut microbiome teach us about the connections between child physical and mental health? A systematic review', Developmental Psychobiology, 61, pp. 700 - 713, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dev.21819

Journal articles | 2019

King G; Baker KD; Bisby MA; Chan D; Cowan CSM; Stylianakis AA; Zimmermann KS; Richardson R, 2019, 'A precision medicine approach to pharmacological adjuncts to extinction: a call to broaden research', Psychopharmacology, 236, pp. 143 - 161, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00213-018-4999-0

Journal articles | 2019

Moloney GM; van Oeffelen WEPA; Ryan FJ; van de Wouw M; Cowan C; Claesson MJ; Schellekens H; Dinan TG; Cryan JF, 2019, 'Differential gene expression in the mesocorticolimbic system of innately high- and low-impulsive rats', Behavioural Brain Research, 364, pp. 193 - 204, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2019.01.022

Journal articles | 2018

Bastiaanssen TFS; Cowan CSM; Claesson MJ; Dinan TG; Cryan JF, 2018, 'Making Sense of ⋯ the Microbiome in Psychiatry', International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 22, pp. 37 - 52, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyy067

Journal articles | 2018

Cowan CSM; Hoban AE; Ventura-Silva AP; Dinan TG; Clarke G; Cryan JF, 2018, 'Gutsy Moves: The Amygdala as a Critical Node in Microbiota to Brain Signaling', BioEssays, 40, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bies.201700172

Journal articles | 2018

Cowan CSM; Richardson R, 2018, 'A Brief Guide to Studying Fear in Developing Rodents: Important Considerations and Common Pitfalls.', Current Protocols in Neuroscience, 83, pp. 1 - 14, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cpns.44

Journal articles | 2018

Cowan CSM; Richardson R, 2018, 'Early-life stress leads to sex-dependent changes in pubertal timing in rats that are reversed by a probiotic formulation.', Developmental psychobiology, 61, pp. 679 - 687, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dev.21765

Journal articles | 2018

Dinan TG; Stanton C; Long-Smith C; Kennedy P; Cryan JF; Cowan CSM; Cenit MC; van der Kamp J-W; Sanz Y, 2018, 'Feeding melancholic microbes: MyNewGut recommendations on diet and mood', Clinical Nutrition, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2018.11.010

Journal articles | 2017

Cowan CSM; Wong SF; Le L; Wong S, 2017, 'Rethinking the role of thought suppression in psychological models and treatment', Journal of Neuroscience, 37, pp. 11293 - 11295, http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2511-17.2017

Journal articles | 2016

Callaghan BL; Cowan CSM; Richardson R, 2016, 'Treating Generational Stress: Effect of Paternal Stress on Development of Memory and Extinction in Offspring Is Reversed by Probiotic Treatment', Psychological Science, 27, pp. 1171 - 1180, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797616653103

Journal articles | 2016

Cowan CSM; Callaghan BL; Kan JM; Richardson R, 2016, 'The lasting impact of early-life adversity on individuals and their descendants: Potential mechanisms and hope for intervention', Genes, Brain and Behavior, 15, pp. 155 - 168, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gbb.12263

Journal articles | 2016

Cowan CSM; Callaghan BL; Richardson R, 2016, 'The effects of a probiotic formulation (Lactobacillus rhamnosus and L. Helveticus) on developmental trajectories of emotional learning in stressed infant rats', Translational Psychiatry, 6, pp. e823 - e823, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/tp.2016.94

Journal articles | 2016

Richardson R; Cowan CSM; Callaghan BL; Kan JM, 2016, 'Effects of early-life stress on fear memory in the developing rat', Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 7, pp. 15 - 20, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2015.10.003

Journal articles | 2013

Cowan CSM; Callaghan BL; Richardson R, 2013, 'Acute early-life stress results in premature emergence of adult-like fear retention and extinction relapse in infant rats', Behavioral Neuroscience, 127, pp. 703 - 711, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0034118
Preprints | 2021

Secombe K; Al-Qadami G; Subramaniam C; Bowen J; Scott J; Sebille YV; Snelson M; Cowan C; Clarke G; Gheorghe C; Cryan J; Wardill H, 2021, Guidelines For Reporting On Animal Faecal Transplantation (GRAFT) Studies: Recommendations From A Systematic Review of Murine Transplantation Protocols, http://dx.doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-633755/v1

2021-2025 NHMRC Investigator Grant. The developing microbiome as a predictor and modulator of mental health risk & resilience: A translational gut-brain axis approach to improving childhood mental health.

2018-2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship. GutMIND: Gut microbiota-Microglia Interactions in NeuroDevelopment.

2023-24 Superstars of STEM (Science & Technology Australia)
2022 Young Tall Poppy (Australian Institute of Policy and Science)
2021 APS Rising Star (Association for Psychological Science)
2021 Research Excellence and Impact Recognition Award (Brain & Mind Centre)
2020 Education & Public Engagement Person of the Year (APC Microbiome Ireland)
2020 Abstract Award (International Society for Developmental Psychobiology)
2020 Top Cited Article (Developmental Psychobiology)
2020 Top Downloaded Article (Developmental Psychobiology)
2019 Travel Award (International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics)
2019 Editor's Choice Article (International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology)
2019 Top Cited & Highly Downloaded Article (BioEssays)
2018 ISDP Dissertation Award (International Society for Developmental Psychobiology)
2018 Travel Award (International Society for Developmental Psychobiology)
2017 Paxinos Neuroscience Prize (UNSW)
2017 Award for Excellent PhD Thesis (Australian Psychological Society)
2017 Highly Downloaded Article (Genes, Brain and Behavior)
2016 Travel Award (International Society for Developmental Psychobiology)
2014 Travel Award (International Society for Developmental Psychobiology)
2014 Travel Award (New York Academy of Sciences)
2012 University Medal in Psychology (UNSW)
2012 Honours Prize (Australian Psychological Society)
2012 Behavioural Neuroscience Honours Thesis Prize (UNSW

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