Vanessa Beesley
Associate Professor | Team Head | Psychedelic Medicine and Supportive Care
Psychedelic Medicine and Supportive Care
+61 7 3362 0270Vanessa.Beesley@qimrberghofer.edu.au
CAREER HISTORY
Associate Professor Vanessa Beesley, a behavioural scientist, leads the Psychedelic Medicine and Supportive Care Group. She has dedicated two decades to working in psycho-oncology research and is an emerging leader in psychedelic medicine. Ranked 4th in Australia and 26th worldwide in needs assessment research (Expertscape), she has been a chief investigator of 13 patient-reported outcomes studies, spanning various cancers including ovarian, pancreatic and melanoma. Currently, she leads a national telehealth counselling trial and a world first psilocybin-assisted therapy trial for prolonged grief.
She’s authored 70+ scientific articles, co-written a data analysis manual, held multiple Cancer Australia contracts to provide recommendations to government and is a founding member of the Queensland Collaborative for Cancer Survivorship which focuses on developing and evaluating health innovations. Her dedication to cancer and mental health research underscores her commitment to improving lives.
CURRENT APPOINTMENTS
2021-current: Team Head, Psychedelic Medicine and Supportive Care Group, Population Health Department, QIMR Berghofer
2021-current: Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of Queensland (UQ)
2018-current: Adjunct Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
PREVIOUS APPOINTMENTS
2016-2021: Senior Research Officer, Population Health Department, QIMR Berghofer
2008-2018: Honorary Fellow, School of Public Health and Social Work (SPHSW), QUT
2007-2015: Research Officer, Population Health Department, QIMR Berghofer
ORCID NUMBER
CURRENT AREA OF RESEARCH
Associate Professor Beesley is a chief investigator of:
- PRoCESS: Pancreatic cancer Relatives Counselling and Education Support Service trial
- PARTING: Psilocybin-Assisted suppoRtive psychoTherapy IN the treatment of prolonged Grief feasibility trial
- CASCADE: Compassionate And Stepped CAre in Disaster Event-related PTSD trial
- PANConnect: An intervention for optimal pain and symptom management for Australians affected by pancreatic cancer
- ECHO: Exercise during CHemotherapy for Ovarian cancer trial
- ECHO-R: Exercise during CHemotherapy for Ovarian cancer Recurrence trial
- UNIQUE: UNderstanding the experiences and Investigating the needs of people affected by cancer in QUEensland study
- OPAL– Ovarian cancer Prognosis And Lifestyle study
- PMP-QoL: Primary Melanoma Project – Quality of Life study
- GAINS: Glioma carers- Assessment of Individual Needs and Support trial
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Associate Professor Vanessa Beesley has:
- Been awarded ~$800,000 of NHMRC funding as the lead investigator of a major national telehealth trial.
- Held multiple Cancer Australia contracts (totalling $150,000) as the lead investigator to provide recommendations to government about how to improve cancer care.
- Been awarded additional seed funding ($300,000) as the lead investigator of 3 pilot intervention trials and 1 methods study.
- Been a chief investigator of 10 other studies funded through major national grants or specialist agencies (4 NHMRC, 2 ARC, 2 Cancer Australia, 1 Cancer Council Queensland and 1 Christie NHS Foundation Trust) totalling awards of $6,650,000.
- Published over 60 scientific articles.
- Co-written a manual on methods of data analysis in longitudinal studies.
- Given ~20 national or international conference presentations, workshops or symposiums.
- Been a founding and elected executive member of the Queensland Collaborative for Cancer Survivorship.
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
- Psycho-Oncology Co-operative Research Group (PoCoG): since 2007
- Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA): since 2010
- Australian New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG): since 2010
- Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC): since 2016
- International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS): since 2022
- Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS): since 2022
AWARDS RECOGNITION
2019: Winner of the Best of the Best Epidemiology Orals at the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting
2008-2013: NHMRC Early Career Award
2006: QUT Write-up Award
2003: Postgraduate Research Student Award for Outstanding Contribution
2002-2005: QUT Postgraduate Research Award
2000: QUT Honours Award
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
2007: PhD (Psycho-oncology), Queensland University of Technology, Australia
2000: B.A. (Health Science), Hons (First Class), Queensland University of Technology, Australia
1999: B.A. (Health Science), Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia