ProfessorCath Chapman

BA (hons), PhD, GAICD

Cath is Professor and Director of Research & Strategy at the Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use at the University of Sydney where she leads initiatives to strengthen research capacity and foster partnerships with young people and those with lived experience, to support world-class research and translation at the Centre. Cath holds an NHMRC Leadership Fellowship (2024–2028) focused on understanding gender-specific changes in risk and protective factors for mental and substance use disorders, to guide the next generation of prevention strategies. She is also Co-Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Prevention of Mental Illness and Substance Use (PREMISE Next Generation, 2025–2030), which unites leading prevention researchers from six Australian and two international universities.

With a career spanning university, community, and hospital settings, Cath has been an investigator on projects exceeding $48 million in funding and authored more than 220 publications. She played a pivotal role as Academic Lead for the Matilda Centre’s first and second Strategic Plans (2019–2023; 2024–2028) and has provided strategic advice for over 200 fellowship, grant, promotion, and award applications. Cath served for 25 years as Board Director and five years as Chair for The Mental Health Services Network of Australia and New Zealand (TheMHS), the region’s largest and most influential not-for-profit mental health learning network. 

In 2004, Cath took a six-and-a-half-year career break to care for her young family, returning to research in 2010 and working part-time until 2021. This experience has shaped her perspective on resilience, balance, and the importance of creating supportive pathways for researchers navigating career transitions.