Neil Mcmillan

Dr Neil Mcmillan

Senior Research Fellow

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

I am Principal Medical Scientist for Vascular Surgery at the Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research (The Queen Elizabeth Hospital) and a Senior Research Fellow with the University of Adelaide. I manage the research program for the Vascular and Endovascular Service at the Central Adelaide Local Health Network, with academic, clinical, and community partners throughout SA and the country. I was previously a Senior Research Development Officer with the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. I leverage my background in psychological science to coordinate a variety of clinical research, with expertise in data and project management, grant writing, strategic analysis, and professional development.

Until recently, I was a research fellow and laboratory coordinator in psychology studying animal behaviour and cognition across a range of topics, including: interval timing, decision-making, number discrimination, episodic memory, metacognition, and categorization. I completed my Honours degree at Wilfrid Laurier University and my MSc and PhD at the University of Western Ontario (as NSERC Canada Graduate Scholar), as well as a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Alberta (all in Canada). I also taught undergraduate courses in learning, behaviour modification, and animal cognition.

a nurse using a scalpel on a foot wound while a surgeon observesChronic lower extremity wounds are common and cause significant morbidity, distress, and loss of quality of life. Leg and foot ulcers are most frequently caused by cardiovascular disease and diabetes-related neuropathy. The management of these wounds is time-consuming and expensive, and the annual burden of diabetes-related foot disease (DRFD) alone in Australia caused an estimated 1,700 deaths and 5,200 lower limb amputations in 2019/20 according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

As research manager for the Vascular Surgery Research Group, I research novel technologies and organise large, multi-centre outcomes studies in assessment and monitoring of diabetes-related foot complications and lower-limb ischaemia. Our research program is designed to address the many multi-disciplinary gaps in patient care for this cohort, including:

  • implementation studies of telehealth models for diabetes feet care, especially using advanced technologies (mixed reality, artificial intelligence, wound imaging apps)
  • creation and testing of Virtual Reality training modules for community care workers to help manage diabetes-related foot disease in Aboriginal people
  • blood and tissue biobanking and patient registries for cardiovascular disease and lower-limb complications
  • patient-centered outcomes in chronic limb-threatening ischaemia
  • new treatments and targets for infections in diabetes-related wounds

Our ongoing approach to better telehealth is explained below:

For more on my past research interests, please check out my Reddit AMA on animal cognition!

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2025 Hon, K. Y., Bain, M., Edwards, S., Pena, G., McMillan, N., & Fitridge, R. (2025). The association of sarcopenia and frailty in diabetes-related foot disease: A 3-year prospective evaluation.. J Foot Ankle Res, 18(1), e70038.
    DOI
    2024 Graham, K., Fitzpatrick, K., Agius, J., Loughry, C., Ong, E., McMillan, N., . . . Fitridge, R. (2024). A qualitative exploration of the experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using a real-time video-based telehealth service for diabetes-related foot disease. Rural Remote Health, 24(1), 7970-1-7970-9.
    DOI Scopus1 Europe PMC2
    2024 Hon, K. Y., McMillan, N., & Fitridge, R. A. (2024). Gap analysis of diabetes-related foot disease management systems in Pacific Islands Countries and Territories. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 324-1-324-8.
    DOI Scopus1 Europe PMC2
    2023 Graham, K., Siatis, C. M., Gunn, K. M., Ong, E., Loughry, C., Mcmillan, N., & Fitridge, R. (2023). The experiences of health workers using telehealth services for diabetes-related foot complications: a qualitative exploration. Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, 16(1), 47-1-47-14.
    DOI Scopus4 Europe PMC3
    2022 Scierka, L. E., Mena-Hurtado, C., Shishehbor, M. H., Spertus, J. A., Nagpal, S., Babrowski, T., . . . Smolderen, K. G. (2022). The shifting care and outcomes for patients with endangered limbs – Critical limb ischemia (SCOPE-CLI) registry overview of study design and rationale. IJC Heart and Vasculature, 39, 1-9.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS1 Europe PMC3
    2019 McMillan, N., & Spetch, M. L. (2019). Anticipation of a midsession reversal in humans. Behavioural Processes, 159, 60-64.
    DOI Scopus4 WoS4 Europe PMC2
    2018 Ludvig, E. A., Madan, C. R., McMillan, N., Xu, Y., & Spetch, M. L. (2018). Living near the edge: how extreme outcomes and their neighbors drive risky choice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 147(12), 1905-1918.
    DOI Scopus30 WoS18 Europe PMC12
    2017 Du, Y., McMillan, N., Madan, C. R., Spetch, M. L., & Mou, W. (2017). Cue integration in spatial search for jointly learned landmarks but not for separately learned landmarks. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 43(12), 1857-1871.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC6
    2017 McMillan, N., Spetch, M. L., Roberts, W. A., & Sturdy, C. B. (2017). It's all a matter of time: Interval timing and competition for stimulus control. Comparative Cognition and Behavior Reviews, 12(1), 83-103.
    DOI Scopus13 WoS9
    2017 McMillan, N., Hahn, A. H., Congdon, J. V., Campbell, K. A., Hoang, J., Scully, E. N., . . . Sturdy, C. B. (2017). Chickadees discriminate contingency reversals presented consistently, but not frequently. Animal Cognition, 20(4), 655-663.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS5 Europe PMC2
    2017 Hahn, A. H., Campbell, K. A., Congdon, J. V., Hoang, J., McMillan, N., Scully, E. N., . . . Sturdy, C. B. (2017). Discrimination of acoustically similar conspecific and heterospecific vocalizations by black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). Animal Cognition, 20(4), 639-654.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2
    2017 Hahn, A. H., Congdon, J. V., Campbell, K. A., Scully, E. N., McMillan, N., & Sturdy, C. B. (2017). Mechanisms of Communication and Cognition in Chickadees: Explaining Nature in the Lab and Field. Advances in the Study of Behavior, 49, 147-197.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS3
    2017 Proppe, D. S., McMillan, N., Congdon, J. V., & Sturdy, C. B. (2017). Mitigating road impacts on animals through learning principles. Animal Cognition, 20(1), 19-31.
    DOI Scopus22 WoS15 Europe PMC6
    2017 Sturdy, C., Campbell, K., Congdon, J., Hahn, A., McMillan, N., & Scully, E. (2017). Moving from perceptual to functional categories in songbirds. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 30, 2-14.
    Scopus2
    2017 Scully, E. N., Hahn, A. H., Campbell, K. A., McMillan, N., Congdon, J. V., & Sturdy, C. B. (2017). ZENK expression following conspecific and heterospecific playback in the zebra finch auditory forebrain. Behavioural Brain Research, 331, 151-158.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC4
    2017 Ludvig, E. A., Madan, C. R., McMillan, N., Xu, Y., & Spetch, M. L. (2017). Living near the edge: How extreme outcomes and their neighbours drive risky choice.
    DOI
    2016 Congdon, J. V., Hahn, A. H., Mcmillan, N., Avey, M. T., & Sturdy, C. B. (2016). Chickadee behavioural response to varying threat levels of predator and conspecific calls. International Journal of Comparative Psychology, 29, 1-19.
    DOI Scopus3
    2016 Hahn, A. H., Hoeschele, M., Guillette, L. M., Hoang, J., McMillan, N., Congdon, J. V., . . . Sturdy, C. B. (2016). Black-capped chickadees categorize songs based on features that vary geographically. Animal Behaviour, 112, 93-104.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS6
    2016 McMillan, N., Sturdy, C. B., Pisklak, J. M., & Spetch, M. L. (2016). Pigeons perform poorly on a midsession reversal task without rigid temporal regularity. Animal Cognition, 19(4), 855-859.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS12 Europe PMC6
    2015 McMillan, N., & Sturdy, C. B. (2015). Commentary: A crisis in comparative psychology: Where have all the undergraduates gone?. Frontiers in Psychology, 6(OCT), 2 pages.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS6 Europe PMC3
    2015 Mcmillan, N., & Roberts, W. A. (2015). A three-stimulus midsession reversal task in pigeons with visual and spatial discriminative stimuli. Animal Cognition, 18(1), 373-383.
    DOI Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC12
    2015 Hahn, A. H., Hoang, J., McMillan, N., Campbell, K., Congdon, J., & Sturdy, C. B. (2015). Biological salience influences performance and acoustic mechanisms for the discrimination of male and female songs. Animal Behaviour, 104, 213-228.
    DOI Scopus11 WoS10
    2015 Mcmillan, N., Hahn, A. H., Spetch, M. L., & Sturdy, C. B. (2015). Avian cognition: Examples of sophisticated capabilities in space and song. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 6(3), 285-297.
    DOI Scopus8 WoS5 Europe PMC3
    2015 McMillan, N., Sturdy, C. B., & Spetch, M. L. (2015). When is a choice not a choice? Pigeons fail to inhibit incorrect responses on a go/no-go midsession reversal task. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition, 41(3), 255-265.
    DOI Scopus25 WoS25 Europe PMC13
    2015 Hahn, A. H., Guillette, L. M., Lee, D., McMillan, N., Hoang, J., & Sturdy, C. B. (2015). Experience affects immediate early gene expression in response to conspecific call notes in black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). Behavioural Brain Research, 287, 49-58.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS8 Europe PMC5
    2014 McMillan, N., Kirk, C. R., & Roberts, W. A. (2014). Pigeon (Columba livia) and rat (Rattus norvegicus) performance in the midsession reversal procedure depends upon cue dimensionality. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 128(4), 357-366.
    DOI Scopus28 WoS26 Europe PMC17
    2014 Kirk, C. R., McMillan, N., & Roberts, W. A. (2014). Rats respond for information: Metacognition in a rodent?. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 40(2), 249-259.
    DOI Scopus26 WoS21 Europe PMC17
    2013 McMillan, N., & Roberts, W. A. (2013). Pigeons rank-order responses to temporally sequential stimuli. Learning and Behavior, 41(3), 309-318.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC1
    2013 McMillan, N., & Roberts, W. A. (2013). Interval timing under variations in the relative validity of temporal cues. Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes, 39(4), 334-341.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC2
    2012 McMillan, N., & Roberts, W. A. (2012). Pigeons make errors as a result of interval timing in a visual, but not a visual-spatial, midsession reversal task. Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes, 38(4), 440-445.
    DOI Scopus46 WoS41 Europe PMC24
    2012 Roberts, W., McMillan, N., Musolino, E., & Cole, M. (2012). Information Seeking in Animals: Metacognition?. Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 8, 85-109.
    DOI WoS30
    2010 McMillan, N., & Roberts, W. A. (2010). The effects of cue competition on timing in pigeons. Behavioural Processes, 84(2), 581-590.
    DOI Scopus13 WoS9 Europe PMC4
    2009 Roberts, W. A., Feeney, M. C., McMillan, N., MacPherson, K., Musolino, E., & Petter, M. (2009). Do Pigeons (Columba livia) Study for a Test?. Journal of Experimental Psychology Animal Behavior Processes, 35(2), 129-142.
    DOI Scopus62 WoS52 Europe PMC45
    2008 Van Rooyen, P., McMillan, N., & Santi, A. (2008). Rats' memory for event duration in delayed matching-to-sample with nonspatial comparison response alternatives. Behavioural Processes, 78(1), 1-9.
    DOI Scopus1 WoS1
    2008 Roberts, W. A., Feeney, M. C., MacPherson, K., Petter, M., McMillan, N., & Musolino, E. (2008). Episodic-like memory in rats: Is it based on when or how long ago?. Science, 320(5872), 113-115.
    DOI Scopus137 WoS109 Europe PMC89
    2008 Levant, R. F., Graef, S. T., Smalley, K. B., Williams, C., & McMillan, N. (2008). Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the Male Role Norms Inventory-Adolescent (MRNI-A). BOYHOOD STUDIES-AN INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, 2(1), 46-59.
    DOI

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2017 Mcmillan, N., Avey, M. T., Bloomfield, L. L., Guillette, L. M., Hahn, A. H., Hoeschele, M., & Sturdy, C. B. (2017). Avian Vocal Perception: Bioacoustics and Perceptual Mechanisms. In C. ten Cate, & S. D. Healy (Eds.), Avian Cognition (pp. 270-295). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
    DOI

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2016 McMillan, N., Wirth, T., Berger, S., Ouk, L., Skog, L., Beltz, N., . . . Braun, S. (2016). The Durational Effects of High Intensity Interval Training on Physiological Variables in Recreationally Active Individuals. In MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE Vol. 48 (pp. 864). MA, Boston: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS.
    DOI
    2015 Janot, J. M., Carlson, B., Cook, M., Nelson, K., Taiple, J., Turnquist, T., . . . McMillan, N. (2015). Effectiveness Of Resistance Band Training On Scapular Stability In High School Baseball Players. In MEDICINE AND SCIENCE IN SPORTS AND EXERCISE Vol. 47 (pp. 930). LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS.
    DOI
    2013 Spoon, D. B., Psaltis, P. J., Kidd, S., Prasad, A., Lennon, R., Singh, M., & Gulati, R. (2013). OUTCOMES AFTER PCI IN PATIENTS WITH THROMBOCYTOPENIA. In JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY Vol. 61 (pp. E1718). CA, San Francisco: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC.
    DOI
    2013 Spoon, D. B., Psaltis, P. J., Holmes, D., Simari, R., Gersh, B., Lennon, R., . . . Gulati, R. (2013). TEMPORAL TRENDS IN THE CAUSE OF LONG-TERM DEATH AFTER PCI: A 20-YEAR SINGLE-CENTER EXPERIENCE. In JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF CARDIOLOGY Vol. 61 (pp. E1590). CA, San Francisco: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC.
    DOI
    2011 Psaltis, P. J., Peterson, K., Xu, R., Franchi, F., Chen, I. Y., Simari, R. D., . . . Rodriguez-Porcel, M. G. (2011). In vivo Imaging of Oxidative Stress in Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Transplanted After Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury. In CIRCULATION Vol. 124 (pp. 2 pages). LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS.
2025-2027 Systematic lipid profiling and therapy optimisation in vascular surgical patients with very high-risk atherosclerotic disease P Psaltis, B Thurston, RA Fitridge, S Bacchi (N McMillan AI) CALHN CEO Rapid Implementation Scheme $200,000
2025-2027 Exercise for diabetes-related foot wounds: A randomised feasibility trial L Matricciani, C Maher, RA Fitridge, K Graham, C Loughry, B Singh, S Rogasch, C Marathe, N McMillan, D Dumuid, T Ferguson Medical Research Futures Fund - Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Mechanisms $713,532
2024-2025 Transforming diabetes assessment using artificial intelligence and photonics to measure skin health RA Fitridge, R McLaughlin (N McMillan AI) University of Adelaide Healthy Societies FAME Strategy Scale Grant $249,056
2023-2028 An Augmented Reality program to improve telemedicine delivery and wound research for people with chronic lower-extremity ulcers RA Fitridge, N McMillan, Z Szpak, C Loughry, P Worley, S Wingard, A Szpak, K Graham Medical Research Futures Fund - National Critical Research Infrastructure scheme  $2,270,382
2021-2022 Improving telemedicine delivery for Aboriginal people with diabetes-related foot complications using Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) RA Fitridge, A Brown, K Morey, C Loughry, S Jones, Z Szpak, A Szpak (N McMillan AI) DoH Indigenous Australians' Health Programme Grant $575,020
2016-2018 Reducing the Allure of Winning Cues in Gambling ML Spetch, EL Ludvig, C Madan, N McMillan Alberta Gambling Research Institute Major Grant $134,506
2009-2012 Effects of Cue Competition on Timing in Pigeons N McMillan Natural Science & Engineering Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship $105,000

 

 

 

Principles of Learning and Behaviour (PS381); University of Alberta (2016)

*Behaviour Modification (PS282); University of Alberta (2015; 2017)

*Theory in Learning & Comparative Cognition (PS485); University of Alberta (2014; 2016)

Introduction to Behaviour (PS281); MacEwan University (2014)

*Department of Psychology Teaching Honour Roll with Distinction & 2017 Interdisciplinary Science Students’ Association Award for Excellence in Teaching

 

  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2023 - ongoing Chair Vascular Surgery Research Consumer Advisory Panel The University of Adelaide Australia
    2016 - 2016 Secretary Postdoctoral Fellows Association University of Alberta Canada
    2015 - 2016 Member 3-Minute Thesis Judging Panel University of Alberta Canada
    2015 - 2016 Member Department of Psychology Council University of Alberta Canada
    2012 - 2013 Secretary Ontario Ecology, Ethology, & Evolution Colloquium Organizing Committee University of Western Ontario Canada
    2011 - 2011 Member Space and Facilities Committee University of Western Ontario Canada
    2009 - 2010 Member Society of Graduate Students University of Western Ontario Canada
    2007 - 2011 Member Graduate Teaching Assistant Union University of Western Ontario Canada

  • Community Engagement
    Date Title Engagement Type Institution Country
    2023 - ongoing Health Translation SA Action Group Public Community Engagement Health Translation SA -
    2018 - 2018 Enquiries Desk & Oncology Ward Support Volunteer Public Community Engagement Calvary North Adelaide Hospital Australia
    2017 - 2017 Patient/Family Safety Advisory Panel - Health Quality Council of Alberta Canada
    2016 - 2017 New Patient Facilitator, Wayfinder, & Patient Advisor Public Community Engagement Cross Cancer Institute Canada
    2016 - 2016 Communications Working Group - IMAGINE Citizens for Health Canada

  • Editorial Boards
    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2017 - 2022 Associate Editor Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews United States
  • Position: Senior Research Fellow
  • Email: neil.mcmillan@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: Queen Elizabeth Hospital
  • Building: Institute Building, floor Second Floor
  • Org Unit: Surgical Specialities
Connect With Me
External Profiles