Miss Tanya Duckworth
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
PhD Candidate (Medicine); Casual Academic
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
I am completing my PhD in Medicine (Neuroscience) through the Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, School of Psychology & Adelaide Medical School.
My research topic is:
The effects of creativity on neuroplasticity and cognition in adults with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
People who have PTSD are at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease than the general population. They exhibit reduced cognitive function in the domains of attention, executive function, processing speed and memory, with corresponding loss of myelin (white matter integrity) throughout the frontal lobes and corpus callosum of the brain in neuroimaging studies. Interestingly, people who score highly on creativity indexes, have formal arts training, or have undergone cognitive creativity enhancement programs such as those delivered in business and design schools, show increased cognitive capacity in these same domains, with corresponding abundance of white matter within the frontal lobes and corpus callosum, in addition to abundant white matter inter-hemispheric connectivity on DTI measures.
My project aims to investigate the neural mechanisms of creativity and the effects on cognitive outcomes including the potentially protective effects against cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in people with PTSD.
Research interests:
In addition to the neural mechanisms of creativity and trauma, I also have a strong interest in endometriosis research, particularly in extra-pelvic endometriosis of the nerves and brain, overall disease aetiology and treatment efficacy. I am an "Endo Champion" (an endometriosis advocate) for Endometriosis Australia. I am a collaborator on multiple endometriosis research projects at Macquarie University, roles as an Associate Investigator on the BEKind Study (Body Image and Psychological Wellbeing in Women with Endometriosis), endometriosis NHMRC grant applications, and a Chief Investigator on the Endometriosis Australia grant funded project ENDOTEXT (now EndoSMS) led by Professor Kerry Sherman. I am also a peer reviewer of endometriosis research at several journals.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2020 - ongoing Casual Academic University of Adelaide 2019 - ongoing Casual Academic University of Sydney 2019 - 2021 Research Assistant University of Sydney 2010 - 2018 Research Assistant UNSW Australia -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2012 Central Queensland University Australia Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (Honours) 2002 University of Newcastle Australia Bachelor of Fine Arts -
Postgraduate Training
Date Title Institution Country 2019 PhD in Medicine University of Adelaide Australia 2016 - 2017 Master of Brain and Mind Sciences University of Sydney Australia -
Research Interests
Animal Neurobiology Biological Psychology Cognitive Science Creative Arts Design History and Theory Design Innovation Design Practice and Management Experimental Psychology Neurocognitive Patterns and Neural Networks Neurogenetics Neurology and Neuromuscular Diseases Neurosciences Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Child and Adolescent Health Fertility and Conception Neuroscience, Behaviour and Brain Health Surgical and Health Systems Innovation Translational Health Outcomes
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Journals
Year Citation 2022 Pehlivan, M. J., Sherman, K. A., Wuthrich, V., Horn, M., Basson, M., & Duckworth, T. (2022). Body image and depression in endometriosis: Examining self-esteem and rumination as mediators. Body Image, 43, 463-473.
2022 Sherman, K. A., Pehlivan, M. J., Singleton, A., Hawkey, A., Redfern, J., Armour, M., . . . Imani, S. A. (2022). Co-design and Development of EndoSMS, a Supportive Text Message Intervention for Individuals Living with Endometriosis: Mixed Methods Study. JMIR Formative Research, 6(12), e40837.
Scopus12021 Sullivan-Myers, C., Sherman, K. A., Beath, A. P., Duckworth, T. J., & Cooper, M. J. W. (2021). Delineating sociodemographic, medical and quality of life factors associated with psychological distress in individuals with endometriosis. Human Reproduction, 36(8), 2170-2180.
Scopus9 WoS8 Europe PMC52017 Evans, L., & Duckworth, T. J. (2017). Dementia in people with Down syndrome: What does the research tell us?. Voice, (December 2017), 5-8. 2016 Sachdev, P., Thalamuthu, A., Mather, K., Ames, D., Wright, M., Wen, W., . . . Lemmon, C. (2016). White matter hyperintensities are under strong genetic influence. Stroke, 47(6), 1422-1428.
Scopus29 WoS25 Europe PMC17 -
Conference Items
Year Citation 2019 Duckworth, T. (2019). The Effects of Creativity on Neuroplasticity and Cognition in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Poster session presented at the meeting of ACOTS 2019 Poster Presentation. Sydney, NSW Australia.
2020 Endometriosis Australia Research Grant, ENDOTEXT - Chief Investigator
2012 NHMRC/ARC Strategic Award Grant, The Older Australian Twins Study - Named as Researcher
2020 Casual Academic at the University of Adelaide
2019 Casual Academic at the University of Sydney
Connect With Me
External Profiles
