Research team

Let us introduce you to the Spectrum Research team. 

A/Prof Jillian Broadbear

A/Prof Jillian Broadbear is the Head of Research and Innovation at Spectrum Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma Service. She holds a PhD in Biopsychology from the University of Michigan and spent two decades working in the substance misuse and mental health fields conducting pre-clinical and clinical research. After returning to Australia, Jillian took up an academic role at Monash University, convening the Bachelor of Behavioural Neuroscience degree and continuing her psychopharmacology research. She was fortunate to learn about a research position opening at Spectrum ten years ago and has never looked back! Jillian is passionate about leading research that can be applied through education and advocacy, thereby improving knowledge in the field, and growing services that assist everyone whose lives are affected by personality disorder and complex trauma.

Dr. Karthika Kasiviswanathan

Dr. Karthika (MBBS, MPH) is a Research Assistant at Spectrum Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma Service. With a lived/living experience of BPD and clinical experience as a GP, Karthika is passionate about creating a meaningful positive impact in the lives of people diagnosed with severe mental illness through translational research. They recently worked closely with A/Prof Sathya Rao as a co-editor of ‘A practical guide for Area Mental Health Services’ that aims to improve working with and treatment outcomes for people living with borderline personality disorder. Karthika is actively working towards obtaining a PhD scholarship in the future with an extraordinary interest in conducting research concerning mental health of trans, gender diverse and non-binary (TGDNB) people.

Ms Jessica Lee 

Jess is a Research Assistant at Spectrum and at the Centre for Youth Mental Health, the University of Melbourne. During her time at Spectrum, she has assisted in a number of projects, including a study investigating BPD and romantic relationships, and a study investigating BPD and sleep. Jess has a special interest in interventions for complex trauma, attachment theory and developmental psychology. She has gained highly valuable knowledge and insight from working at Spectrum, a leading service for personality disorder treatment and research. In the future, Jess hopes to pursue further studies in postgraduate clinical psychology and continue to be involved in meaningful research.

Dr. Pari Heidariorojloo

Dr Pari Heidari started at Spectrum Personality Disorder and Complex Trauma Service, Eastern Health in mid-2019 as a Research Officer. Pari has been awarded her PhD from the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. Since commencing at Eastern Health, she has been working on many projects mostly engaging in research tasks including conducting surveys, data analysis and publishing. She is working closely with Spectrum’s Head of Research & Innovation, A/Prof Jillian Broadbear and is the Program Evaluation lead for the Personality Disorder Initiative (PDI) at Spectrum which is a Victorian government collaboration.

Ms Melissa Morando

Melissa is a Research Assistant at Spectrum. Her keen interest in quantifying and improving client outcomes has aided Melissa in leading the Service Evaluation Program at Spectrum alongside the clinical and medical teams. Melissa has completed her Honours year in Psychology and worked in addiction research and anxiety support. These experiences inform her holistic approach to conducting research at Spectrum across a broad range of topics.