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My research aims to identify the neurobiological causes of anxiety disorders, which are the most common class of mental illness in Australia, affecting 11% of men and almost twice as many women (18%) in a given year. A primary component of my research focuses on how sex hormones influence the development and treatment of anxiety disorders in women, with a view to develop sex-specific models of anxiety pathophysiology. My ultimate goal is to improve treatments for anxiety disorders (current treatments being ineffective for 50% of people) based on a nuanced understanding of the neurobiological factors that predict treatment needs, with a particular focus on tailoring treatments according to physiological differences between men and women. To achieve this, my lab at ¹úÃñ²ÊƱ is one of few worldwide that conducts bench to bedside translational clinical neuroscience research, where basic processes are investigated in non-human animals, and then applied to clinical populations. I start with behavioural, molecular, and pharmacological research in rat models of anxiety (e.g. Graham & Daher, 2016, Neuropsychopharmacology), and then translate these findings to humans in experimental psychophysiological studies (e.g. Graham et al., Biological Psychiatry, 2017), from which I develop novel ways of enhancing treatments that I test in clinical trials (e.g. Graham et al. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2018). This approach has led to significant innovations in our understanding of anxiety and its treatment. For example, my work has been the first to show that uniquely female variables, like menstrual cycle status, use of the hormonal contraceptive pill, and motherhood, significantly influence the success of current gold-standard treatments for anxiety.