ACU Researcher

Dr Stefan Piantella

Research Project Coordinator, Psychological Mechanisms and Innovation Program, and the Development and Disability Over the Lifespan Program.
Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre (HBMRC)

Areas of expertise: research project management; clinical trial management; workplace stress; concussion; inflammation

Phone: +61 3 9230 8592

Email: Stefan.Piantella@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Melbourne Campus

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: Not accredited/Not applicable

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0122-6979

ORCID link: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0122-6979

I completed my PhD in occupational health and psychology at La Trobe University, Melbourne in 2022. My PhD examined the interplay of workplace stress, depression symptomology, and low-grade inflammation with cognition and coronary heart disease in normative samples, and professional athletes. During this time I have also held teaching appointments at La Trobe university and ACU with a focus on teaching undergraduate research methods in psychology.

As I have transitioned into a research management role as Research Project Coordinator within the HBMRC, my work interfaces 2 programs of research - PMI and DDoL programs. Here, I coordinate all aspects of research projects primarily focusing on coordination of resources and communications with national and international collaborators, support to national and international grant applications, as well as, recruitment and participant testing, supervision of junior staff, and undergraduate students, and the coordination of Human Research Ethics Committee submissions and compliance with reporting requirements both within Australia and Internationally.

Website

ResearchGate

Select publications

O'Brien, W. T., Spitz, G., Xie, B., Major, B. P., Mutimer, S., Giesler, L. P., Bain, J., Evans, L., Martins, B.D., Piantella, S.,... & McDonald, S. J. (2024). Biomarkers of neurobiologic recovery in adults with sport-related concussion. JAMA network open, 7(6), e2415983-e2415983. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15983

McGuckian, T. B., Laracas, J., Roseboom, N., Eichler, S., Kardas, S., Piantella, S.,... & Wilson, P. H. (2024). Portable Touchscreen Assessment of Motor Skill: A Registered Report of the Reliability and Validity of EDNA MoTap. Assessment, 10731911241266306. https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911241266306

Corrone, M., Nanev, A., Amato, I., Bicknell, R., Piantella, S., Maruff, P.,... & Wright, B. J. (2023). The brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66met polymorphism is associated with better attention and working memory performance and resilience to mild chronic stress. European Journal of Neuroscience, 58(8), 3903-3916. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.16153

Piantella, S., McDonald, S. J., & Wright, B. J. (2023). Gender and workplace stress affect the association between concussion history and depression symptoms in professional jockeys. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 38(4), 537-547. doi: 1093/arclin/acac084

McDonald, S. J., Piantella, S., O'Brien, W. T., Hale, M. W., O'Halloran, P., Kinsella, G.,... & Wright, B. J. (2023). Clinical and blood biomarker trajectories after concussion: new insights from a longitudinal pilot study of professional flat-track jockeys. Journal of Neurotrauma, 40(1-2), 52-62. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2022.0169

Piantella, S., O'Brien, W. T., Hale, M. W., Maruff, P., McDonald, S. J., & Wright, B. J. (2022). Within subject rise in serum TNFα to IL-10 ratio is associated with poorer attention, decision-making and working memory in jockeys. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 10, 100131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100131

Piantella, S., Dragano, N., Marques, M., McDonald, S. J., & Wright, B. J. (2021). Prospective increases in depression symptoms and markers of inflammation increase coronary heart disease risk-The Whitehall II cohort study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 151, 110657. DOI: 1016/j.jpsychores.2021.110657

Amato, I., Nanev, A., Piantella, S., Wilson, K. E., Bicknell, R., Heckenberg, R.,... & Wright, B. (2021). Assessing the utility of a virtual-reality neuropsychological test battery,'CONVIRT', in detecting alcohol-induced cognitive impairment. Behavior Research Methods, 53, 1115-1123. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-020-01485-2

Piantella, S., Dragano, N., McDonald, S. J., & Wright, B. J. (2021). Depression symptoms mediate the association between workplace stress and interleukin 6 in women, but not men: The Whitehall II study. Brain, Behavior, & Immunity-Health, 12, 100215. doi: 1016/j.bbih.2021.100215

Piantella, S., McDonald, S. J., Maruff, P., & Wright, B. J. (2020). Assessing the long-term impact of concussion upon cognition: a 5-year prospective investigation. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 35(5), 482-490. DOI: 1093/arclin/acaa012

Projects

• Altitudes 2.0: A randomised controlled trial of Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST) for carers of clients with first episode psychosis in North Carolina, USA.

Awards

• 2022 European Association of Psychosomatic Medicine Elsevier Young Investigator Award (Qualified), 2022

• Journal of Psychosomatic Research Editor's Choice Award (Quarterly), 2021

• Full PhD Scholarship Stipend (3.5 years), 2019-2022

Appointments and Affiliations

• Research Project Coordinator, Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, 2023 - Present

• Sessional Academic, School of Behavioural and Health Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, 2024 - Present

• Sessional Academic, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne (Bundoora), 2019 -2024

• Psychology Teaching Fellow/ Associate Lecturer, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne (Bundoora), 2023

• Research Assistant, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne (Bundoora), 2019-2023