Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Claire Foldi is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Physiology at Monash University and a Group Leader in the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI). She completed her PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience at the Queensland Brain Institute in 2012 under the supervision of A/Prof Thomas Burne and Prof Darryl Eyles. Following Postdoctoral training in electrophysiology and molecular neurobiology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden (Advisor; A/Prof Jens Hjerling-Leffler), she was recruited to the laboratory of Prof Brian Oldfield at Monash University in 2015.
Dr Foldi’s research priority is to understand the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie serious psychiatric disease. She is particularly interested in the often-unreported response heterogeneity that occurs in single neurons, animal models and patients in the clinic. She believes that interrogating the mechanisms underpinning this variability will inform the development of more effective treatment strategies.
Claire's current work focuses on the impact of specific neural circuitries on feeding behaviour and body weight maintenance in anorexia nervosa and the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for treating anorectic pathologies. The Foldi Lab is funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia, with previous funding from the Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation and the British Society for Neuroendocrinology.
Monash teaching commitment
Dr Foldi gives lectures as part of the Integrative Neuroscience course (PHY3012) and runs Masterclasses and Journal Clubs in the Masters of Biomedical and Health Sciences units (BMS5004 & BMS5015).
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Eating disorders
- Animal models of psychiatric disease
- Rodent behaviour
- Obesity
- Reward
- Cognition
- Resilience
- Motivation
- Ventral Tegmental Area
- Prefrontal cortex
- Neural circuit function
- Dopamine
Network
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Top down cortical control of hypothalamic feeding circuits
Andrews, Z., Verdejo-Garcia, A., Foldi, C., Li, Y. & Kravitz, A.
1/01/22 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Can psychedelics treat anorexia nervosa? Insights into the therapeutic effects of psilocybin in an animal model
Foldi, C., Oldfield, B., Andrews, Z., Liknaitzky, P., Hohwy, J., Razi, A. & Kaye, W. H.
1/01/22 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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Motivation for starvation: understanding the neurobiology of anorexia nervosa
1/01/21 → 31/12/23
Project: Research
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Identification of a Stress-Sensitive Anorexigenic Neurocircuit From Medial Prefrontal Cortex to Lateral Hypothalamus
Clarke, R. E., Voigt, K., Reichenbach, A., Stark, R., Bharania, U., Dempsey, H., Lockie, S. H., Mequinion, M., Lemus, M., Wei, B., Reed, F., Rawlinson, S., Nunez-Iglesias, J., Foldi, C. J., Kravitz, A. V., Verdejo-Garcia, A. & Andrews, Z. B., 15 Feb 2023, In: Biological Psychiatry. 93, 4, p. 309-321 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
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Advancing translational neuroscience research for eating disorders
Foldi, C. J., James, M. H., Brown, R. M., Piya, M. K. & Steward, T., Jul 2022, In: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 56, 7, p. 739-741 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › Other › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
Appetite to learn: An allostatic role for AgRP neurons in the maintenance of energy balance
Reed, F., Lockie, S. H., Reichenbach, A., Foldi, C. J. & Andrews, Z. B., Jun 2022, In: Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research. 24, 13 p., 100337.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
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How Can Animal Models Inform the Understanding of Cognitive Inflexibility in Patients with Anorexia Nervosa?
Huang, K. & Foldi, C. J., 1 May 2022, In: Journal of Clinical Medicine. 11, 9, 17 p., 2594.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Citation (Scopus) -
In pursuit of biomarkers for predicting susceptibility to activity-based anorexia in adolescent female rats
Milton, L. K., Patton, T., O'Keeffe, M., Oldfield, B. J. & Foldi, C. J., May 2022, In: International Journal of Eating Disorders. 55, 5, p. 664-677 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access3 Citations (Scopus)
Prizes
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CASS Foundation Travel Award
Foldi, Claire (Recipient), 17 Sep 2018
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Harold Mitchell Foundation Fellowship
Foldi, Claire (Recipient), 24 Apr 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
- 5 Non-HDR Supervisions
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The role of prefrontal control pathways in behavioural correlates of anorexia nervosa
Claire Foldi (Supervisor)
1 Apr 2020Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Non-HDR Supervisions
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Evaluating the BDNFval68met polymorphism as a risk factor for anorexia nervosa
Claire Foldi (Supervisor)
1 Dec 2020Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Non-HDR Supervisions
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The neurobiological basis of adverse mental health effects associated with bariatric surgery: Insights from a rodent model
Claire Foldi (Supervisor)
1 Dec 2019Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Non-HDR Supervisions
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Anhedonia and reward processing: Unravelling the neurobiology of anorexia nervosa
Claire Foldi (Supervisor)
1 Dec 2017Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Non-HDR Supervisions
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The importance of reward pathways in the development of rodent activity-based anorexia
Claire Foldi (Supervisor)
1 Dec 2016Activity: Other Teaching Engagements and non-HDR Supervisions › Non-HDR Supervisions