School of Psychological Science

		Dr Robyn Stargatt Senior Lecturer		Phone: +61 3 9479 3802 Fax: +61 3 9479 1956 r.stargatt@latrobe.edu.au Room 252 George Singer Building
		PhD

I was appointed as Senior Lecturer & Research Co-ordinator in July 2006. This position straddles two campuses.

Duties at La Trobe University include teaching to Postgraduate Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology Programs; Supervision of Students with clinical case load, Supervision of PhD, Doctorate, Masters and Honours Research Projects; and development of independent research.
Duties at Austin Health Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service include promotion of research and support of staff undertaking research, supervision of students on research placements and development of independent research.

I also have an honorary position at the Australian Center for Child Neuropsychological Studies (ACCNS)at the Murdoch Children’s Research Centre (MCRI), Royal Parade, Parkville, VICTORIA in The Critical Care and Neurosciences Research Theme.

This Theme conducts research regarding the lives, health, quality of life and well being of babies and children with serious conditions requiring surgery and acute care. The ACCNS aims to understand brain behaviour relationships within a developmental context through the development and implementation of multi-disciplinary research initiatives. The ACCNS aims to develop and evaluate intervention programs that will enhance clinical practice and maximize medical, educational and psychosocial outcomes.

Prior to this recent appointment at La Trobe University I was as a Senior Clinical Neuropsychologist at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne where I had worked for the past 14 years. My Primary responsibility there was neuropsychological assessment and management of paediatric in-patients and out-patients with a variety of presenting difficulties from general and specialist medical, neurosurgical and psychiatric units. Intervention included working with parents, families and schools of identified patients using a variety of psychological techniques.

	Recent Publications		Publications, Published Abstracts and Presentations [pdf 190k]
	Grants

The Research Projects that I am currently working on and developing include:

The multi-centre international randomized controlled trial comparing the effect of spinal versus general anaesthesia on neurodevelopmental outcome and post-operative apnoea in neonates undergoing hernia repair. Davidson, A., Crawly, G., Stargatt, R, Hunt, R., & Hardy P.

Explicit Recall during Anaesthesia in Children. Davidson, A., McDougall, R,. Stargatt, R., Jamsen, K, & Ironfield, C.

Attention and memory in children with Language Disorders. Ester, Bavin, E., Kinsella, G., Morkham, L., & Stargatt, R.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Emergency Department/Emergency Psychiatry. Stargatt, R., Bosanac, P., Walls, B & Coventry, N.,

Executive dysfunction in children and adolescents admitted to the Child and Adolescents’ Inpatient Units for psychiatric disorder. Stargatt, R., Jenkins, P., & Brown, A.

Aggression in the Eagle Child Inpatient Unit of the Austin Hospital. Young, K., Denton, C., Crocker, J., & Stargatt, R.

I have previously been involved in and have completed the following research projects:

Treatment of patients with newly diagnosed medulloblastoma, supratentorial, primitive neuroectodermal tumor or atypical teratoid rhaboid tumor. SJMB 03. A Collaborative trial of Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston TX, Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, Australia, St Jude Children’s’ Research Hospital in Memphis TN.

Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Medulloblastoma and Supratentorial PNET in Patients Over Three Years with a Phase II Topotecan Window (high-risk patients only), Risk-Adapted Radiation Therapy, and Dose-Intensive Chemotherapy with Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Support: A collaborative trial of the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne and St Jude Pediatric Brain Tumour Programs.

A Phase II trial of conformal radiation therapy for paediatric patients with localized ependymoma, chemotherapy prior to second surgery for incompletely resected ependymoma and observation for completely resected, differentiated, supratentorial ependymoma. Children's Oncology Group - ACNS0121:

Neuropsychological Outcomes in Children treated for Posterior fossa tumours: A prospective analyses. Stargatt, R. Anderson, V., & Rosenfeld, J.V.R. and co-operating departments.

Children’s Brain Tumour Storybook Project Evaluation. Morse, S., Stargatt, R., & Stewart, H.

Neurodevelopmental outcomes in children treated as infants for brain tumour. Stargatt, R., Rosenfeld, JVR., Anderson, VA., Hassall, T., Maixner, W., Ashley, D.

Behaviour Change following anaesthesia in children. Stargatt, R., & Davidson, A.

Incidence of Awareness under anaesthesia in children. Davidson, A & Stargatt, R.

Quality of life in children surviving craniopharyngioma. Zaccarinm M., & Stargatt, R.

Neuropsychological Consequences of Brain Tumour in Children: a retrospective study. Stargatt, R., Rosenfeld, JVR., & Maller, J.

Attention Skills Following Closed Head Injury in Children. Catroppa, C., Anderson, V., & Stargatt, R..

The Impact of Pre-Injury and Psychosocial Factors on Outcome From Traumatic Brain Injury in Children. Anderson, V., Catroppa, C., Haritou, F., Morse, S., Pentland, L., & Stargatt, R.

Neuropsychological Impairment of Anorexia Nervosa before and after Therapy. Szmukler, G., Andrewes, D., Kingston, K., Stargatt, R., Chen, L., & Stanley, R.

My PhD Thesis was titled “Neuropsychological outcomes of children treated for posterior fossa tumours: A prospective analyses. (2004).

My Masters and Honour Thesis were “Tetrahydroaminoacridine (THA) and its effects on the memory and cognitive impairment of Alzheimer’s Disease” (1988), and “Reading comprehension, logical inference and spatial ability in year 7 and year 11 students” (1985).

Recent Publications (2001 – 2007)

Stargatt, R., Rosenfeld, JV., Maixner, W., Ashley D “Multiple factors contribute to neuropsychological outcome in children with posterior fossa tumours.” Developmental Neuropsychology (in press Jan 2007)

Stargatt R., Davidson, A.J., Huang, G.H., Czarnecki, C., Gibson, M.A., Stewart, S.A., & Jamsen, K. (2006). “A cohort study of the incidence and predictors of negative behaviour changes in children after general anaesthesia”. Paediatric Anaesthesia. 16(8):846-59, Aug

Stargatt, R., Rosenfeld, JV., Anderson,VA., Hassall, T., Maixner, W., Ashley D. (2006) “Intelligence and Adaptive Function in Children Diagnosed with Brain Tumor During Infancy’. Journal of Neuro-Oncology 80(3):295-303.

Davidson AJ, Shrivastiva P, Jamsen K, Huang GH, Czarnecki C, Gibson M, Stewart S and, Stargatt R. (2006). Risk factors for anxiety at induction of anaesthesia in children: a prospective cohort study. Pediatric Anesthesia. 16: 919-927

Pedreira, CC; Stargatt, R; Maroulas, H; Maixner, W; Warne, G, Zacharin, MR. (2006) “ Health related quality of life and psychological outcome in patients treated for craniopharyngioma in childhood.” Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism 19(1) 15-24.

Mulhern, R.K., Palmer, S., Merchant, T.E., Wallace, D., Kocak, M., Brouwers, R., Krull, K., Chintagumpala, M., Stargatt, R., Ashley, D. M., Tye, V..L., Kun, L., Booyett,, J., & Gajjar, A. (2005) “Neurocognitive consequences of Risk-Adapted Therapy for childhood Medulloblastoma.” Journal of Clinical Oncology 23(24)

Davidson, A J, Huang, G, Czarnecki, C, Gibson, M, Stewart, S, Jamsen K, Stargatt, R. (2005) “Awareness during anesthesia in children: a large prospective cohort study”. Anesthesia & Analgesia 100(3) 653-661.

Huang, G, Davidson, A.J. & Stargatt, R. (2005) “Dreaming during anaesthesia in children: incidence, nature and associations.” Anaesthesia, 60, 854-861.

Stargatt, R., Anderson,V. and Rosenfeld, J.V.R (2002) “Neuropsychological Outcomes of Children Treated for Posterior Fossa Tumours: a Review. Brain Impairment, 3[2] 92-204.

Anderson V, Catroppa C, Haritou F, Morse S, Pentland L, Rosenfeld J, Stargatt R. (2001) Predictors of Acute Child and Family Outcome following Traumatic Brain Injury in Children. Pediatric Neurosurgery,34:138-148

Grants