Dr Femke Buisman-Pijlman

• Biography/ Background

  2024- current Academic Director Course Innovation and Quality, Faculty of Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne

  Providing leadership at the intersection of strategy, curriculum governance, and innovation; driving expert-led, data-driven and evidence-based improvement while enabling bold, non-traditional solutions. Working with stakeholders across the Faculty, University, industry and global partners to develop and fintune offerings to make an impact in health, research and community. 
  Establishing member Bastas Academy for Health Leadership with Melbourne Business School. 

  2022- 2024 Academic Lead Campus Mental Health Strategy, 
  Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School, University of Melbourne

  Lead educational strategy development of the Campus Mental Health Strategy across University of Melbourne, Royal Children's Hospital (RCH), and Melbourne Children's Research Institute (MCRI). Developing evidence-based training programmes for patient-facing staff with two direct reports (Campus Mental Health Teaching Fellows).

  2019- 2024  Inaugural Academic Program Director (Health), Melbourne School of Professional and Continuing Education, University of Melbourne 

  Lead growth and optimisation of a multimillion-dollar education portfolio of postgraduate degrees, microcredentials and short courses for Faculty Medicine Dentistry and Health Sciences. Developed new online degrees and microcredentials with experts across the Faculty and partner organisations to provide optional opportunities for professionals.

  2019- now Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science 
  Lectures for Addiction Studies and supervising PhD students and postdocs on role of endogenous oxytocin on stress and behaviour, parenting and biological basis of pain and addiction. 

  2007-2019 Inaugural Program Director International Programme in Addiction Studies 

  Program design and development and leadership or new International Master of Science in Addiction Studies Program with Virginia Commonwealth University (USA) and King's College London (UK);
  Course development and course coordination and teaching of fully online courses/subjects for health professionals and scientist. 

  2012- 2019 Senior Lecturer Addiction Studies

  Discipline of Pharmacology, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide.Program director International Programme in Addiction Studies (IPAS)

  2008- present Affiliate Graduate Faculty Psychology

  Virginia Commonwealth University, Institute for Drug and Alcohol Studies.
  http://ipas.vcu.edu/

  2017- present Affiliate Member Robinson Research Institute

  2007-2012 Lecturer Addiction Studies
  Discipline of Pharmacology, Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide. For more info: www.adelaide.edu.au/addiction. Coordinating the Graduate diploma and Graduate certificate in alcohol and drug studies and Teaching two courses in the Graduate Diploma in Addiction and Mental health.

  2011- 2012 Affiliate researcher Psychiatric Neuroscience Research Group
  

  Discipline of Psychiatry, Medicine, the University of Adelaide. Researcher in Psychiatry and Neuroscience lab of prof. Bernhard Baune. Research focussed on integrating behaviour, cognitive function, genes and proteins in humans and animal models as demonstrated in various clinical and basic science models of inflammation relevant to cognitive performance and neuropsychiatric disorders. 

  2007-2008 Senior Lecturer
  National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University. Research on trends in alcohol and drug use in the workforce

  2005- 2007 Senior researcher (postdoctoral) Child & Family Studies and Data Theory, Leiden University (NL). Coordinating large twin study on gene x environment interaction in effects of parenting on attachment Analysing data on the role of genetic polymorphisms of neurotransmitters in child behaviour and stress response Supervising master students and two PhD students

  2004-2005 (50%) Research associate/author Unit International Affairs, Trimbos-institute for Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht (NL). Scientific coordinator of project Evidence-Based Electronic Library for Drugs and Addiction with Portugal and UK. Critical review of information and writing content on risks and effects for site Establishing collaboration with USA (NIDA and SAMSHA) Acquisition of new projects (e.g. Harm Reduction Inventory for EU and EMCDDA)

  2002-2005 (50%) Program officer Dutch Addiction Program Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), The Hague (NL). Monitoring progress of funded addiction research projects in Netherlands Coordinating two calls for applications with NIDA with conferences in USA and Holland. Coordinating 5 national calls Coordinating international collaboration in Dutch addiction with USA, UK and France Organising expert meetings to determine future research priorities

  2002-2004 (50%) Research associate
  National Party Drug Monitor, Trimbos-institute for Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht (NL). Analysing data on content of current party drugs and cannabis Collecting information on risks of new drugs Reporting to addiction centres, policy makers and researchers Analysing results on health risks of drugs during dance events

  1997-2001 PhD student / teacher
  Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Dept. Psychopharmacology, Utrecht University (NL). Basic animal research on brain mechanisms and behaviour Internship at Solvay Pharmaceuticals (3 months) Teaching Psychopharmacology, Biological psychiatry and Animal behaviour.

  1996-1997 Student teacher Animal behaviour, Faculty of Medicine and Biology, Utrecht University (NL).

   

• Qualifications

  • Femke Buisman-Pijlman, B.Sc. (Biol.), M.Sc.(Bio.), Ph.D. (Med.)
    
  • Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (Online Learning), University of Adelaide 2014.
    
  • Infant Mental Health Certificate at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide 2013.
    
  • PhD degree Behavioural Pharmacology, PhD Thesis on Emotional and physical stress in rats: Differential enduring effects on behaviour and brain processes. University Medical Centre Utrecht, The Netherlands with Prof.dr. J.M. van Ree (1997-2001)
  • Master of Science degree in Biology (major in Neuroscience, Psychopharmacology and Behaviour), Utrecht University, The Netherlands (1997)
  • Bachelor degree in Biology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (1994)

• Awards & Achievements

   

  2016 Featured in ABC Catalyst special on Oxytocin and Addiction. View here

  2016 PwC Educational collaborator for the 21st Century Minds (21CM) Accelerator Program

  2015 MOOC team leader and content developer: Managing Addiction: a framework for succesfful treatment

  2014 Team member MOOC: Essential Human Biology
  
  2014 Neuroscientist in residence at Seymour College

  2014 Buisman-Pijlman equipment grant Alcohol self-administration equipment, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences ($8.500)
  
  2014 Collins-Praino, Buisman-Pijlman (2014) South Australian Community Grant: National Science week ($1,500)
  
  2013 Managing Guest Editor Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior Special: The role of oxytocin in positive affect and drug-related reward. Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00913057/119
  
  2012 Promoted to Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide

  2012 Winner for South Australian Early Career STEM Educator of the Year - Tertiary Education.

  2012 Buisman-Pijlman, Coller, Powrie, Lee.  School of Medical Scoences Equipment round. Mobile centrifuge unit for research on biomarkers in mental health research in perinatal and adolescent populations.

  2012 Buisman-Pijlman, Hutchinson, Pitcher, Salem, Baune, Baetu, Diener. NHMRC equipment grant. Self-administration apparatus to study food preference, learning and addiction in rat and mice.

  2012 Travel award from the US National Institute on Drugs Abuse  to present at NIDA International Forum and CPDD

  2012 Faculty of Health Sciences International Conference Award (FICA)

  2011 recipient of the Executive Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching
  
  2011 finalist for South Australian Early Career STEM Educator of the Year - Tertiary Education
  
  2011 Travel award from the US National Institute on Drugs Abuse  to present at NIDA International Forum and CPDD

  2005 Travel award from the US National Institute on Drugs Abuse  to present at NIDA International Forum and CPDD

  2005 European Union Tender (250000 Euro/400000 AUSD) to make a comprehensive inventory of all the Drug related Harm Reduction measures in the EU
  
  2006 EU Twinning project Hungary - improve skills in evidence based information collection on drugs and addiction

  2004-2007 Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports (VWS): arrange scieintific meetings and site visits to inform French, US and UK health care professionals about Dutch treatment options for drug treatment and harm reduction.

  2001 Financial support for publication of PhD thesis by Solvay Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Saal van Zwanenberg stichting and Noldus Information Technology b.v.
  
  Several travel awards from Dutch Brain Foundation and Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
  
  1997 PhD project and "scholarship" were jointly funded by Solvay Pharmaceuticals and Utrecht University.

   

   

  Managing Guest Editor Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior Special: 

  The role of oxytocin in positive affect and drug-related reward

  Associate editor Frontiers in Psychology

  Reviewer for several journals and funding agencies like NHMRC and The Netherlands Organisation of Health, Research and Development (ZonMw).

• Teaching Interests

  Femke has broad expertise in teaching:

  Topic area: biological basis of Addiction and mental health, neurobiology, comorbidity, research and health leadership

  
  Leadership in education:

  
  Strategic leadership, innovation projects, curriculum design, program design, course and subject development, joined degrees, short courses, microcerdentials and MOOC'S

  Focus: expert in fully online and blended learning, adult learning, data-driven decision making, interdisciplinary collaboration, pathways of learning, sustainability 

  Speaker and workshop facilitator

• Research Interests

  Femke’s research focuses on understanding the relations between early life experiences, biology and drug use. She is especially interested in how early life events change stress responsiveness and drug taking behaviour later in life. Neuropeptides could be key modulators of this long term effect. The role of the immune system in the development of addiction and mental health problems is a special focus as well as the management of pain in people with addiction problems.
  Methods: animal and human experimental studies, epidemiology and gene x environment studies.

  Femke believes that inter-disciplinary work is vital to study these areas of research. Please feel free to contact her if you are interested in collaborating in any of these areas.

   

   

  Main collaborators:

  University of Adelaide: Mark Hutchinson, Michael Sawyer, Paul Rolan
  Local: Andrea Gordon (UniSA), Hsu-En Lee (WCH), Ros Powrie (WCH), Anne Sved Williams (WCH) and Kristin Carson (QEH)

  International: Mattie Tops (VU UMC, NL), Sue Carter (University of Illinois at Chicago, USA), Danielle Dick (VCU, USA).

   

   

  Research students:

   

   

  PhD (Pharm): Nicole Sumracki - Theral grill illusion as a model for chronic pain (Paul Rolan; Mark Hutchinson)
  PhD (Pharm): Jonathan Jacobsen - Alcohol consumption in immune compromised mice (Mark Hutchinson)

  PhD (Physiol): Jiajun Liu- Stress regulation in immune compromised animals (Mark Hutchinson)

  Honours (Physiol): Krystal Iacopetta - Self-administration in immune compromised mice (Mark Hutchinson)

  Honours (Pharm): Emily Alves- Attachment and oxtytocin levels in infants (Andrea Gordon and Michael Sawyer)

  Honours (Pharm): Grace Williams - Glial Reactivity and Early Life Exposure to Alcohol (Mark Hutchinson)

  Honours (Phys): Melissa Au - Temporal changes induced by morphine in the brain neuroimmune system (Mark Htchinson)

  
  MSc students: Risk and protective factors for alcohol and drug use in adolescent (Michael Sawyer)

   

• Publications

  Please refer to my research profile page for an up to date list: 

   

• Professional Associations

  International Behavioral Neuroscience Society

  Australian Neuroscience Society; Local organising committee member ANS 2014 Adelaide

  Australian and New Zealand Brain Bee Competition - SA coordinator (2013-2017)

  Australian Association for Infant Mental Health

  Society for Social Neuroscience

   

  Healthy Development Adelaide

  Staff member Dutch Institute for the Study of Education and Human Development

• Professional Interests

  Discovery science and longitudinal studies: 

  • drugs and addiction,biological basis of addiction and comorbidity, long-term effects of stress (early life stress and trauma), behaviour and parenting, social interactions, pain, comorbidity, individual differences, resilience

  • Research field: behavioural neuroscience, psychoneuropharmacology, physiology, behaviour (human and animal), behavioural genetics, epidemiology, addiction treatment

  Education: 

  • Higher education, Curriculum design, portfolio performance and course experience, innovation using online environments 

  Mentoring 

• Media Expertise

  Categories	Medicine & Medical Research, Psychology & Psychiatry
  Expertise	addiction, individual differences in behaviour, neurobiology, oxytocin, social interaction, stress, alcohol, drugs, long-term impact early adversity, social neuroscience, neuroscience, online learning, professional development for health professionals
  Notes	Primary role at The University of Melbourne. Affiliated to the University of Adelaide, Robinson Research Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University (US)

Entry last updated: Friday, 23 Jan 2026