Professor Gerard Byrne

Program Director

Professor Gerard Byrne
School of Medicine

Dr Gerard Byrne is Head of Psychiatry within the School of Medicine at UQ and Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Service at the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital (RBWH). He is a visiting consultant to the multidisciplinary Memory Clinic and heads the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit at the RBWH. Dr Byrne is a past president of the Alzheimer’s Association (Queensland) and past Chair of the Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. He is also a Member of the Repatriation Medical Authority, Australia, and a Member of the Advisory Board, Clem Jones Centre for Ageing Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute.

Professor Byrne is deeply involved in psychiatric organisations worldwide specialising in ageing and dementia. These include the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), the Faculty of Psychiatry of Old Age, RANZCP (FPOA) [founding member], the International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA), the Australian Neuroscience Society (ANS), the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine (ANZSGM) and the International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research (ISTAART).

Professor Byrne heads or is involved in various clinical trial contracts for Phase I, II & III studies of symptomatic and disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. He has published over 70 peer reviewed journal articles since 2010.

His primary research interests include Alzheimer's disease (particularly the neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with AD), and personality, anxiety and depression in older people.