Dr Dan Fassnacht co-leads to Be Well Lab, a collaborative team of researchers and clinicians from the University of the Sunshine Coast and the South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
The Be Well Lab, in partnership with SAHMRI’s Be Well Co, a commercial spinout company allowing for large-scale reach and impact, develops innovative and scientifically validated tools to help people understand, monitor and build mental health and wellbeing. In 2022, the Be Well Lab was recognised as the Innovator of the Year finalists for the 2022 SA Science Excellence and Innovation Awards.
Professional membership
- Society for Mental Health Research (member of the Executive Committee, Queensland representative)
- National Eating Disorders Collaboration (trained presenter)
- Australia and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders
Awards and Fellowships
- Finalist South Australian Science Excellence and Innovation Award (Innovation Team of the Year: Be Well Lab), South Australian Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, 2022
- Innovation in Learning and Teaching Award, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, 2022
- Teaching Excellence Award, College of Education, Psychology and Social Work, Flinders University, 2021
Dan’s research focuses on how technology can be used to promote behavioural change and improve mental health and wellbeing. He has developed and investigated digital interventions (e.g., Internet, mobile phones or podcasts) to facilitate help-seeking, enhance psychological wellbeing, and prevent and treat mental illness.
Before his appointment at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Dan held academic positions at Flinders University, the Australian National University, University of Canberra, James Cook University (Singapore), University of Minho (Portugal) and the University of Heidelberg (Germany).
Dan has attracted over $1.2 million for developing and evaluating digital tools to address mental illness and promote wellbeing. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed book chapters and articles in top ranked journals (e.g., Clinical Psychology Review, Journal of Medical Internet Research, Globalization & Health), with over 1800 citations and an h-index > 20 (Google Scholar).
Dan is an award-winning educator with extensive teaching experience in undergraduate and postgraduate courses in psychology and population health. He is regularly invited to speak at scientific meetings, community events and professional forums. Dan is also passionate about supervising and mentoring the next generation of researchers and practitioners and has supervised more than 60 students to completion including Honours, Masters, Doctorates and PhDs.
Research grants
|
Grant/project name |
Investigators |
Funding body and AUD$ value |
|
The Mental Health Literacy Project |
Iasiello, M., Van Agteren, J., Ali, K., Newburry, M., Fassnacht, D. B. |
Mental Health Council of Tasmania ($150,000) |
|
Validation of Disaster Relief Australia’s Program to Support Veterans and First Responders to Grow Beyond Their Service |
Bougesis, A., Miller, R., van Agteren, J., Iasiello, M., Ali, K., Fassnacht, D. B. |
Movember ($294,983) |
|
Evaluating an online intervention for individuals on the waitlist for eating disorder treatment: a pilot study |
Ali, K |
Flinders University Impact Seed Funding for Early Career Researchers ($10,000) |
|
Supporting parents with children who have obsessive-compulsive disorder |
Fassnacht, D. B, Ali. K. & Kyrios, M. |
Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation ($22,500) |
|
Evaluation of the Transitioning Members Case Management Program |
Kyrios, M., Katsikitis, M. Wadham, B., Fassnacht, D. B., van Agteren, J., Ali, K., Iasiello, M. |
Department of Veteran Affairs ($99,869) |
|
Understanding and improving the mental health and wellbeing of doctors and medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic |
Fassnacht, D. B., Ali. K., Ward, P. & Kyrios, M. |
Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation /Flinders University Órama Institute ($30,000) |
|
Effectiveness of a wellbeing intervention for frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomised controlled study |
Fassnacht, D. B., Ali, K., Van Agteren, J., Iasiello, M., Furber, G., Chew, D. & Kyrios, M. |
Flinders University (COVID-19 grant, $20,000) |
|
Refining the measurement and diagnostic criteria of pathological buying |
Kyrios, M., Müller, A., Fassnacht, D. B., Trotzke, P., Ali, K., Laskowski, N. & Maclean. B. |
Universities Australia (Australia-Germany joint research cooperation scheme, $25,000) |
|
Development of an online/mobile intervention to facilitate treatment seeking for eating disorders |
Fassnacht, D. B., Kyrios, M. & Ali, K. |
Australian Foundation for Mental Health Research / John James Foundation ($20,000) |
|
Harnessing technology to reduce the burden of eating disorders |
Griffiths, K., Bauer, S., Ali, K., Farrer, L., Fassnacht, D. B. & Moessner, M. |
Universities Australia (Australia-Germany joint research cooperation scheme, $25,000) |
Research areas
- mental health
- mental wellbeing
- anxiety
- depression
- obsessive compulsive disorder
- eating disorders
Potential research projects for HDR and Honours students
- Evaluation and refinement of different modalities of the Be Well Plan.
- Comprehensive measurement of mental health using the Dual-Continua Model
- Measurement and improvement of university students’ mental health
Teaching areas
Associate Professor Dan Fassnacht is s mental health expert specialising in how to comprehensively measure and promote good levels of mental health. He and his team have developed and investigated interventions to effectively improve mental health and wellbeing.