Dr Caroline Gao is an Associate Professor and senior biostatistician at the Centre for Youth Mental Health (Orygen), University of Melbourne, within the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences. A biostatistician, machine learner, and epidemiologist, she earned her PhD in infectious disease epidemiology and modelling from the University of Hong Kong, a Master of Biostatistics from the University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Engineering. Previously affiliated with the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, her career encompasses advanced statistical methods, machine learning applications, and epidemiological research in mental health. She has authored 226 publications with over 2,100 citations, demonstrating substantial impact in her field.

Gao's research centers on youth mental health, encompassing psychosis risk prediction, longitudinal data analysis, suicidal ideation and behaviors, clinical complexity in primary mental health services, mental health impacts of climate change, and environmental exposures including air pollution from coal mine fires. Key publications include "Echoes from the Mine: Lung function across a Decade following Exposure to Coal Mine Fire Smoke" (2026), "Effects of PM2.5 from coal mine fire smoke on long-term incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE)" (2026), "Most respiratory symptoms have resolved 9 years after PM2.5 exposure from the Hazelwood coal mine fire" (2025), "Generational effects in self-reported age of onset for youth suicidal ideation, self-harm and attempted suicide" (2025), "Over 3,000 voices: Understanding how climate change shapes the minds and lives of young people in Australia" (2025), "Predicting the First Onset of Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors in Adolescents Using Multimodal Risk Factors: A Four-Year Longitudinal Study" (2025), and "Estimating the longitudinal association between pain characteristics and clinical outcomes in young people with mental ill-health" (2025). She co-leads the NHMRC-funded Platform for Research and Interventions in Youth Mental Health and the Environment (PRIME; $999,890.60, 2025-2029) and contributes to projects addressing social determinants of mental illness, climate distress interventions, and data-driven youth mental health care.