Rate My Professor Hannah Kirk

Dr. Hannah Kirk is a Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne. She holds a PhD in Psychological Sciences from Monash University and leads the Child Development and Digital Technologies (CDDT) Laboratory, previously known as the Developmental Risk and Digital Innovation (DRDI) Laboratory. Her research examines how digital technologies and global environmental changes influence children's mental health, cognitive development, behaviour, and learning outcomes, with a focus on developmentally at-risk and neurodivergent children, including those with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, Williams syndrome, Down syndrome, and intellectual disabilities. Kirk is the co-inventor of TALI Train, the world’s first game-based digital attention intervention for neurodivergent children, now an FDA and TGA approved Class 1 Medical Device used globally. She has led multiple clinical trials demonstrating its efficacy in improving attention, executive functioning, academic achievement, and behaviour in children with developmental disorders. Her work also pioneers research on eco-anxiety in children, including the development and validation of the first assessment tool for primary school-aged children.

Kirk's career includes previous roles as Chief Research Officer at Tali Digital and Novita Healthcare Ltd from 2016 to 2018. She has received numerous awards, including the NHMRC Early Career Fellowship (2018–2022), Monash Dean’s Award for Research Excellence (2018), BioMelbourne Network Emerging Leadership Award (2021), ABC Radio National’s Top 5 Scientists (2019), APS Thesis Award (2016), and Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Best Postdoc Presentation (2018). Key publications include 'A 5-week Digital Intervention to Reduce Attention Problems in Children With ADHD: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial' (Journal of Attention Disorders, 2024), 'A digital intervention to support childhood cognition after the COVID-19 pandemic: a pilot trial' (Scientific Reports, 2024), 'Assessing eco-anxiety across the lifespan: a systematic review of current global scales' (The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 2025), 'Computerised attention training for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a randomised controlled trial' (Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2016), and 'Impact of attention training on academic achievement, executive functioning and behaviour in children with developmental disabilities: A randomised controlled trial' (American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, 2017). She serves as Deputy Director of the Neurodevelopment Research Theme and guest editor for Frontiers in Psychology. Her contributions advance UN Sustainable Development Goals in good health, well-being, and climate action.