Rate My Professor Vanessa Gray

Vanessa Gray serves as a Research Assistant in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Division of Health Sciences. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Otago in 2024, with a doctoral thesis titled 'Interaction between mood disorder and aging in emotion processing.' Prior to this, she conducted research leading to a 2013 thesis at the University of Canterbury titled 'Chronic use of three types of antidepressants and their effects on memory and anxiety in male and female rats.' Her academic background reflects a focus on psychological medicine, psychopharmacology, and clinical research methodologies. Gray's research specializations center on emotion processing in individuals with mood disorders such as depression and anxiety, particularly examining interactions with aging. She has explored these topics through systematic reviews and empirical studies, contributing to understanding cognitive and emotional deficits in older adults with mental health conditions.

Key publications include a systematic review on 'Emotion processing in depression and anxiety disorders in older adults,' published in BJPsych Open in 2021, which has garnered 59 citations. Another significant contribution is her involvement in the 2016 JAMA meta-analysis 'Comparison of clinical outcomes and adverse events associated with glucose-lowering drugs in patients with type 2 diabetes: a meta-analysis,' cited 581 times. Additional works encompass 'Drug-, dose-and sex-dependent effects of chronic fluoxetine, reboxetine and venlafaxine on open-field behavior and spatial memory in rats' in Behavioural Brain Research (2015, 54 citations), and 'The effect of age on emotion processing in individuals with mood disorders and in healthy individuals' in Frontiers in Psychology (2024, 5 citations). She has also published on topics such as indigenous health outcomes in dialysis registries (Nephrology, 2017) and non-pharmacological interventions for adherence in end-stage kidney disease (Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2017). Gray's research demonstrates impact through citations exceeding 700 across diverse fields including psychiatry, pharmacology, and nephrology. Her work at the University of Otago, Christchurch, supports ongoing investigations into mood disorders and aging.