Research program · Melbourne, Australia

Precision tools for brain circuit therapeutics.

I lead a translational research program using personalised brain stimulation and neuroimaging to understand, target and recalibrate the circuits disrupted in addiction and related disorders.

Explore the program View clinical trials

Neurostimulation LeadTurner Institute for Brain and Mental Health

Theme LeaderMonash Addiction Research Centre

Research logic

MapCircuit signature

TargetMatched intervention

TranslateMeasurable change

THE PROGRAMOne clear path from discovery to clinical impact.

The research program

Discover the circuit. Match the intervention. Measure the change.

Research leadDan FehringNeurostimulation Lead · Turner Institute

Addiction is not one circuit problem. The same diagnosis can reflect different patterns of disrupted control, reward and interoception. My program turns that variability into a treatment strategy.

We combine causal neuroscience, advanced imaging and rapid clinical trials to move from broad, one-size-fits-all stimulation towards interventions matched to the person and the circuit.

Map

Identify individual circuit signatures using functional MRI, spectroscopy and computational modelling.

Effective connectivity · Neurochemistry · Behaviour

Target

Select the region, direction and technology most likely to alter the disrupted circuit.

Deep TMS · Focused ultrasound · tDCS

Translate

Test rapid interventions against clinical, cognitive and biological outcomes that matter.

Clinical trials · Biomarkers · Real-world change

From cellular mechanism to clinical application. The program connects foundational work with international partners at RIKEN Center for Brain Science to clinical translation at Monash.

View Monash profile

Clinical trial portfolio

One platform, multiple routes to circuit change.

Each study asks a practical question: who should receive which intervention, at which target, and in which direction?

Lead program · Phase 2 Clinical trial

Personalised deep TMS + fMRI

Alcohol use disorder

A double-blind, sham-controlled umbrella trial testing whether connectivity-defined biotypes can guide stimulation of lateral or medial prefrontal circuits.

160 participantsRapid 5-day intervention90-day follow-up

Read the published protocol

Multi-centre SMART trial02

TailorED · Personalised treatment + TMS

Bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder

TailorED adapts treatment to early response. For non-rapid responders, one pathway combines motivational interviewing, cognitive training and learning-enhanced TMS.

Prospectively registeredAdaptive design

View ANZCTR registration

Phase 2 · Recruiting03

Path-OUD · Psilocybin-assisted therapy

Opioid use disorder

A controlled study testing whether psilocybin-assisted therapy can reduce non-prescribed opioid use, improve treatment adherence and alter brain function.

Double-blindfMRI + cognition

Visit the Path-OUD study

A portfolio designed to scale

Across these studies, a shared approach connects clinical phenotyping, targeted intervention and longer-term outcomes. This creates reusable infrastructure for new collaborations while keeping every program anchored to a specific clinical need.

Selected publications

Evidence across the translational arc.

Selected first-author work spanning cellular mechanisms, clinical trial design and human neuroimaging.

Brain2024Research article

Direct current stimulation modulates prefrontal cell activity and behaviour without inducing seizure-like firing

Mechanistic evidence showing where, when and how non-invasive stimulation changes task-specific neuronal activity and behaviour.

Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications2025Trial protocol

Trialing addiction neurocircuitry targets and directionality of brain stimulation effects

A framework for using deep TMS and fMRI to test competing circuit targets in alcohol use disorder.

Scientific Reports2025Research article

Changes in prefrontal hemodynamics and mood states during screen use

Evidence that different forms of screen use produce distinct, measurable patterns of prefrontal activity and subjective focus.

Collaborate or support

Let's build the next study.

I welcome conversations with research collaborators, clinical partners, technology teams and supporters interested in advancing precise, evidence-led brain interventions.

daniel.fehring@monash.edu