Dr Cathy Franklin
Director
Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mater Research Institute-UQ
+61 7 3163 2412
Researcher biography
Dr Cathy Franklin completed her medical and then psychiatric training in Queensland in 2004, followed by a Certificate of Advanced Training in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry in 2006 and a Research Masters degree in the same area in 2008. Cathy worked in the United Kingdom from 2004-2005, and it was there that she gained clinical experience in Intellectual Disability Psychiatry, working as the Consultant Psychiatrist for a Community Learning Disability Team. After returning to Australia, Cathy began a part-time position with QCIDD in 2006 that included clinical work, supervising a Psychiatry Registrar and teaching. She has presented at several different conferences and meetings including several times at the Bi-National RANZCP Congress. She is a committee member of the RANZCP Section of Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability and organises meetings in Queensland. In 2015 Cathy continues this work and has increased her hours at QCIDD to include some research time. She has been appointed as an SMO with Mater Health Services in June 2015 and also as a Senior Research Fellow with Mater Research Institute - UQ in July 2015.
Cathy sees adult patients with intellectual or developmental disability at the QCIDD clinic at the Mater Health Services Young Adult Health Centre Brisbane.
Cathy is currently co-investigator on the research project “Brain network connectivity in ASD subjects” (Principal Investigator: Professor Linda Richards, Queensland Brain Institute). This is a pilot trial (n=30) comparing brain connectivity (using MRI) and neuropsychological and psychiatric correlates in people with ASD compared to the general population. Cathy is also associated with a current research project "Attitudes of psychiatrists to intellectual disability and the concept of chemical restraint" (Principal Investigator Dr Niki Edwards, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Queensland University of Technology).
Cathy has a firm commitment to improving mental health and quality of life for adults with intellectual disability through her research and clinical practice.
Book Chapters
Franklin, Catherine (2023). Forensic Aspects of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: An Australasian Perspective. Forensic Aspects of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Forensic Aspects of Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Clinician's Guide. (pp. 277-299) edited by Jane M. McCarthy, Regi T. Alexander and Eddie Chaplin. Cambridge, United Kingdom: University of Cambridge. doi: 10.1017/9781108955522.023
Franklin, Catherine (2012). Psychiatric disorders: assessment. Management Guidelines: Developmental Disability. (pp. 143-151) edited by Susie Rogers. West Melbourne, Australia: Therapeutic Guidelines.
Journal Articles
Brooker, K. S., De Greef, R., Trollor, J. N., Franklin, C. S. and Weise, J. (2024). Intellectual disability healthcare in Australia: Progress , challenges, and future directions. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 21 (1) e12497. doi: 10.1111/jppi.12497
Santoro, Jonathan D., Khoshnood, Mellad M., Jafarpour, Saba, Nguyen, Lina, Boyd, Natalie K., Vogel, Benjamin N., Kammeyer, Ryan, Patel, Lina, Manning, Melanie A., Rachubinski, Angela L., Filipink, Robyn A., Baumer, Nicole T., Santoro, Stephanie L., Franklin, Catherine, Tamrazi, Benita, Yeom, Kristen W., Worley, Gordon, Espinosa, Joaquin M. and Rafii, Michael S. (2024). Neuroimaging abnormalities associated with immunotherapy responsiveness in Down syndrome regression disorder. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. doi: 10.1002/acn3.52023
Ware, Robert S., Franklin, Catherine, McPherson, Lyn and Lennox, Nicholas G. (2024). Health checks for people with down syndrome: a pooled analysis of three randomized controlled trials. Disabilities, 4 (1), 101-110. doi: 10.3390/disabilities4010007
Edwards, Nicole, Franklin, Catherine, king, Julie and Watling, Hanna (2024). Australian psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists’ perceptions of chemical restraint of adults with intellectual disability. Journal of Mental Health Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 17 (1), 65-77. doi: 10.1080/19315864.2023.2192689
Santoro, Jonathan D, Spinazzi, Noemi A, Filipink, Robyn A, Hayati-Rezvan, Panteha, Kammeyer, Ryan, Patel, Lina, Sannar, Elise A, Dwyer, Luke, Banerjee, Abhik K, Khoshnood, Mellad, Jafarpour, Saba, Boyd, Natalie K, Partridge, Rebecca, Gombolay, Grace Y, Christy, Alison L, Real de Asua, Diego, Del Carmen Ortega, Maria, Manning, Melanie A, Van Mater, Heather, Worley, Gordan, Franklin, Cathy, Stanley, Maria A, Brown, Ruth, Capone, George T, Quinn, Eileen A and Rafii, Michael S (2023). Immunotherapy responsiveness and risk of relapse in Down syndrome regression disorder. Translational Psychiatry, 13 (1) 276, 276. doi: 10.1038/s41398-023-02579-z
Oreskovic, Nicolas M., Baumer, Nicole T., Di Camillo, Chiara, Cornachia, Michelle, Franklin, Catherine, Hart, Sarah J., Kishnani, Priya S., McCormick, Andrew, Milliken, Anna L., Patsiogiannis, Vasiliki, Pawlowski, Katherine G., Santoro, Stephanie L., Sargado, Sabrina, Scoppola, Vittorio, Torres, Amy, Valentini, Diletta, Vellody, Kishore, Villani, Alberto and Skotko, Brian G. (2023). Cardiometabolic profiles in children and adults with overweight and obesity and down syndrome. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part A, 191 (3), 813-822. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.63088
Santoro, Stephanie L., Baumer, Nicole T., Cornacchia, Michelle, Franklin, Catherine, Hart, Sarah J., Haugen, Kelsey, Hojlo, Margaret A., Horick, Nora, Kishnani, Priya S., Krell, Kavita, McCormick, Andrew, Milliken, Anna L., Oreskovic, Nicolas M., Pawlowski, Katherine G., Sargado, Sabrina, Torres, Amy, Valentini, Diletta, Vellody, Kishore and Skotko, Brian G. (2023). Response to Letter to the Editor by Palffy and Ghaziuddin. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A, 191 (5), 1470-1473. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.63116
Santoro, Stephanie L., Baumer, Nicole T., Cornacchia, Michelle, Franklin, Catherine, Hart, Sarah J., Haugen, Kelsey, Hojlo, Margaret A., Horick, Nora, Kishnani, Priya S., Krell, Kavita, McCormick, Andrew, Milliken, Anna L., Oreskovic, Nicolas M., Pawlowski, Katherine G., Sargado, Sabrina, Torres, Amy, Valentini, Diletta, Vellody, Kishore and Skotko, Brian G. (2022). Unexplained regression in Down syndrome: Management of 51 patients in an international patient database. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A, 188 (10), 3049-3062. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.62922
Flavell, Joshua, Franklin, Catherine and Nestor, Peter J. (2022). A systematic review of fragile X-associated neuropsychiatric disorders. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 35 (2), 110-120. doi: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21110282
Santoro, Jonathan D., Patel, Lina, Kammeyer, Ryan, Filipink, Robyn A., Gombolay, Grace Y., Cardinale, Kathleen M., Real de Asua, Diego, Zaman, Shahid, Santoro, Stephanie L., Marzouk, Sammer M., Khoshnood, Mellad, Vogel, Benjamin N., Tanna, Runi, Pagarkar, Dania, Dhanani, Sofia, Ortega, Maria del Carmen, Partridge, Rebecca, Stanley, Maria A., Sanders, Jessica S., Christy, Alison, Sannar, Elise M., Brown, Ruth, McCormick, Andrew A., Van Mater, Heather, Franklin, Cathy, Worley, Gordon, Quinn, Eileen A., Capone, George T., Chicoine, Brian ... Rafii, Michael S. (2022). Assessment and diagnosis of Down syndrome regression disorder: international expert consensus. Frontiers in Neurology, 13 940175, 940175. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2022.940175
Santoro, Stephanie L., Cannon, Sheila, Capone, George, Franklin, Cathy, Hart, Sarah J., Hobensack, Victoria, Kishnani, Priya S., Macklin, Eric A., Manickam, Kandamurugu, McCormick, Andrew, Nash, Patricia, Oreskovic, Nicolas M., Patsiogiannis, Vasiliki, Steingass, Katherine, Torres, Amy, Valentini, Diletta, Vellody, Kishore and Skotko, Brian G. (2019). Unexplained regression in Down syndrome: 35 cases from an international Down syndrome database. Genetics in Medicine, 22 (4), 767-776. doi: 10.1038/s41436-019-0706-8
White, Melissa and Franklin, Catherine (2018). Adult with autism spectrum disorder presenting with insidious onset of catatonia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52 (11), 1092-1093. doi: 10.1177/0004867418802898
Theodoratos, Oreste, McPherson, Lyn, Franklin, Catherine, Tonge, Bruce, Einfeld, Stewart, Lennox, Nicholas and Ware, Robert S. (2017). Psychopathology of adolescents with an intellectual disability who present to general hospital services. Australasian Psychiatry, 25 (5), 481-485. doi: 10.1177/1039856217706820
Trollor, Julian N., Salomon, Carmela and Franklin, Catherine (2016). Prescribing psychotropic drugs to adults with an intellectual disability. Australian Prescriber, 39 (4), 126-130. doi: 10.18773/austprescr.2016.048
Franklin, Cathy (2014). Obituary: Professor Gregory O'Brien (1955-2014). Australasian Psychiatry, 22 (6), 601-602. doi: 10.1177/1039856214558986c
Conference Papers
Franklin, C. S. (2023). Down Syndrome regression disorder. 25th SSBP International Research Symposium: Expanding a Global Perspective on Behavioural Phenotypes, Virtual, 14 – 15 September 2023. Hoboken, NJ, United States: Wiley.
Hagn, M. and Franklin, C. (2022). Intellectual and Developmental Disability in Mainstream Mental Health Services: Findings from a Complex Patient Cohort. RANZCP Congress 2022, Sydney, NSW Australia, 15-19 May 2022. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674221088686
Franklin, C. (2022). How can we build capacity for mainstream mental health services to better support people with intellectual and developmental disability? A review of interventions and methods of evaluation. RANZCP Congress 2022, Sydney, NSW Australia, 15-19 May 2022. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674221088686
Flavell, J., Franklin, C. and Nestor, P. (2022). Fragile X-Associated Neuropsychiatric Conditions (FXANC). RANZCP Congress 2022, Sydney, NSW Australia, 15-19 May 2022. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674221088686
Johnston, M. and Franklin, C. (2022). Treatment of Down Syndrome Regression Disorder with Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Case Series. RANZCP Congress 2022, Sydney, NSW Australia, 15-19 May 2022. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674221088686
McLorinan, C. and Franklin, C. (2021). Institutional Abuse Of People With Developmental Disability: How Do Carers Become Abusers?. RANZCP Congress 2021, Hobart, TAS Australia, 16-20 May 2021. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/00048674211004750
Franklin, C. and McAuliffe, J. (2021). Practice Changing Literature In Autism. RANZCP Congress 2021, Hobart, TAS Australia, 16-20 May 2021. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications. doi: 10.1177/0004867421100475
Franklin, C. and Shek, A. (2021). The National Disability Insurance Scheme And Developmental Disability In Mainstream Mental Health Services: The Queensland Experience. RANZCP Congress 2021, Hobart, TAS Australia, 16-20 May 2021. London, United Kingdom: SAGE Publications.
Franklin, C., Galstuch-Leon, J., Shek, A., White, M., White, A., Webster, A. and McLorinan, C. (2019). Chromosomes, Country, Catatonia and Contrasts: Intellectual Disability and
Autism in Queensland. RANZCP 2019 Congress, Cairns, QLD Australia, 12–16 May 2019. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Franklin, C. (2019). The Relevance of Genetics and Behavioural Phenotypes to Psychiatry. RANZCP 2019 Congress, Cairns, QLD Australia, 12–16 May 2019. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/0004867419836919
O'Connor, D., Bennett, C., Franklin, C., Livingstone, A. and Trollor, J. (2019). Re-building Capacity in the Psychiatry of Intellectual and Developmental Disability: An Australian Jurisdictional Perspective. RANZCP 2019 Congress, Cairns, QLD Australia, 12–16 May 2019. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Franklin, C., Bathgate, D., Starkstein, S. and Trollor, J. (2018). Autism Spectrum Disorder in Adults: An Update on Diagnosis, Neurological Comorbidities and the Ageing Process. RANZCP 2018 Congress, Auckland, New Zealand, 13-17 May 2018. London, United Kingdom: Sage.
Franklin, C. (2018). Autism in adulthood: What is the role of psychiatrist?. RANZCP 2018 Congress, Auckland, New Zealand, 13-17 May 2018. London, United Kingdom: Sage. doi: 10.1177/0004867418764980
Franklin, C. (2017). COMORBID MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS IN ADULTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER. LONDON: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD.
Zepf, F., Harrison, J., Richardson, C. and Franklin, C. S. (2017). Comorbidity in children and youth. RANZCP 2017 Congress, Adelaide, Australia, 30 April - 4 May 2017. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Franklin, C. (2017). Mental health in adolescents and adults with Down syndrome. RANZCP 2017 Congress, Adelaide, Australia, 30 April - 4 May 2017. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Franklin, C., Sellen, M. and Nicollet, C. (2017). Autism spectrum disorder in adulthood: essentials for psychiatrists. RANZCP 2017 Congress, Adelaide, Australia, 30 April - 4 May 2017. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications.
Franklin, C. (2015). Mental Health in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. LONDON: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD.
Franklin, C., Gattas, M., Dossetor, D. and Lennox, N. (2015). Autism spectrum disorder: Essentials for psychiatrists. RANZCP Congress 2015, Brisbane QLD Australia, 3-7 May 2015. London, United Kingdom: Sage.
d'Abrera, Carlos, Franklin, Catherine, O'Brien, Gregory and Trollor, Julian (2013). Psychiatric Illness and Behavioural Disorders in Adults with Autism: Essential Management Skills for the Psychiatrist. RANZCP 2013 Congress, Sydney, NSW Australia, 26 - 30 May 2013. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications Ltd.. doi: 10.1177/0004867412486854
Bennett, Chad, Lennox, Nick, Franklin, Catherine, Pridding, Andrew and O'Brien, Gregory (2012). Understanding and Managing Challenging Behaviour in People with Intellectual Disability. LONDON: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD.
Franklin, Catherine (2011). THE ASSESSMENT OF CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR IN PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY: A PRACTICAL GUIDE. NEW YORK: INFORMA HEALTHCARE.
Trollor, Julian, Franklin, Catherine, Townsend, Clare and O'Brien, Gregory (2011). Challenging Behaviour in People with Intellectual Disability: Essentials for the Psychiatrist. NEW YORK: INFORMA HEALTHCARE.
Research Reports
Franklin, Cathy , Brooker, Katie and Vinayagam, Ritwika (2022). Mater Intellectual Disability and Autism Service (MIDAS), Mater and the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability (QCIDD), Mater Research Institute-University of Queensland Joint submission to the Mental Health Select Committee. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: Queensland Parliment.
Brooker, Katie , Bradshaw, Pia , Franklin, Catherine and Urbanowicz, Anna (2022). Tools, strategies, and techniques developed to improve the health and wellbeing for autistic adults. Brisbane, Australia: Cooperation Research Centre for Living with Autism.
Brooker, Katie, Vinayagam, Ritwika and Franklin, Cathy (2021). Religious Freedom Bills Third Exposure Drafts submission by Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability. Canberra, ACT Australia: Parliament of Australia .