Professor Anderson is a paediatric neuropsychologist, working across clinical, research and academic sectors. She is the Director of Psychology Services at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. she holds executive roles at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, including Director, Clinical Sciences Research and Clinical Lead of the Digital Health program. She is an Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne (Psychology & Pediatrics).
Her primary research and clinical interest focuses on improving outcomes from early childhood brain disorders. Her research team, Brain and Mind Research, has contributed to this field over 25 years, establishing the vulnerability of the young brain to injury and working to better understanding factors contributing to resilience and vulnerability in young children. Her recent work has built upon evidence for the importance of the family in maximising recovery from childhood injury and illness, and her team is exploring parent-focused e-health interventions as a means of maximising child outcomes and improving family function. Major translational achievements include: i) publication of the Test of Everyday Attention for Children, used by psychologists across the world; ii) development of easily accessed, low burden, e-health approaches to parent-focused psychosocial treatments as a means of maximising child outcomes and improving family function; iii) development of a novel, comprehensive iPad delivered assessment tool for social competence (PEERs: patent pending); iv) digital health tools for monitoring child post concussion symptoms (endorsed in a partnership with the Australian Football league); and v) authorship of the first-ever international paediatric sports concussion guidelines of the International Consensus on Sports Concussion.
Professor Anderson has 547 peer reviewed publications, 6 books, and $44 million in competitive research funds to her credit. She is Associate Editor of the APA journal ‘Neuropsychology’ and the British Psychological Society ‘Journal of Neuropsychology’. She has received a number of honours for her accomplishments: First Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology in Australia (2002), Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia, fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, and founding fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Scientists. She is a founding board member of the International Paediatric Brain Injury Society, president of the Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment and past president of the International Neuropsychological Society. She is a member of Research Advisory Committees of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the Queensland Children’s Hospital Foundation, Member of Expert Reference Group, National Collaboration Network for Children’s Health Information, Australian Digital Health Agency. She has held Australian National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Senior Practitioner Fellowships (2009-2019) and Investigator Fellowship (2022-2026).
Professor Anderson is a paediatric neuropsychologist, working across clinical, research and academic sectors. She is the Director of Psychology Services at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. she holds executive roles at the...
Professor Anderson is a paediatric neuropsychologist, working across clinical, research and academic sectors. She is the Director of Psychology Services at The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. she holds executive roles at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, including Director, Clinical Sciences Research and Clinical Lead of the Digital Health program. She is an Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne (Psychology & Pediatrics).
Her primary research and clinical interest focuses on improving outcomes from early childhood brain disorders. Her research team, Brain and Mind Research, has contributed to this field over 25 years, establishing the vulnerability of the young brain to injury and working to better understanding factors contributing to resilience and vulnerability in young children. Her recent work has built upon evidence for the importance of the family in maximising recovery from childhood injury and illness, and her team is exploring parent-focused e-health interventions as a means of maximising child outcomes and improving family function. Major translational achievements include: i) publication of the Test of Everyday Attention for Children, used by psychologists across the world; ii) development of easily accessed, low burden, e-health approaches to parent-focused psychosocial treatments as a means of maximising child outcomes and improving family function; iii) development of a novel, comprehensive iPad delivered assessment tool for social competence (PEERs: patent pending); iv) digital health tools for monitoring child post concussion symptoms (endorsed in a partnership with the Australian Football league); and v) authorship of the first-ever international paediatric sports concussion guidelines of the International Consensus on Sports Concussion.
Professor Anderson has 547 peer reviewed publications, 6 books, and $44 million in competitive research funds to her credit. She is Associate Editor of the APA journal ‘Neuropsychology’ and the British Psychological Society ‘Journal of Neuropsychology’. She has received a number of honours for her accomplishments: First Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology in Australia (2002), Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia, fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, and founding fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Scientists. She is a founding board member of the International Paediatric Brain Injury Society, president of the Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment and past president of the International Neuropsychological Society. She is a member of Research Advisory Committees of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the Queensland Children’s Hospital Foundation, Member of Expert Reference Group, National Collaboration Network for Children’s Health Information, Australian Digital Health Agency. She has held Australian National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Senior Practitioner Fellowships (2009-2019) and Investigator Fellowship (2022-2026).
Top Publications
Knight, SJ, Anderson, VA, Spencer-Smith, MM, Da Costa, AC.
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Infants and Children With Single-Suture Craniosynostosis: A Systematic Review.
Developmental Neuropsychology
39(3)
:
159 -186
2014
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Anderson, VA, Spencer‐Smith, MM, Coleman, L, Anderson, PJ, Greenham, M, Jacobs, R, Lee, KJ, Leventer, RJ.
Predicting neurocognitive and behavioural outcome after early brain insult.
Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology
56(4)
:
329 -336
2014
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Ryan, NP, Anderson, V, Godfrey, C, Beauchamp, MH, Coleman, L, Eren, S, Rosema, S, Taylor, K, Catroppa, C.
Predictors of Very-Long-Term Sociocognitive Function after Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Evidence for the Vulnerability of the Immature “Social Brain”.
Journal of Neurotrauma
31(7)
:
649 -657
2014
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Molloy, CS, Wilson-Ching, M, Doyle, LW, Anderson, VA, Anderson, PJ.
Visual Memory and Learning in Extremely Low-Birth-Weight/Extremely Preterm Adolescents Compared With Controls: A Geographic Study.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology
39(3)
:
316 -331
2014
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Burke, K, Muscara, F, McCarthy, M, Dimovski, A, Hearps, S, Anderson, V, Walser, R.
Adapting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Parents of Children With Life-Threatening Illness: Pilot Study.
Families Systems & Health
32(1)
:
122 -127
2014
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