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Dr Arthur Montalto

Dr Arthur Montalto

Research Associate

Ph.D. in psychology at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), University of New South Wales (Â鶹Éçmadou), Australia.
M.Sc. in neuroscience at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland.
B.Sc. in biological and environmental sciences at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), Canada.

Medicine & Health
School of Population Health

I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Justice Health Research Program within the School of Population Health at Â鶹Éçmadou. I completed my PhD in Psychology at Â鶹Éçmadou, where I investigated the neural correlates of cognitive function, resilience, and wellbeing using advanced structural and functional MRI techniques in twin participants.

My research focuses on mental health and neuroscience, with an emphasis on marginalised populations, including justice-involved individuals. I aim to understand the social, psychological, and biological factors that shape cognitive functioning and wellbeing, employing methods such as neuroimaging, data analytics, and public health research. This includes examining physical and cognitive health and frailty among older incarcerated individuals to inform and develop evidence-based approaches for improving health screenings, health outcomes, and rehabilitation.

In addition to research, I am passionate about teaching and have delivered lectures and tutorials for courses such as PSYC3202 Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, CRIM3022 Public Health and Corrections, and PSYC3011 Research and Applications of Psychology. I am also a member of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) and the Â鶹Éçmadou Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC C).
E-mail
a.montalto@unsw.edu.au
Location
Samuels Building, Level 2
  • Journal articles | 2024
    Park HRP; Chilver MR; Quidé Y; Montalto A; Schofield PR; Williams LM; Gatt JM; Quide Y, 2024, 'Heritability of cognitive and emotion processing during functional MRI in a twin sample', Human Brain Mapping, 45,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Montalto A; Park HRP; Williams LM; Korgaonkar MS; Chilver MR; Jamshidi J; Schofield PR; Gatt JM, 2023, 'Negative association between anterior insula activation and resilience during sustained attention: An fMRI twin study', Psychological Medicine, 53, pp. 3187 - 3199,
    Journal articles | 2023
    Park HRP; Chilver MR; Montalto A; Jamshidi J; Schofield PR; Williams LM; Gatt JM, 2023, 'Associations between mental wellbeing and fMRI neural bases underlying responses to positive emotion in a twin sample', Psychological Medicine, 53, pp. 1215 - 1223,
    Journal articles | 2022
    Jamshidi J; Park HRP; Montalto A; Fullerton JM; Gatt JM, 2022, 'Wellbeing and brain structure: A comprehensive phenotypic and genetic study of image-derived phenotypes in the UK Biobank', Human Brain Mapping, 43, pp. 5180 - 5193,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Gatt J; Chilver M; Champaigne-Klassen E; Park H; Jamshidi J; Montalto A; Schofield P; Williams LM, 2021, 'Predictors of Wellbeing and Wellbeing Change Over a 12-Month Period in 1,327 Twins', Biological Psychiatry, 89, pp. S315 - S316,
    Journal articles | 2021
    Montalto A; Park HRP; Williams LM; Korgaonkar MS; Chilver MR; Jamshidi J; Schofield P; Gatt JM, 2021, 'Negative Association Between the Bilateral Anterior Insula and Resilience During a Continuous Performance Task: An fMRI Twin Study', BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY, 89, pp. S175 - S176,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Chilver MR; Keller AS; Park HRP; Jamshidi J; Montalto A; Schofield PR; Clark CR; Harmon-Jones E; Williams LM; Gatt JM, 2020, 'Electroencephalography profiles as a biomarker of wellbeing: A twin study', Journal of Psychiatric Research, 126, pp. 114 - 121,
    Journal articles | 2020
    Jamshidi J; Williams LM; Schofield PR; Park HRP; Montalto A; Chilver MR; Bryant RA; Toma C; Fullerton JM; Gatt JM, 2020, 'Diverse phenotypic measurements of wellbeing: Heritability, temporal stability and the variance explained by polygenic scores', Genes, Brain and Behavior, 19, pp. e12694,
  • Conference Abstracts | 2021
    Chilver M; Keller AS; Park H; Jamshidi J; Montalto A; Schofield P; Clark R; Harmon-Jones E; Williams L; Gatt J, 2021, 'Distinct Electrophysiological Markers of Mental Wellbeing and Mental Illness Symptoms in 422 Healthy Adults', in BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY, ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC, Vol. 89, pp. S163 - S164,
    Conference Abstracts | 2021
    Montalto A; Park HRP; Williams LM; Korgaonkar MS; Chilver MR; Jamshidi J; Schofield P; Gatt JM, 2021, 'Negative Association Between the Bilateral Anterior Insula and Resilience During a Continuous Performance Task: An fMRI Twin Study', in Negative Association Between the Bilateral Anterior Insula and Resilience During a Continuous Performance Task: An fMRI Twin Study, Elsevier, Vol. 89, pp. S175 - S176, presented at Biological Psychiatry,
    Conference Abstracts | 2019
    Gatt J; Chilver M; Jamshidi J; Montalto A; Schofield P; Williams L, 2019, 'Neuropsychological correlates of wellbeing using a twin design', in Behavior Genetics, Springer (part of Springer Nature), Stockholm, Vol. 49, pp. 509 - 510, presented at Behavior Genetics Association, Stockholm
    Conference Abstracts | 2019
    Jamshidi J; Montalto A; Chilver M; Toma C; Schofield PR; Williams L; Fullerton J; Gatt J, 2019, 'Genetic factors influencing quantitative measures of subjective and psychological wellbeing using the COMPAS-W scale in a healthy Australian twin cohort', in Behavior Genetics, Stockholm, Vol. 49, pp. 511 - 511, presented at Behavior Genetics Association, Stockholm

NHMRC Clinical Trials and Cohorts Study ($2,907,874.25, Associate Investigator): A-PLUS - The Ageing in Prison Longitudinal Study: health and frailty trajectories of older people in prison (2024-2029).

NHMRC Ideas Grants 2021 ($844,050, Associate Investigator): ASCAPE - Audio App-delivered Screening for Cognition and Age-related Health in Older Prisoners (2021-2023 - extended)

AOD Hub Grant in response to the Ice Inquiry, NSW Government (Ministry of Health), Sydney, Australia ($4,000,000) (2024). Obtained as a Project and Grant Advisor/Writer at St Vincent de Paul Society NSW.

Aged Care Capital Assistance Program Thin Markets, Australian Government (Department of Health and Aged Care), Sydney, Australia ($10,000,000) (2024). Obtained as a Project and Grant Advisor/Writer at St Vincent de Paul Society NSW.

2022 HDR Completion scholarship from the University of New South Wales (Â鶹Éçmadou), Sydney, Australia ($15,000).
2019 Travel Grant from Twins Research Australia (TRA), Melbourne, Australia ($500).
2019 Top-up Scholarship from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Sydney, Australia ($20,000).
2018 Tuition Fee (plus stipend) Scholarship from the University of New South Wales (Â鶹Éçmadou), Sydney, Australia.

I'm currently contributing to multiple research projects aimed at improving health and cognitive outcomes for justice-involved individuals and older adults. These include:

The Aging in Prison Longitudinal Study (A-PLUS), where I'm involved in the study design, research ethics processes, data collection across NSW prisons, and data analysis. This study aims to provide critical evidence on the health needs and impacts of incarceration on older prisoners, addressing knowledge gaps to inform policy and practice.

The ASCAPE project which aims to create a culturally and technically suitable digital tool (an app that can be delivered on a tablet) to enhance the screening and collection of health-related information from people in prison and improve detection of their age-related health needs.

The ReINVEST study, outcomes of a randomised, placebo-controlled trial investigating the potential of sertraline to reduce recidivism among impulsive, violent men.

My doctoral research focused on the TWIN-E and TWIN-10 studies, where I explored the neural mechanisms underlying the associations between cognitive function, resilience, and wellbeing using functional MRI techniques, as well as the influence of genetics vs environmental factors on these associations. 

I am a member of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) and the Â鶹Éçmadou Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC C).

My Teaching

I'm passionate about teaching subjects related to neuroscience, psychology, and public health, with a particular focus on neuroimaging, cognitive functions, and mental health. I have taught elements of PSYC3202 Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, CRIM3022 Public Health and Corrections, PSYC3011 Research and Applications of Psychology at Â鶹Éçmadou, as well as PSYU3337 Psychopathology, and PSYU2236 Biopsychology and Learning at Macquarie University.