October Seminar 2026
From me to you and beyond: Understanding the social transmission of nocebo effects and how to prevent them.
Speaker: Prof Ben Colagiuri
8 October 2026
From me to you and beyond: Understanding the social transmission of nocebo effects and how to prevent them.
Bio: Ben Colagiuri is Co-Director, Discovery and Translation, of the Brain and Mind Centre and Professor of Psychology at the University of Sydney. His research explores how expectancies influence human behaviour, with a specific interest in placebo and nocebo effects. To date, he has developed a number of novel experimental models to uncover the mechanisms of placebo and nocebo effects for pain, sleep, nausea, and related conditions. He has also been awarded more than $7 million in competitive research funding, including multiple Australian Research Council Discovery Grants, published over 120 scientific papers, and received national and international recognition for his research, including the International Association for the Study of Pain Patrick D Wall Young Investigator Prize 2024. His current research explores how knowledge about placebo and nocebo effects could be used ethically to improve patient outcomes.