Mood disorders are very different from person to person, which makes it hard to find the right treatment. My research focuses on a particular subtype of mood disorder that seems to be linked to problems with the circadian rhythm, our body’s internal 24-hour clock. People with this “circadian type” of depression appear to have unique genetic risk patterns and often don’t respond as well to standard antidepressants.

Dr Emiliana Tonini is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Brain and Mind Centre at the University of Sydney. Her research focuses on...