Dr Arvie Rodriguez Abiero

Project Manager

Qualifications:

PhD (Neuroscience), University of Technology Sydney - Australia, 2024; Master of Science (Neuropharmacology), Sahmyook University – South Korea, 2019; Exchange Program, University of Shizuoka – Japan, 2016; Bachelor of Science, Philippines, 2011

Location:

Darwin – Royal Darwin Hospital

Biography:

Arvie Rodriguez Abiero is the Project Manager for the Communicate Study Partnership within the Global and Tropical Health Division, a collaborative initiative working alongside communities to strengthen cultural safety and intercultural communication in healthcare to improve health outcomes for First Nations patients. Born and raised in the Philippines, Arvie holds a PhD in Neuroscience and has worked as a scientist across multiple institutions, managing complex, multi-site projects in academic, pre-clinical, and translational research settings. His experience spans the University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney, University of Newcastle, and the University of New South Wales, as well as affiliated research institutes in Australia, South Korea, and the Philippines, with a strong focus on mental health and neuroscience.

Arvie has published 16+ peer-reviewed articles and has received multiple international awards. A long-standing advocate for mental health awareness, equity, diversity, and inclusion, his work is informed by his lived experience as a Filipino scholar across the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Australia. He has promoted inclusive research practices, mentored students from culturally diverse backgrounds with an emphasis on respect, co-learning, and cultural humility, and delivered community-focused science communication talks in multiple languages. The mission of the Communicate Study Partnership strongly aligns with his commitment to equitable health systems, cultural safety, and community-engaged research.

Dr Arvie Rodriguez Abiero
Email
Research Themes
  1. Abiero, A. R., Gladding, J. M., Iredale, J. A., Drury, H. R., Manning, E. E., Dayas, C. V., Dhungana, A., Ganesan, K., Turner, K., Becchi, S., Kendi, M.D., Nolan, C., Balleine, B., Castorina, A., Cole, L., Clemens, K.J., & Bradfield, L. A. (2025). Dorsomedial striatal neuroinflammation causes excessive goal-directed action control by disrupting astrocyte function. Neuropsychopharmacology, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-025-02247-4
  2. Abiero, A., Taira, M., & Sharpe, M. (2024). Context learning: Dividing up the camp. Current Biology, 34(1), R16-R18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.051
  3. Abiero, A. R., Ali, Z., Vissel, B., & Bradfield, L. A. (2022). Outcome-selective reinstatement is predominantly context-independent, and associated with c-Fos activation in the posterior dorsomedial striatum. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 107556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107556
  4. Abiero, A. R., & Bradfield, L. A. (2021). The contextual regulation of goal-directed actions. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 41, 57-62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2021.03.022
  5. Abiero, A., Custodio, R. J. P., Botanas, C. J., Ortiz, D. M., Sayson, L. V., Kim, M., Lee, H. J., Yoon, S., Lee, Y. S., Cheong, J.H., & Kim, H. J. (2021). 1-Phenylcyclohexan-1-amine hydrochloride (PCA HCl) alters mesolimbic dopamine system accompanied by neuroplastic changes: A neuropsychopharmacological evaluation in rodents. Neurochemistry International, 144, 104962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2021.104962
  6. Abiero, A., Botanas, C. J., Custodio, R. J., Sayson, L. V., Kim, M., Lee, H. J., Kim, H. J., Lee, K. W., Jeong, Y., Seo, J. W., Ryu, I. S., Lee, Y. S., & Cheong, J. H. (2020). 4-MeO-PCP and 3-MeO-PCMo, new dissociative drugs, produce rewarding and reinforcing effects through activation of mesolimbic dopamine pathway and alteration of accumbal CREB, deltaFosB, and BDNF levels. Psychopharmacology, 237(3), 757-772. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-019-05412-y
  7. Abiero, A., Ryu, I. S., Botanas, C. J., Custodio, R. J. P., Sayson, L. V., Kim, M., Lee, H. J., Kim, H. J., Seo, J. W., Cho, M. C., Lee, K. W., Yoo, S. Y., Jang, C. G., Lee, Y. S., & Cheong, J. H. (2019). Four Novel Synthetic Tryptamine Analogs Induce Head-Twitch Responses and Increase 5-HTR2a in the Prefrontal Cortex in Mice. Biomolecules & therapeutics, 28(1), 83. https://doi.org/10.4062/biomolther.2019.049
  8. Abiero, A., Botanas, C. J., Sayson, L. V., Custodio, R. J., de la Peña, J. B., Kim, M., Lee, H. J., Seo, J. W., Ryu, I. S., Cho, M. C., Yang, J. S., Lee, Y. S., Jang, C. G., Kim, H. J., & Cheong, J. H. (2019). 5-Methoxy-α-methyltryptamine (5-MeO-AMT), a tryptamine derivative, induces head-twitch responses in mice through the activation of serotonin receptor 2a in the prefrontal cortex. Behavioural brain research, 359, 828-835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2018.07.020
  9. Ganesan, K., Ghorbanpour, S., Kendall, W., Broome, S.T., Gladding, J.M., Dhungana, A., Abiero, A., Mahmoudi, M., Castorina, A., Kendig, M.D., Becchi, S., Valova, V., Cole, L., & Bradfield, L. A. (2025). Hippocampal neuroinflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide causes sex-specific disruptions in action selection, food approach memories, and neuronal activation. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 124, 9-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2024.11.011
  10. Custodio, R. J., Sayson, L. V., Botanas, C. J., Abiero, A., You, K. Y.,  Kim, M., Lee, H. J., Yoo, S. Y., Lee, K. W., Lee, Y. S., Seo, J. W., Ryu, I. S., Kim, H. J.,  & Cheong, J. H. (2019). 25B-NBOMe, a novel N-2-methoxybenzyl-phenethylamine (NBOMe) derivative, may induce rewarding and reinforcing effects via a dopaminergic mechanism: Evidence of abuse potential. Addiction biology, 25(6), e12850. https://doi.org/10.1111/adb.12850