Philip Mitchell is an international authority in the fields of bipolar disorder and depression, with his major achievements spanning the breadth of genetics, phenomenology, treatment and epidemiology of these conditions. He has identified distinguishing clinical characteristics of bipolar depression, demonstrated specific differences in brain functioning of young people at risk to bipolar disorder, and has published the only two Australian national epidemiological reports on bipolar disorder.

As President of the Australasian Society for Bipolar and Depressive Disorders and Vice-President of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders, Mitchell is a leading discipline figure and a most worthy addition to the Fellowship.