Our people

Dr Izelle Labuschagne

Senior Research Fellow
Social Cognitive Neuroscience

Areas of expertise: social cognition; social neuroscience; neuropsychopharmacology; oxytocin; stress; amygdala; fMRI; social anxiety; emotion; mental health; ageing

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: Full

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1590-0947

Phone: +61 9953 3816

Email: izelle.labuschagne@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU Melbourne Campus

I am a neuroscientist and a Research Fellow in the Healthy Brain and Mind Research Centre within the School of Behavioural and Health Sciences. I attained my PhD from Monash University in the field of clinical neuroscience in 2011. I also obtained accredited training in psychology from Monash University and at the Swinburne University of Technology.

My research interests are in understanding social cognitive and emotional processes in humans, and in particular, how mental health conditions and ageing affect these processes. My research incorporates a variety of neuroscience equipment (such as MRI, EEG, DTI, EMG, tDCS and fNIRS), statistical software, computer interfaces, cognitive assessments, and neuropsychopharmacological manipulations. I have extensive experience working in drug administration research studies involving randomised double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials in humans - this has involved agents such as antidepressants (SSRIs), serotonergic precursors (tryptophan), and more recently neuropeptides (oxytocin) in healthy young and older cohorts as well as clinical cohorts such as Social Anxiety Disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, and Huntington’s disease. I have also worked in industry (sponsored) clinical trials in Huntington's disease cohorts. I am therefore experienced in various operating procedures for clinical trials including drug blinding and randomisation procedures, monitoring, Human Research Ethics Committee applications, clinical trials registries (e.g., ANZCTR), Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) applications, Good Clinical Practice (GCP), as well as dealing with stakeholders.

Overall, with my research I strive to understand the neurobiological and neuropharmacological mechanisms implicated in dysfunctional social cognitive and emotional processes in humans, with an aim to improve quality of life and develop more refined treatment options for mental health conditions.

VISIT: Google Scholar | Researchgate | Twitter

Select publications

Peer-reviewed articles (underline denotes students)

• Grace, S., Rossetti, M. G., Allen, N. B., Batalla, A., Bellani, M., Brambilla, P., Chye, Y., Cousijn, J., Goudriaan,A., Hester, R., Hutchison, K., Labuschagne, I., Momenan, R., Martin-Santos, R., Rendell, R., Solowij, N., Sinha, R., Schmaal, L., Sjoerds, Z., Suo, C., Terrett, G., van Holst, R., Veltman, D., Yucel, M., Thompson, P., Conrod, P., Mackey, S., Garavan, H., and Lorenzetti, V. (in press). Sex differences in the neuroanatomy of alcohol dependence: hippocampus and amygdala subregions in a sample of 966 people from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group. Translational Psychiatry. Accepted 27 October 2020.
• Hayes, G. S., McLennan, S. N., Henry, J. D., Phillips, L. H., Terrett, G., Rendell, P. G., Pelly, R. M., Labuschagne, I. (2020). Task characteristics influence emotion recognition age-effects: A meta-analytic review. Psychology and Aging, 35, 295-315. DOI: 1037/pag0000441
• Rossell, S. L., Labuschagne, I., Castle, D., Toh W. L. (2020). Delusional themes in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD): Comparisons with psychotic disorders and non-clinical controls. Psychiatry Research, 284:112694. DOI: 1016/j.psychres.2019.112694
• Labuschagne I., Pedder D. J., Henry, J. D., Terrett, G., Rendell, P. G. (2020). Age differences in emotion regulation and facial muscle reactivity to emotional films. Gerontology, 66, 74-84. DOI: 1159/000501584
• Labuschagne, I., Grace, C., Rendell, P., Terrett, G., Heinrichs, M. (2019). An introductory guide to conducting the Trier Social Stress Test. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 107, 686-695. DOI: 1016/j.neubiorev.2019.09.032
• Grace, S., Labuschagne, I., Castle, D. J., Rossell, S. L. (2019). Intranasal oxytocin alters amygdala-temporal resting-state functional connectivity in body dysmorphic disorder: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 107, 179-186. DOI: 1016/j.psyneuen.2019.05.022
• Osborne-Crowley, K., Andrews, S. C., Labuschagne, I., Craufurd, D., Tabrizi, S. J., Stout, J.C., and the Track-HD Investigators. (2019). Apathy associated with impaired recognition of happy facial expressions in Huntington’s disease. J Int Neuropsychology Society, 25, 453-461. DOI: 1017/s1355617718001224
• Terrett, G., Horner, K., White, R., Henry, J. D., Labuschagne, I., Kliegel, M., Rendell, P. G. (2019). The relationship between episodic future thinking and prospective memory in middle childhood: mechanisms depends on task type. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 178, 198-213. DOI: 1016/j.jecp.2018.10.003
• Malcom, A., Labuschagne, I., Castle, D., Terrett, G., Rendell, P. G., Rossell, S.L. (2018). The relationship between body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder: A systematic review of direct comparative studies. Australian New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 1030-1049. DOI: 1177/0004867418799925
• Uljarević, M., Labuschagne, I., Bobin, R., Atkinson, A., Hocking, D. R. (2018). Brief report: The impact of sensory hypersensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty on anxiety in Williams syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder, 48, 3958-3964. DOI: 1007/s10803-018-3631-9
• Grace, S. A., Rossell, S.L., Heinrichs, M., Kordsachia, C., Labuschagne, I. (2018). Oxytocin and brain activity in humans: a systematic review and coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional MRI studies. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 96, 6-24. DOI: 1016/j.psyneuen.2018.05.031
• Kordsachia, C., Labuschagne, I., Andrews, S. C., Stout, J. C. (2018). Diminished facial EMG responses to disgusting scenes and happy and fearful faces in Huntington’s disease. Cortex, 106, 185-199. DOI: 1016/j.cortex.2018.05.019
• Grainger, S., Henry, J. D., Steinvik, H. R., Vanman, E. J., Rendell, P. G., Labuschagne, I. (2018). Intranasal oxytocin does not reduce age-related difficulties in social cognition. Hormones & Behavior, 99, 25-34. DOI: 1016/j.yhbeh.2018.01.009
• Labuschagne, I., Poudel, G., Kordsachia, C., Wu, Q., Thomson, H., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Stout, J. C. (2018). Oxytocin selectively modulates brain processing of disgust in Huntington’s disease gene carriers. Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 81, 11-16. DOI: 1016/j.pnpbp.2017.09.023
• Tracy, L., Gibson, S., Labuschagne, I., Georgiou-Karistianis, N., Giummarra, M. (2018). Intranasal oxytocin reduces heart rate variability during a mental arithmetic task: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study. Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, 81, 408-415. DOI: 1016/j.pnpbp.2017.08.016
• Biernacki, K., Terrett, G., McLennan, S. N., Labuschagne, I., Morton, P., Rendell, P. G (2018). Decision making, somatic markers and emotion processing in opiate users. Psychopharmacology, 235, 223-232. DOI: 1007/s00213-017-4760-0
• Kordsachia, C. C.,Labuschagne I., Stout, J. C. (2018). Visual scanning of the eye regions of human faces predicts emotion recognition performance in Huntington’s disease. Neuropsychology, 32, 356-365. DOI: 1037/neu0000424
• Grace, S. A., Labuschagne, I., Kaplan, R. A., Rossell, S. L. (2017). The neurobiology of body dysmorphic disorder: a systematic review and theoretical model. Neurosc & Biobehav Reviews, 83, 83-96. DOI: 1016/j.neubiorev.2017.10.003
• Jona, C.M.H., Labuschagne, I., Mercieca, E., Fisher. F., Gluyas, C., Stout, J.C., & Andrews, S.C (2017). Families affected by Huntington’s Disease report difficulties in Communication, Emotional Involvement and Problem Solving. Journal of Huntington's Disease, 6, 169-177. DOI: 3233/jhd-170250
• Anwar, N., Labuschagne, I., Simpson,K., Smith, L., Georgiou-Karistianis, N (2017). Impairments in spatiotemporal gait adaptation during obstacle navigation in Huntington’s disease. Neurorehabilitation & Neural Repair, 31, 934-943. DOI: 1177/1545968317736818
• Guimmarra, M., Poudel, G., Pei-Tsze, A.N., Nicholls, M.E.R., Fielding, J., Verdejo-Garcia, A., Labuschagne, I. (2017). Emotion processing in persons who respond vicariously towards others in pain: Disinhibited left-lateralised neural activity for threatening expressions. Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, 23, 184-208. DOI: 1080/1357650x.2017.1349781
• Tracy, L.,Labuschagne, I., Georgiou-Karistianis, Gibson, S. J., Giummarra, M. J. (2017). Sex-specific effects of intranasal oxytocin on thermal pain perception: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 83, 101-110. DOI: 1016/j.psyneuen.2017.05.028
• Kordsachia C, Labuschagne I, Stout JC. (2017). Abnormal visual scanning of emotionally evocative nature scenes in Huntington’s disease. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00405
• Kordsachia, C., Labuschagne, I., Stout, J.C. (2017). Beyond Emotion Recognition Deficits: A Theory Guided Analysis of Emotion Processing in Huntington’s Disease. Neurosc & Biobehav Reviews, 73, 276-292. DOI: 1016/j.neubiorev.2016.11.020
• Biernacki, K., McLennan, S.N., Terrett, G., Labuschagne, I., Rendell, P.G. (2016). Decision-making ability in current and past users of opiates: a meta-analysis. Neurosc & Biobehav Reviews, 71, 342-351. DOI: 1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.011
• Haines SJ, Gleeson, J, Kuppens P, Hollenstein T, Ciarrochi J, Labuschagne I, Grace C, Koval P (2016). The Wisdom to Know the Difference: Emotion Regulation Strategy-Situation Fit in Daily Life is Associated with Well-Being. Psychological Science, 27 (12), 1651-1659. DOI: 1177/0956797616669086
• Labuschagne I, Cassidy A, Scahill RI, Johnson E, Rees E, O’Regan A, Queller S, Frost C, Leavitt BR, Dürr A, Roos R, Owen G, Borowsky B, Tabrizi SJ, Stout JC. (2016). Visuospatial processing deficits linked to posterior brain regions in premanifest and early stage Huntington’s disease. Journal of International Neuropsychological Society, 22, 595-608. DOI: 1177/0956797616669086
• Carson, D.S., Yuan, H., Labuschagne, I. Commentary on Leng and Ludwig (2016): Improving research standards to restore trust in intranasal oxytocin. Biological Psychiatry, 78, e53-e54. DOI: 1016/j.biopsych.2015.08.031
• Johnson, E. B., Rees, E. M., Labuschagne, I., Durr, A., Leavitt, BR, Roos RA, Reilmann R, Johnson H, Hobbs NZ, Langbehn DR, Stout JC, Tabrizi SJ, Scahill RI, TRACK-HD investigators (2015). The impact of occipital lobe cortical thickness on cognitive task performance : an investigation in Huntington’s Disease. Neuropsychologia, 79 (PtA), 138-146. DOI: 1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.10.033
• Bartholomeusz C, Ganella E, Labuschagne I, Bousman I, Pantelis C. (2015). Effects of oxytocin and genetic variants on brain and behavior: implications for treatment for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 168, 614-627. DOI: 1016/j.schres.2015.06.007
• Huntington Study Group Reach2HD Investigators (2015). Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of PBT2 in Huntington disease: a phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet Neurology, 14, 39-47. DOI: 1016/s1474-4422(14)70262-5
• Wise R, Phung AL, Labuschagne I, Stout JC. (2015). Differential effects of social stress on laboratory-based decision making are related to both impulsive personality traits and gender. Cognition and Emotion, 29, 1475-1485. DOI: 1080/02699931.2014.989815
• Gorka SM, Fitzgerald DA, Labuschagne I, Hosanagar A, Nathan PJ, Phan KL. (2015). Oxytocin modulation of amygdala functional connectivity to fearful faces in generalized social anxiety disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40, 278-286. DOI: 1038/npp.2014.168
• Jones R, Stout JC, Labuschagne I, Say M, Justo D, Coleman A, Dumas EM, Hart E, Owen G, Durr A, Leavitt BR, Roos R, O’Regan A, Langbehn D, Tabrizi SJ, Frost C. (2014). The potential of composite cognitive scores for tracking progression in Huntington’s disease. Journal of Huntington’s Disease, 3, 197-207. DOI: 3233/jhd-140101
• Dodhia S, Hosanagar A, Fitzgerald DA, Labuschagne I, Wood A, Nathan PJ, Phan KL. (2014). Modulation of resting-state amygdala-frontal functional connectivity by oxytocin in generalized social anxiety disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology, 39, 2061-2069. DOI: 1038/npp.2014.53
• Papoutsi M, Labuschagne I, Tabrizi SJ, Stout JC. (2014). The cognitive burden in Huntington’s disease: pathology, phenotype and mechanisms of compensation. Movement Disorders, 29, 673-683. DOI: 1002/mds.25864
• *Rossell SL, *Labuschagne I, Dunai J, Kyrios M, Castle DJ. (2014). Using theories of delusion formation to explain abnormal beliefs in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Psychiatry Research, 215, 599-605. *Equal first authors. DOI: 1016/j.psychres.2013.12.030
• Labuschagne I, Rossell SL, Dunai J, Castle DJ, Kyrios M. (2013). A comparison of executive function in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Journal of Obsessive Compulsive and Related Disorders, 2(3), 257-262. DOI: 1016/j.jocrd.2013.05.003
• Labuschagne I, Jones R, Callaghan J, Whitehead D, Dumas EM, Say MJ, Hart EP, Justo D, Coleman A, Dar Santos RC, Frost C, Craufurd DI, Tabrizi SJ, Stout JC, and TRACK-HD investigators. (2013). Emotional face recognition deficits and medication effects in pre-manifest through stage-II Huntington’s disease. Psychiatry Research, 207(1-2), 118-126. DOI: 1016/j.psychres.2012.09.022
• Sripada CS, Phan KL, Labuschagne I, Welsh R, Nathan PJ, Wood AG. (2013). Oxytocin enhances resting state connectivity between amygdala and medial frontal cortex. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 16(2), 255-260. DOI: 1017/s1461145712000533
• Dumas EM, Say MJ, Jones R, Labuschagne I, O’Regan AM, Hart EP, van den Bogaard SJA, Queller S, Justo D, Coleman A, dar Santos RC, Durr A, Leavitt BR, Tabrizi SJ, Roos RAC, and Stout JC. (2012). Visual working memory impairment in premanifest gene carriers and early Huntington’s disease. Journal of Huntington’s disease, 1(1), 97-106. DOI: 3233/jhd-2012-120010
• Labuschagne I, Phan KL, Wood A, Angstadt M, Chua P, Heinrichs M, Stout J, Nathan PJ. (2012). Medial frontal hyperactivity to sad faces in generalized social anxiety disorder and modulation by oxytocin. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 15(7), 883-896. DOI: 1017/s1461145711001489
• Stout JC, Jones R, Labuschagne I, O’Regan A, Say MJ, Dumas EM, Queller S, Justo D, Dar Santos R, Coleman A, Hart E, Durr A, Leavitt BR, Roos RAC, Langbehn DR, Tabrizi SJ, Frost C, and the TRACK-HD investigators (2012). Evaluation of longitudinal 12- and 24-month cognitive outcomes in premanifest and early Huntington’s disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 83(7), 687-694. DOI: 1136/jnnp-2011-301940
• Labuschagne I, Castle DJ, Rossell SL. (2011). What the cognitive deficits in body dysmorphic disorder tell us about the underlying neurobiology: an investigation of three cases. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 4(1), 21-33. DOI: 1521/ijct.2011.4.1.21
• Labuschagne I, Phan KL, Wood A, Angstadt M, Chua P, Heinrichs M, Stout J, Nathan PJ. (2010). Oxytocin attenuates amygdala reactivity to fear in generalised social anxiety disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology, 35, 2403-2413. DOI: 1038/npp.2010.123
• Labuschagne I, Croft RJ, Phan KL, Nathan P. (2010). Augmenting serotonin neurotransmission with citalopram modulates emotional expression decoding but not structural encoding of moderate intensity sad facial emotional stimuli: an event related potential (ERP) investigation. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 24(8), 1153-1164. DOI: 1177/0269881108097878
• Dunai J, Labuschagne I, Castle DJ, Kyrios M, Rossell SL. (2010). Executive function in body dysmorphic disorder. Psychological Medicine, 40, 1541-1548. DOI: 1017/s003329170999198x
• Labuschagne I, Castle DJ, Dunai J, Kyrios M, Rossell SL. (2010). An examination of delusional thinking and cognitive styles in body dysmorphic disorder. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 44, 706-712. DOI: 3109/00048671003671007
• Kerestes R, Labuschagne I, Croft RJ, O’Neill BV, Bhagwagar Z, Phan KL, Nathan PJ. (2009). Evidence for modulation of facial emotional processing bias during emotional expression decoding by serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants: an event-related potential (ERP) study. Psychopharmacology(Berl), 202(4), 621-634. DOI: 1007/s00213-008-1340-3

Media articles

• Labuschagne, I. (2013). HD research around the world: Australia, HD down under. HD Insights, Vol 5, pp.9-10, Sept. https://huntingtonstudygroup.org/hd-insights/hd-research-around-the-world-australia/

Published abstracts

• Labuschagne, I. Neural networks linked to emotion processing modulated by intranasal oxytocin in Huntington’s Disease gene-carriers. European Huntington’s Disease Network. The Hague, The Netherlands, Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 87 (Suppl 1):A103.1-A103, Sep 2016.
• Anwar N, Cornish K, Labuschagne I, Georgiou-Karistianis. An impairment of spatiotemporal gait adaptation in Huntington’s Disease when navigating around the obstacles, ICCN 2015: 17^th International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience. Amsterdam, The Netherlands, InternationalJournal of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 2015.
• Labuschagne I, Poudel G, Kordaschia C, Wu Q, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Churchyard A, Stout JC (2014). Acute intranasal oxytocin enhances amygdala reactivity to negative emotions in patients with Huntington’s disease. European Huntington’s disease network, Barcelona, Spain. Sep 19-21. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.
• Labuschagne I, Poudel G, Kordaschia C, Wu Q, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Churchyard A. and Stout J. Does oxytocin have a role in the neurobiology of Huntington’s disease?Conference Abstract: ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference Hum. Neurosci. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00100.
• Hosanagar A, Sripada C, Angstadt M, Labuschagne I, Welsh R, Wood A, Nathan PJ, Phan, K. L. (2012). Disrupted default mode network connectivity in generalised social anxiety disorder at rest: an oxytocin-placebo pharmaco-fMRI study. Biological Psychiatry, 71, 176S-176S. April 15.
• Labuschagne I, Justo D, Jauffret C, Coleman A, Dar Santos R, Dumas EM, Hart E, Say M, Scahill R, Jones R, Frost C, Langbehn DR, Durr A, Justo D, Leavitt B, Roos R, Johnson HJ, Tabrizi S, Stout JC. (2012). Facial expression recognition and medication effects in Huntington’s disease. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Conference Abstract: ACNS-2012
• Labuschagne I, Justo D, Jauffret, C, Coleman, A, Dar Santos R, Dumas EM, Hart E, Say M, Scahill R, Jones R, Frost C, Langbehn DR, Durr, A., Justo, D., Leavitt B, Roos R, Johnson HJ, Tabrizi, S, Stout JC. (2011). What Track-HD tells us about facial expression recognition in Huntington’s disease? Clinical Genetics, 80 (Suppl. 1): 1-13, 028. Aug 21.
• Nathan PJ, Labuschagne I, Wood A, et al. (2010). Oxytocin attenuates amygdala response to fear in social anxiety disorder. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 24, A75-A75, Aug.
• Labuschagne I, Phan KL, Wood A, et al. (2010). Oxytocin attenuates amygdala response to fear in social anxiety disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 67 (9), 203S-203S, May 1.
• Nathan PJ, Kerestes R, Labuschagne I, Phan KL, Croft R. (2008). Serotonergic and noradrenergic antidepressants increase attentional bias to positive facial emotional stimuli during emotional expression decoding. An event related potential (ERP) study. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 11, 101-102. July 1.
• Rossell S, Labuschagne I, David AS. (2008). Behavioral and fMRI evidence of semantic category deficits in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 102, Supplement 2, pp: 127.

Projects

Government funded

• Rossell, S., Castle, D., Labuschagne, I., Toh, W. L., Meyer, D. Using oxytocin to treat body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Victorian Medical Research Acceleration Fund, 2020. $100,000

ACU funded

• Labuschagne, I. Emotional experiences in real life in patients with Social Anxiety Disorder. ACU Research Award for Women Academic Staff, 2017. $10,000
• Labuschagne, I., Hocking, D., Rabinak, C., Craig, J., Heinrichs, M., Rendell, P. G. Epigenetic and hormonal influences on brain mechanisms underlying sex differences in human social behaviour: a pilot study. ACURF Project Grant, 2017-2018. $52,000
• Labuschagne, I., Hocking, D., Rendell, P. G. A neurobiological comparison of social cognitive deficits in young adults with neurodevelopmental and anxiety disorders. ACU Early Career Research Fund, 2015-2016. $50,000

Accolades and awards

• Certificate 1-3 for Applied GCP Training for Investigational Sites and Sponsor Representative E6 (ARCS Australia), 2018.
• Certificate for Masterclass in Clinical Trials: Methodology and Conduct (NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre), 2016.
• VIP Guest and scientific innovator at Students for Brain Research (SOBR) Professional Development Dinner, 2015.
• Psych ECR Publication Award, $250, 2013
• Achievement award for the Go8 Future Research Leaders Program (8 training modules over 12 months), 2013.
• Inaugural graduate from Monash University’s John Bertrand Leaderships Series (1 of 47 participants under the age of 40; 6-series event with Paul Roos, Christina Kilpatrick, Alan Joyce, Bob Hawke, Fiona Wood), 2013.
• Achievement award for Scientific Writing and Publishing, Macmillan Science Communication (Nature Publishing Group), 2013.
• Selected for the Monash NHMRC Early Career Fellowship Incubator program (1 of 15 ECRs across Monash), 2013.
• Best Poster Certificate “Mending the Mind in the 21^st Century: Translating research into practice”, Monash University, 2009.
• Australian Postgraduate Association (PhD scholarship), 2007-2010.

Appointments and affiliations

Appointments

• Senior Research Fellow, School for Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, 2020-current.
• Research Fellow, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, 2014-2019.
• Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, 2014-2017.
• Research Fellow, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, 2010-2014.
• Research Assistant, Sleep Research Laboratory, Monash University, 2011-2012.
• Research Assistant, Department of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, 2004-2006.

Professional affiliations

• Australasian Society for Social & Affective Neuroscience
• Biological Psychiatry Australia
• Australian Cognitive Neuroscience Society

International journal review panel

Review Editor Appointments

• Frontiers in Psychology: Cognition (2015-current)
• Frontiers in Psychiatry: Social Cognition (2018-current)
• Frontiers in Psychology: Clinical and Health Psychology (2018-current)

Peer Reviewer

• Behavior and Brain Functions
• Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging
• Body Image
• British J of Clinical Psychology
• Cerebral Cortex
• Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology
• Current Psychopharmacology
• European J of Pain
• European Psychiatry
• Frontiers in Psychiatry
• Frontiers in Psychology
• Frontiers in Neuroscience
• Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental
• JAMA Psychiatry
• J of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
• J of Physiological Anthropology
• J of the International Neuropsychological Society
• Molecular Psychiatry
• Neurobiology of Stress
• Neuroimage
• Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry
• Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment
• Neuropsychopharmacology
• Neuroscience Bulletin
• Psychological Medicine
• Psychology and Aging
• Psychoneuroendocrinology
• Psychopharmacology
• Schizophrenia Research
• Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
• Social Neuroscience
• The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry

Invited Presentations

• Labuschagne I, Oxytocin and human social behaviour: A clinical and neurobiological perspective. Australasian Society for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Newcastle June 17-19, 2019. KEYNOTE.
• Labuschagne I, Brain changes with prospective memory training in older adults: restoring processes versus compensatory strategies. Longitudinal MRI workshop, ACU, November 28, 2017.
• Labuschagne I, Oxytocin modulates socioemotional brain regions in older adults. 6^th School of Psychology Conference, ACU, September 25, 2017.
• Labuschagne I, Oxytocin research ‘Down Under’: From Huntington’s disease to Body Dysmorphia and Ageing, University of Freiburg, Germany 2016.
• Labuschagne, I, A neurobiological role of oxytocin in social cognition: fMRI evidence in social anxiety disorder, ACU Colloquium series, March, 2015.
• Labuschagne I. The role of oxytocin in psychiatric disorders: fMRI evidence in social phobia. Psychiatry Department, St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, October, 2015.
• Labuschagne I. Oxytocin in social cognition: pharmaco-fMRI evidence in social anxiety disorder, International Anxiety Disorders Society Annual Conference, Melbourne, November 28-29, 2014.
• Labuschagne I. Intranasal oxytocin and social cognition:pharmaco-fMRI evidence in social anxiety disorder. Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, July 18, 2014.
• Labuschagne I. A neurobiological role of oxytocin in social cognition: effects in social phobia. Australasian Society for Social and Affective Neuroscience, March 5-6, 2014.
• Labuschagne I. Is there a role for oxytocin in Huntington’s disease? Psych Research Day, School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, May 10, 2013.
• Labuschagne I. What TRACK-HD tells us about emotion recognition in Huntington’s disease? World Congress on Huntington’s Disease (WCHD), Melbourne, Australia, 13^th Sept 2011.
• Labuschagne I. Delusion-like beliefs in a community-based sample: an investigation of aberrant salience and perseverative thinking. Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, 12^th Nov 2011.
• Labuschagne I. Belief formation and frequency of delusions in Body Dysmorphic Disorder. Body Image Research Show and Tell event, Melbourne, Australia, 9^th Sep 2008.

Grant agency review panel

• Australian Research Council (ARC), 2019-current.
• National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC), 2012-current.
• ANR/Agence Nationale De La Recherche (National Research Agency), France, 2020-current
• FWO, Belgium, 2018

Public engagement

• Speaker at St Mary’s College dinner, Melbourne University, sharing career experiences, 2014.
• Speaker at Calvary Care Hospital to local health professionals to bridge gap between scientists and clinical professionals, 2013-2014.
• Supported the establishment of mentoring program across departments (psychological, biomedical sciences), 2014.
• Speaker at high schools during Brain Awareness Week (The Dana Foundation) (Siena College, Rowville Secondary, McClelland College), 2011-2014.
• Speaker to new/current PhD students about my PhD experiences, Monash University, 2012.
• Organiser, host, and speaker during primary school excursion (St Kevin’s Toorak) to Monash University, 2011.

Media

• BDD ABC Catalyst documentary 08:30pm Tuesday 22nd October 2020.
• Health Matters Magazine, Catholic Health Australia, Issue 91, Spring 2019 https://www.cha.org.au/images/health/2019/CHA043_HealthMattersMagazine_SPRING_91_MR.pdf
• Recent article: https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/oxytocin-could-relieve-body-dysmorphic-disorder/13195
• ACU media release: https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/news/2019/july/love-hormone-oxytocin-could-be-a-game-changer-for-bdd-patients
• Catholic Weekly “New hope for body image disorders”. Aug 29, 2019. Interview and article catholicweekly.com.au/new-hope-for-body-image-disorders/
• Swinburne News “Are we treating body dysmorphic disorder the wrong way?” About publication: Malcolm et al. ANZJP. Sept 2018. http://www.swinburne.edu.au/news/latest-news/2018/09/are-we-treating-body-dysmorphic-disorder-the-wrong-way--.php
• Radio New Zealand Interview (Ph.D. student Sally Grace): https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018660404/tell-me-about-your-thesis
• COSMOS Magazine “Izelle Labuschagne Clinical Neuroscientist”. Interview and article about early career research and balanced life. 1^st May 2015. Circulation 18,790. https://cosmosmagazine.com/physics/science-portraits
• ABC TV Big Ideas program – Audience participation and asked questions to guest speakers MG Angus Campbell and Mr Paul Roos, Melbourne. 2013.
• 774 ABC Melbourne radio, Drive Show – discussing oxytocin research in social anxiety with Lindy Burns. 2008.