Food, Affect and the Brain Lab (FABLAB)
Research Overview
Our research spans neuroimaging, clinical trials, and psychological science to understand the brain and behavioural mechanisms that drive disordered eating. A central focus is the circuitry underlying binge eating episodes, including how stress-related neural systems govern loss-of-control eating and how these systems are altered by treatment. Our lab draws on a range of methods, including neuroimaging, real-world symptom tracking and pharmacological interventions, to examine these questions at multiple levels of analysis.
Current projects include a placebo-controlled neuroimaging study of tirzepatide in binge eating disorder. The FABLAB is embedded within the Department of Psychiatry and the Brain and Mental Health Hub at the University of Melbourne, and collaborates with researchers across Australia and internationally.
Staff
Staff
- Trevor Steward
- Po-Han Kung
- Lucy Nathan
- Ella Donaldson
- Scarlet Brisbane
- Jeanette Chan
- Matthew Greaves
Students
- Jessica Hoffmann
- Xinyi Zhang
- Sarah Croce
- Alyona Cerfontyne
- Georgia Tsindos
Collaborators
- Robyn Brown
- Kim Felmingham
- Ben Harrison
- Chris Davey
- Priya Sumithran
- Orli Schwartz
- Brad Moffat
- Rebecca Glarin
- Sarah Barakat
- Tudor Sava
- Carly Beveridge
- Morgan James
- Luke Ney
Funding
Our research is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), and the Brain & Behaviour Research Foundation (BBRF).
Research Opportunities
This research project is available to PhD students, Masters by Research, Honours students to join as part of their thesis.
Please contact the Research Group Leader to discuss your options.
Research Outcomes
Our work aims to transform how eating disorders are understood and treated by identifying the biological mechanisms that drive disordered eating and using these insights to develop more targeted, effective interventions.
Research Publications
- Bed nucleus of the stria terminalis connectivity during food cue and taste processing under stress
- Habenula contributions to negative self-cognitions
- Intolerance of uncertainty and repetitive negative thinking: transdiagnostic moderators of perfectionism in eating disorders
- Endocrinology-informed neuroimaging in eating disorders: GLP1, orexins, and psilocybin
- What are drugs like Ozempic doing to the brains of people that binge eat?
Research Projects
For project inquiries, contact our research group head.
School Research Themes
Clinical Psychology and Clinical Neuropsychology
Key Contact
For further information about this research, please contact Lab Head Associate Professor Trevor Steward
Department / Centre
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences
Unit / Centre
MDHS Research library
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