Dr Catherine Toben

Senior Lecturer

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Dr Catherine Toben
University of Adelaide , Discipline of Psychiatry.

My Research
Publications
Grants and Funding
Teaching
Supervision
Contact

Research Interests

A strong association between stressful life events and the onset of mental health disorders is often linked with chronic low grade inflammation. As an immunobiologist I am particularly interested in gaining a better understanding of the bidirectional and molecular links between brain function and immune system responses to stress which can lead to mental health pathophysiology. Specifically my work focuses on the identification of transcriptomic and proteomic signatures associated with alterations in particular symptom domains (such as cognition) of psychiatric disorders including depression, PTSD and schizophrenia. A further research focus is how interventions such as altered nutrition and/or mindfulness based practices can harness inherent neuro- regenerative and protective immune mechanisms to reduce stress induced psychiatric symptoms. Ongoing collection of empirical data from clinical cohorts as well as animal models of early and later life chronic stress is an important component of my methodology.

Available Research Projects

Project 1 - miRNAs and their role in cognitive impairment in depression

Project description: In addition to mood changes, major depressive disorder (MDD) is also accompanied by cognitive dysfunction. The underlying biological mechanisms of altered cognition remain undefined. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a type of small non coding RNA predominantly control the expression of their target mRNA to exert their function. Recent research demonstrates that brain alterations accompanying altered symptom domains such as cognition are associated with altered miRNA expression.

This study will conduct a PRISMA guided systematic review of existing literature to identify distinct miRNA signatures underlying cognitive impairment in depression. Using edgeR statistical package and pilot data from a larger Cognitive and Functional analyses in Mood study (CoFaMs), miRNA transcriptome wide and candidate based expression differences between those with low and high cognition in depression will also be analysed.

Project available for: Third Year / Honours
Location: Discipline of Psychiatry, Level 6, Adelaide Health & Medical Sciences Building, North Tce
Research project start: Semester 1 and Semester 2
Special requirements: n/a

Project 2 - differing and shared immune signatures across psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders

Project description: This project is a collaborative work with Dr Tim Sargeant at the Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology, SAHMRI.

Major psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases are pathologically related to brain abnormalities. Although the manifestations differ in each case the aetiologies remain undefined. Current research implies neuroinflammation to be a key pathogenic mediator of neuropsychiatric disorders. Unclear are the immune signatures across disorders which contribute to the specific pathology.

Using PRISMA guidelines this study will systematically identify the shared and differing immune signatures across three neuropsychiatric disorders including major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and three neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease. It will also include both innate and adaptive cellular and molecular immune responses.

Project available for: Third Year students
Location: Discipline of Psychiatry, Level 6, Adelaide Health & Medical Sciences Building, North Tce
Research project start: Semester 1 and 2
Special requirements: Nil

Journals

Year	Citation
2024	Clark, S. R., Wilton, L. R., Dawson, J. L., Chiew, K., Jawahar, M. C., Toben, C., . . . Saleem, M. (2024). Dotting the I's and crossing the T's: A South Australian perspective on variability in troponin thresholds for myocarditis risk in clozapine treatment. Schizophrenia Research, 268, 114-117. DOI Scopus2 Europe PMC1
2024	Ciobanu, L. G., Baryshnikova, N. V., Jawahar, M. C., Toben, C. G., Sokolenko, E., Arnet, V. K., . . . Woodward, M. (2024). Pre-COVID life expectancy, mortality, and burden of diseases for adults 70 years and older in Australia: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study. The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific, 47, 101092. DOI
2023	Sbisa, A. M., Madden, K., Toben, C., McFarlane, A. C., Dell, L., & Lawrence-Wood, E. (2023). Potential peripheral biomarkers associated with the emergence and presence of posttraumatic stress disorder symptomatology: A systematic review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 147, 105954-1-105954-17. DOI Scopus5 Europe PMC1
2021	Singhal, G., Morgan, J., Corrigan, F., Toben, C., Jawahar, M. C., Jaehne, E. J., . . . Baune, B. T. (2021). Short-term environmental enrichment is a stronger modulator of brain glial cells and cervical lymph node T cell subtypes than exercise or combined exercise and enrichment. Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology, 41(3), 469-486. DOI Scopus8 WoS6 Europe PMC5
2021	Ahluwalia, T. S., Prins, B. P., Abdollahi, M., Armstrong, N. J., Aslibekyan, S., Bain, L., . . . Alizadeh, B. Z. (2021). Genome-Wide Association Study of Circulating Interleukin 6 Levels Identifies Novel Loci.. Hum Mol Genet, 30(5), 393-409. DOI Scopus27 WoS17 Europe PMC26
2021	Singhal, G., Jawahar, M. C., Morgan, J., Corrigan, F., Jaehne, E. J., Toben, C., . . . Baune, B. T. (2021). TNF signaling via TNF receptors does not mediate the effects of short-term exercise on cognition, anxiety and depressive-like behaviors in middle-aged mice. Behavioural Brain Research, 408, 113269-1-113269-9. DOI
2021	Knight, M. J., Lyrtzis, E., Fourrier, C., Aboustate, N., Sampson, E., Hori, H., . . . Baune, B. T. (2021). Psychological training to improve psychosocial function in patients with major depressive disorder: A randomised clinical trial. Psychiatry Research, 300, 113906-1-113906-7. DOI Scopus9 WoS7 Europe PMC2
2021	Jernbom Falk, A., Galletly, C., Just, D., Toben, C., Baune, B. T., Clark, S. R., . . . Schubert, K. O. (2021). Autoantibody profiles associated with clinical features in psychotic disorders. Translational Psychiatry, 11(1), 1-9. DOI Scopus9 WoS7 Europe PMC6
2020	Singhal, G., Morgan, J., Jawahar, M. C., Corrigan, F., Jaehne, E. J., Toben, C., . . . Baune, B. T. (2020). Effects of aging on the motor, cognitive and affective behaviors, neuroimmune responses and hippocampal gene expression. Behavioural Brain Research, 383(6), 112501-1-112501-16. DOI Scopus21 WoS15 Europe PMC13
2020	Ciobanu, L. G., Sachdev, P. S., Trollor, J. N., Reppermund, S., Thalamuthu, A., Mather, K. A., . . . Baune, B. T. (2020). Downregulated transferrin receptor in the blood predicts recurrent MDD in the elderly cohort: a fuzzy forests approach. Journal of Affective Disorders, 267, 42-48. DOI Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC5
2020	Singhal, G., Morgan, J., Jawahar, M. C., Corrigan, F., Jaehne, E. J., Toben, C., . . . Baune, B. T. (2020). Duration of environmental enrichment determines astrocyte number and cervical lymph node T lymphocyte proportions but not the microglial number in middle-aged C57BL/6 mice. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 14, 57-1-57-12. DOI Scopus10 WoS9 Europe PMC5
2019	Andreazza, A. C., Laksono, I., Fernandes, B. S., Toben, C., Lewczuk, P., Riederer, P., . . . Baune, B. T. (2019). Guidelines for the standardized collection of blood-based biomarkers in psychiatry: steps for laboratory validity–a consensus of the Biomarkers Task Force from the WFSBP. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 20(5), 340-351. DOI Scopus19 WoS16 Europe PMC11
2019	Singhal, G., Morgan, J., Jawahar, M. C., Corrigan, F., Jaehne, E. J., Toben, C., . . . Baune, B. T. (2019). The effects of short-term and long-term environmental enrichment on locomotion, mood-like behavior, cognition and hippocampal gene expression. Behavioural Brain Research, 368, 111917-1-111917-10. DOI Scopus24 WoS18 Europe PMC13
2019	Opel, N., Cearns, M., Clark, S. R., Toben, C., Grotegerd, D., Heindel, W., . . . Baune, B. T. (2019). Large-scale evidence for an association between low-grade peripheral inflammation and brain structural alterations in major depression in the BiDirect study. Journal of Psyciatry and Neuroscience, 44(6), 423-431. DOI Scopus32 WoS21 Europe PMC19
2019	Singhal, G., Morgan, J., Jawahar, M. C., Corrigan, F., Jaehne, E. J., Toben, C., . . . Baune, B. T. (2019). Short-term environmental enrichment, and not physical exercise, alleviate cognitive decline and anxiety from middle age onwards without affecting hippocampal gene expression. Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 19(5), 1143-1169. DOI Scopus16 WoS14 Europe PMC12
2018	Culverhouse, R., Saccone, N., Horton, A., Ma, Y., Anstey, K., Banaschewski, T., . . . Bierut, L. (2018). Collaborative meta-analysis finds no evidence of a strong interaction between stress and 5-HTTLPR genotype contributing to the development of depression. Molecular psychiatry, 23(1), 133-142. DOI Scopus239 WoS194 Europe PMC118
2018	Ciobanu, L. G., Sachdev, P. S., Trollor, J. N., Reppermund, S., Thalamuthu, A., Mather, K. A., . . . Baune, B. T. (2018). Co-expression network analysis of peripheral blood transcriptome identifies dysregulated protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum and immune response in recurrent MDD in older adults. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 107, 19-27. DOI Scopus24 WoS18 Europe PMC13
2016	Hagstrom, A., Marshall, P., Lonsdale, C., Papalia, S., Cheema, B., Toben, C., . . . Green, S. (2016). The effect of resistance training on markers of immune function and inflammation in previously sedentary women recovering from breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 155(3), 471-482. DOI Scopus79 WoS62 Europe PMC42
2015	Jaehne, E., Corrigan, F., Toben, C., Jawahar, M., & Baune, B. (2015). The effect of the antipsychotic drug quetiapine and its metabolite norquetiapine on acute inflammation, memory and anhedonia. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior, 135, 136-144. DOI Scopus35 WoS29 Europe PMC25
2015	Toben, C., & Baune, B. (2015). An act of balance between adaptive and maladaptive immunity in depression: a role for T lymphocytes. Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 10(4), 595-609. DOI Scopus78 WoS65 Europe PMC42
2014	Singhal, G., Jaehne, E., Corrigan, F., Toben, C., & Baune, B. (2014). Inflammasomes in neuroinflammation and changes in brain function: a focused review. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 8(SEP), 315-1-315-22. DOI Scopus296 WoS244 Europe PMC165
2014	Grundy, T., Toben, C., Jaehne, E., Corrigan, F., & Baune, B. (2014). Long-term omega-3 supplementation modulates behavior, hippocampal fatty acid concentration, neuronal progenitor proliferation and central TNF-alpha expression in 7 month old unchallenged mice. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 8, 399-1-399-13. DOI WoS13 Europe PMC13
2013	Stacey, D., Cohen-Woods, S., Toben, C., Arolt, V., Dannlowski, U., & Baune, B. (2013). Evidence of increased risk for major depressive disorder in individuals homozygous for the high-expressing 5-HTTLPR/rs25531 (LA) allele of the serotonin transporter promoter. Psychiatric Genetics, 23(5), 222-223. DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC3
2013	Ried, K., Toben, C., & Fakler, P. (2013). Effect of garlic on serum lipids: an updated meta-analysis. Nutrition Reviews, 71(5), 282-299. DOI Scopus147 WoS117 Europe PMC61
2008	Na, S. Y., Cao, Y., Toben, C., Nitschke, L., Stadelmann, C., Gold, R., . . . Hunig, T. (2008). Naive CD8 T-cells initiate spontaneous autoimmunity to a sequestered model antigen of the central nervous system. Brain, 131(9), 2353-2365. DOI Scopus77 WoS70 Europe PMC60
2006	Cao, Y., Toben, C. G., Na, S. -Y., Stark, K., Nitschke, L., Peterson, A., . . . Hünig, T. (2006). Induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in transgenic mice expressing ovalbumin in oligodendrocytes. European Journal of Immunology, 36(1), 207-215. DOI Scopus36 WoS32 Europe PMC31

Book Chapters

Year	Citation
2024	Sbisa, A., Graham, K., Lawrence-Wood, E., McFarlane, A. C., & Toben, C. (2024). PTSD biomarkers: Neuroendocrine signaling to epigenetic variants. In G. Makowski (Ed.), Advances in Clinical Chemistry (Vol. 122, pp. 209-260). Elsevier. DOI
2020	Toben, C., Arnet, V. K., Lo, A., Saunders, P. H., & Baune, B. T. (2020). Standardized biomarker and biobanking requirements for personalized psychiatry. In B. T. Baune (Ed.), Personalized Psychiatry (pp. 537-547). London, United Kingdom: Academic Press. DOI Scopus1
2019	Jawahar, M. C., Toben, C. G., & Baune, B. T. (2019). Gene-environment interactions and epigenetic mechanisms in depression. In J. L. de Quevedo, A. F. Carvalho, & C. A. Zarate (Eds.), Neurobiology of Depression: Road to Novel Therapeutics (pp. 17-25). Londone, United Kingdom: Academic Press. DOI Scopus2
2018	Toben, C., & Baune, B. T. (2018). The Roles of T Cells in Clinical Depression. In B. T. Baune (Ed.), Inflammation and Immunity in Depression Basic Science and Clinical Applications (pp. 115-133). United Kingdom: Academic Press. DOI Scopus1

Conference Items

Year	Citation
2022	Falk, A. J., Galletly, C., Just, D., Toben, C., Baune, B. T., Clark, S. R., . . . Schubert, K. O. (2022). BEYOND NEURORECEPTOR AUTOIMMUNITY: PERIPHERAL AUTOANTIBODY PROFILES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CLINICAL FEATURES IN PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS. Poster session presented at the meeting of AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. Sydney, NSW: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD.
2022	Clark, S., Mills, N., Toben, C., Catharine, J., & Galletly, C. (2022). Evaluating Technological Solutions To Mental Health Teaching And Assessment During The Pandemic. Poster session presented at the meeting of Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Congress 2022. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.
2020	Ahluwalia, T. S., Armstrong, N. J., Aslibekyan, S., Beekman, M., Cheng, Y., deGeus, E., . . . Alizadeh, B. Z. (2020). Genome wide association study of circulating interleukin 6 levels identifies novel loci. Poster session presented at the meeting of EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN GENETICS. SPRINGERNATURE.
2017	Ciobanu, L., Sachdev, P. S., Trollor, J. N., Reppermund, S., Thalamuthu, A., Mather, K. A., . . . Baune, B. (2017). TRANSCRIPTOME SIGNATURE OF DEPRESSION. Poster session presented at the meeting of EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY. Jerusalem, ISRAEL: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. DOI
2017	Ciobanu, L., Sachdev, P. S., Trollor, J. N., Reppermund, S., Thalamuthu, A., Mather, K. A., . . . Baune, B. (2017). GENOME-WIDE GENE EXPRESSION SIGNATURE OF DEPRESSION. Poster session presented at the meeting of EUROPEAN NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY. Jerusalem, ISRAEL: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. DOI WoS1
2015	Jawahar, M. C., Toben, C., Izzo, J., Heriot, N., Harrison, E., Murgatroyd, C., & Baune, B. T. (2015). The two-hit stress model:effect of early life stress and later life stressors on adult psychiatric disorders. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstract. Brisbane.
2015	Jawahar, M. C., Toben, C., Izzo, J., Heriot, N., Harrison, E., Murgatroyd, C., & Baune, B. T. (2015). The two-hit stress model: effect of early life stress and later life stressors on adult psychiatric disorders. Poster session presented at the meeting of Society for Mental Health Research (SMHR) 2015. Brisbane.

2018:

Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Research Funds: Clinical Project research grant – 2018 $40,242.00, CI-B Title: To investigate the association of complement, oxidative and inflammatory markers and BDNF with cognitive and general function in chronic psychosis

2017:

Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Australia, SA Branch: Student Research Scholarship - 2017 $2,500.00, CI-C Title: The association between Interleukin-1 and psychotic symptoms in patients treated with clozapine and aripiprazole

2016:

Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Research Funds: Clinical Project research grant – 2017 $44,588.00, CI-A Title: Identification of altered regulatory miRNA expression associated with altered systemic cytokine expression in a clinical cohort of patients with recurrent depression at the Royal Adelaide Hospital

2014:

Rebecca L Cooper Grant – 2015 $19,850, CI-B Title: A centralised Neuropsychiatric Biobank and Disease Marker Centre

Undergraduate Programmes

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences Elective Course "Fundamentals of Biological Psychiatry": topic lectures - "Pathways to neuroinflammation"; "Neuroinflammation associated with major psychiatric disorders", "The serotonergic system in major depression", The dopaminergic system in psychiatric diseases".

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences "Scientific Basis of Medicine III Part 2": topic lecture - "Immune System and the Nervous System"

Postgraduate Programmes

MBBS Yr6 Psychiatry Selective Coordinator

Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
2024	Co-Supervisor	Higher Dietary Inflammatory Index Scores Are Associated with Depression and Anxiety in IBS Patients: An Observational Followed by an Interventional Study	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Full Time	Mrs Mahnaz Reisian

Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

Date	Role	Research Topic	Program	Degree Type	Student Load	Student Name
2016 - 2019	Co-Supervisor	Investigating the Transcriptome Signature of Depression: Employing Co-expression Network, Candidate Pathways and Machine Learning Approaches	Doctor of Philosophy	Doctorate	Part Time	Dr Liliana Ciobanu

Position: Senior Lecturer
Phone: 83137318
Email: catherine.toben@adelaide.edu.au
Campus: North Terrace
Building: Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences, floor 6
Org Unit: Medical Specialties