Rate My Professor Lea Labeur

Dr. Lea Labeur serves as Lecturer in Animal Science within the School of Agricultural Sciences at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. She earned her PhD in Livestock Science, specializing in Physiology, Behaviour, and Welfare, from the University of New England between May 2014 and April 2018. Her earlier academic training includes studies in Animal Science at Iowa State University from February 2013 to February 2014, and a degree in Agriculture from the Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences from September 2009 to February 2013. Labeur joined Murdoch University in July 2023, advancing to her current lecturing position from January 2025. Previously, she held a postdoctoral fellowship focused on Sheep Reproduction and Lamb Survival at the same institution.

Her research centers on sheep reproduction, lamb vigour and survival, and the physiological responses of livestock to environmental stressors, including cold exposure, shearing during pregnancy, heat stress, and prenatal stress. These investigations aim to enhance livestock welfare, productivity, and resilience amid climate variability. Labeur has authored or co-authored 20 publications, accumulating 118 citations. Notable works include 'Influence of acute mild winter conditions on the productivity of feedlot cattle: An Australian Perspective' (2024), 'Livestock Industry Career Readiness Unit - Strengthening Industry Relevant Teaching' (2024), 'Mid- and late-pregnancy ewe shearing affects lamb neonatal reactivity and vigour' (2020), 'Applications of Infrared Thermal Imaging and Rumen Boluses for Quantifying Heat Stress in Cattle' (2021), 'Infrared thermal imaging as a method to evaluate heat loss in newborn lambs' (2017), and her PhD thesis 'The effects of mild prenatal stress during mid-and late-pregnancy, on lamb vigour traits' (2018). In education, she contributes to courses such as ANS102: Introduction to the Animal Body and ANS303, and spearheaded the Livestock Industry Career Readiness Unit, incorporating industry tours and practical engagements to prepare students for agricultural careers. She has presented at symposia and collaborated on initiatives bridging academia and industry, including studies on career readiness and sheep resilience.