Associate Professor Kathryn Steadman
Associate Professor

Kathryn Steadman

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 61886

Background

I completed my Bachelor of Pharmacy at Kings College London, followed by pre-registration and subsequent employment as a pharmacist with Boots the Chemists in Central London. With a PhD in plant biochemistry with Royal Holloway College, University of London, and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, I moved first to Cornell University, USA and then The University of Western Australia for postdoctoral research. I moved to the School of Pharmacy at The University of Queensland in 2007.

Following a number of years in plant research, my current research interests generally link back to plants in some way. Many of my projects develop in response to requests for help from healthcare professionals, and so I have a strong focus on answering clinical questions using pharmaceutical science methods. See my research interests for more information.

I teach into the Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) in the areas of pharmaceutics, compounding and complementary medicines. I also teach the clinical drug development course for our Master of Pharmaceutical Industry Practice. I am currently the Director of Teaching, Learning and Student Experience for the School of Pharmacy. I have supervised 28 PhD students to completion, and over 60 undergraduate and masters independent research project students.

Availability

Associate Professor Kathryn Steadman is:
Not available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Biological Sciences Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice Naturopathy Pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences Plant biology

Research interests

  • Non-cigarette sources of nicotine

    • Electronic nicotine delivery devices have potential to reduce tobacco use among smokers. We are interested in the regulation of nicotine vaping devices as medicines in Australia, their safety and their effectiveness as a nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation. • Leaves from Australian species of Nicotiana are mixed with wood ash for chewing/sucking as a source of nicotine (commonly called pituri or mingkulpa) by some Australian Aboriginal people. We are interested in pituri use, and chemical components of the pituri plants. • While for most smokers it is the non-nicotine nasties in tobacco smoke that are the primary cause of detrimental health effects of smoking or chewing, the nicotine is also a problem for the babies, children and youth. We are investigating the influence of nicotine from all sources (e.g. vaping, pituri, patches, gums as well as smoking) during pregnancy on weight and health of babies.

  • Medication delivery

    • People who cannot swallow tablets whole often cut or crush them. We apply the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) framework to assess swallowing safety of oral medicines. We are also investigating the effect of crushing and splitting tablets or capsules on drug delivery and bioavailability, particularly where the crushed tablets are mixed with liquids thickened with plant gums as these have the potential to delay drug dissolution. • Improving the treatment of xerostomia is being approached through considering approaches to saliva replacement, buccal delivery of pilocarpine, and information sources for pharmacies to assist with product selection.

  • Complementary medicines

    Complementary Medicines are a large category of products sold within pharmacies that include herbal medicines, nutritional supplements, vitamins & minerals, homeopathy and aromatherapy. Evidence supporting their efficacy for claimed indications is variable, with some being strong while others are exceptionally weak or non-existent. We are involved in determining the extent and motivations for use, along with clinical trials to test the effectiveness of complementary medicines.

Search Professor Kathryn Steadman’s works on UQ eSpace

202 works between 1991 and 2026
All (202) Journal Article (152) Conference Publication (49) Book Chapter (1)

201 - 202 of 202 works

1993

Journal Article

The xanthine content of guarana and its preparations

Bempong, D. K., Houghton, P. J. and Steadman, Kathryn (1993). The xanthine content of guarana and its preparations. International Journal of Pharmacognosy, 31 (3), 175-181. doi: 10.3109/13880209309082937

The xanthine content of guarana and its preparations

1991

Conference Publication

The caffeine content of Guarana

Bempong, D., Houghton, P. J. and Steadman, K. (1991). The caffeine content of Guarana. -, -, 1991. Wiley-Blackwell.

The caffeine content of Guarana

Current funding

  • 2025 - 2027
    Indigenous women¿s maternal tobacco and nicotine exposure: Patterns and validation of exposure, genotype and physiologic impacts, and barriers/facilitators to cessation (QACRF led by WBHHS)
    Wide Bay Hospital & Health Service
    Open grant
  • 2025 - 2027
    Understanding nicotine metabolism during pregnancy in First Nations peoples
    ARC Discovery Indigenous
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023 - 2025
    Low Dose Naltrexone in Fibromyalgia: A randomised controlled trial (2023 MSHRSS Co-funded Collaboration Grant led by MSHHS)
    Metro South Research Support Scheme Co-funded Collaboration Grant
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    The impacts of a changing nicotine marketplace on health professionals
    UQ Knowledge Exchange & Translation Fund
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2021
    Measuring the impact of temperature on out-of-hospital cardiac medications using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
    KJMERF Patron's Research Grant
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    Estimating use of tobacco and nicotine products through wastewater analysis
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    New Product formulation and testing and laboratory and clean room setup (Innovation Connections Business Researcher Placement)
    Heavey Lex No. 74 Pty Ltd as the Trustee for the Jackson Family Trust
    Open grant
  • 2015
    Creating saliva-mimetic polysaccharide-protein complexes to control oral lubrication for applications in oral care, foods and biomedical treatment of dry-mouth
    UQ Collaboration and Industry Engagement Fund - Seed Research Grant
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2015
    Baltic amber teething beads - Does succinic acid have any anti-inflammatory activity?
    Queensland Pharmacy Research Trust
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2021
    Pituri Research Project
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2011
    Facility for advanced rheological and surface-friction characterisation
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2014
    Extraction and purification of sorghum seed protein for delayed delivery of bioactives (Australia-India Strategic Research Fund grant administered by Curtin University of Technology)
    Curtin University of Technology
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2012
    Using plant proteins in controlled release drug delivery
    Queensland Pharmacy Research Trust
    Open grant
  • 2010 - 2011
    What does the title 'BPharm(Hons)' mean to the pharmacy profession?
    Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
    Open grant
  • 2010
    Analytical instrumentation enabling rapid compound separation and chemical structure analysis via mass fingerprinting
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2010
    The Pituri Project: Investigating the effects of maternal smokeless native tobacco use on perinatal health outcomes in Central Australia
    UQ FirstLink Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2009 - 2012
    Australian alpine seed ecology: Plant conservation and adaptation to climate change
    Australian National University
    Open grant
  • 2009
    Scoping Study: Self-forming edible films derived from sorghum proteins for fresh food packaging
    QLD Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2009
    Sorghum protein in the manufacture of controlled-release delivery systems for bioactives
    UQ FirstLink Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2008
    Evaluation of sorghum protein in the manufacture of controlled-release delivery systems for bioactives
    Queensland Department Primary Industries
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2008
    Bioflavonoid identification and quantification
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant
  • 2007 - 2010
    Enhancing native seed performance for minesite restoration and biodiversity conservation
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant

Availability

Associate Professor Kathryn Steadman is:
Not available for supervision

Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Exploring the nicotine metabolite ratio during pregnancy: A cohort study with Australian First Nations families

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Jared Miles, Dr Qiuda Zheng

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Women's health: An assessment of the treatments used for Vaginal Candidiasis by health practitioners in Australia

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Safety, Quality and Patient Experiences using Compounding Formulations

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The use of artificial intelligence to enhance pharmacist-led medication reviews

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Meng-Wong Taing, Dr Jared Miles, Dr Wubshet Tesfaye

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Associate Professor Kathryn Steadman directly for media enquiries about:

  • Electronic nicotine device
  • Medicinal plants
  • Medicine swallowing difficulties
  • Natural medicine
  • Nutraceuticals
  • Pharmacognosy
  • Pharmacy - natural
  • Phytochemistry
  • Plants for pharmacy

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