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Zephanie is a Senior Research Fellow and occupational therapist based at the Child Health Research Centre, and a member of the management team of the Centre for Children’s Burns and Trauma Research, Brisbane. She has a clinical background specialising in paediatrics and burn care. She has worked clinically and in management positions at Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane, in private practice and in research capacity building positions in hospitals and health services.

Since 2013 Zephanie’s research has focussed on developing and validating patient-reported outcome measures, as well as using these measures therapeutically for clinical decision making. She led the development of four versions of the Brisbane Burn Scar Impact Profile which have been translated into Czech and are undergoing cross-cultural validation for Brazilian Portuguese. She has a vision of providing all children and their caregivers with an opportunity to communicate their needs and priorities during treatment in a paediatric hospital or health service.

Her current program of work includes collaborative work with children, their caregivers and health professionals to co-design and test the effectiveness and implementation of technology-based interventions in clinical settings to improve quality of life. These interventions include a web-based intervention for paediatric health professionals to support the psychosocial health of families with a child who has experienced physical trauma, and an electronic intervention for children with skin conditions and their caregivers that provides feedback about the patient's health-related quality of life to health professionals. Zephanie also has a continued interest in investigating the effectiveness and implementation of novel interventions to prevent or improve the impact of skin conditions in children and their families. This includes the use of ablative fractional CO2 laser, medical needling, pressure garment and silicone therapy, medical hypnosis and interventions to promote adherence and reduce the burden of treatment.

Shannon Edmed is a Research Fellow at the Child Health Research Centre and ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course (Life Course Centre). She has an interest in environmental effects on sleep (including household and neighbourhood characteristics), and mental health and wellbeing.

Dr Koa Whittingham is a clinical and educational/developmental psychologist with research interests across parenting, neurodevelopmental disabilities and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Koa began her career building key empirical support for the flagship UQ program Stepping Stones Triple P for specific neurodevelopmental disabilities including autism, acquired brain injury and cerebral palsy. She has since developed an international reputation as a leader in developing and testing novel acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions to support parents, including using online/telehealth formats. Her contributions to the field of ACT-based parenting intervention were recognised by her election as a Fellow to the Assocaition for Contextual Beahvioural Science in 2023. Koa has a strong track record with over 100 papers and 6 book chapters and currently leads an MRFF testing her online intervention Parenting Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (PACT) with 300 families of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities or developmental delay. She has written a self-help book for the transition to motherhood, Becoming Mum, as well as the first clinical manual on applying ACT to parenting support, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy the Clinician's Guide for Supporting Parents.

I am an academic paediatric neurologist, clinical researcher, and specialist in acquired brain injury in children and adolescence. I studied at the University of Edinburgh and British Columbia before taking up my first academic position at the University of Calgary in 2002. Here I developed and directed the Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion Research Program at the Alberta Children's Hospital and where I cemented my interest in the biology and treatment of children with brain injuries. I have extensive clinical research experience, devising and overseeing clinical trials in children both nationally and internationally. I moved to the Child Health Research Centre at the University of Queensland, Australia in October 2017 and joined the Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service and Queensland Cerebral Palsy Rehabililation Centre to facilitate research into improving the health outcomes of children with acquired brain injury in Queensland and Australia.

My research focuses on the neurobiological signatures and treatment of subtle neurological dysfunction in mild traumatic brain injury and concussion, especially the behavioural and cognitive impairments that are found in post-concussion syndrome. I use multimodal neurological assessments to do this. My research explores combining neuroimaging and neurophysiological investigations, including perfusion studies using MRI (ASL-fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation to help us understand the changes in the brain in children who are slow to recovery following a concussion. This is to help us develop and assess more effective and tailored treatments for children with concussion and traumatic brain injury. I explore novel therapies for children with persistent post-concussive symptoms in clinical trials including the use of neuraceuticals, pharmacotherapies, and non-invasive brain stimulation treatment.

I am the director of the newly-established KidStim Lab at the Child Health Research Centre. This is the first non-invasive neuromodulation facility aimed at improving the health outcomes of children with brain injury in Australia and is led by a mulitdisciplinary team of clinicians and scientists from Brisbane bring a unique clinical and scientific knowledge-base to help achieve our goals. Rehabilitation therapy in combination with repetitive transcranial direct current stimulation (rTMS) and other direct current stimulation modalities (e.g. tDCS) will be explored. It also offers the potential for treatment of the mood and behavioural disorders (e.g. depression and anxiety) commonly seen after brain injury but also so disruptive to the life of the normally developing teenager.

Dr Kath Benfer is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, The University of Queensland. Her Post-Doctoral work focuses on community-based early detection and intervention for infants at high risk of cerebral palsy in low-resource countries (India and Bangladesh). She was awarded the prestigious Endeavour Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship through the Australian Commonwealth Government to conduct the study. Kath’s PhD explored oropharyngeal dysphagia, gross motor function, growth and nutrition in preschool children with cerebral palsy, in both Australia and Bangladesh. Her work arising from her doctoral studies has been published in 10 peer-reviewed publications and presented widely at international conferences. Dr Benfer has over 12 years of experience as a speech pathologist within paediatric disability, with community-based child and family support services. Kath also has an interest in cross-cultural issues in child health, having worked in Bangladesh for over 2 years both as an AusAid volunteer teaching on the country’s first Bachelor of Speech Therapy degree, as well as conducting research in this context. She has completed her Master of Public Health at La Trobe University in Melbourne within the research and international health streams.

Dr Trish Gilholm is a Research Fellow (3.5 years post‑PhD) within the Children’s Intensive Care Research Program, Child Health Research Centre. Her emerging research programs explore 1) long‑term outcomes for critically ill children using data linkage and 2) adaptive trial designs in paediatric critical care. Dr Gilholmcompleted her PhD in statistics at the Australian Centre of Excellence in Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers, Queensland University of Technology (PhD conferral September 2021) and was awarded an Executive Dean Commendation for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award for her PhD thesis. Through her developing research programs in adaptive trial design and data linkage, she has established a unique research profile within paediatric critical care. She is currently supervising 1xHonours (Principal Advisor), 1xPhD (Associate Advisor) and regularly supervises undergraduate and medical school research projects. Her outstanding commitment to research and future potential as a researcher was recognised with the 2024 Child Health Research Centre Rising Star of the Year Award.

Dr Daniel Sullivan is a Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Lecturer in the Child Health Research Centre, The University of Queensland. In his clinical role, Dr Sullivan leads a program of research to design Australia's first psychology extended scope of practice model of care for limited pharmacotherapy management, with an emphasis on deprescribing hypnotic medicines in the public sector sleep psychology setting (ExPEDiTe Sleep project). As a member of the Let’s Yarn about Sleep group at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Dr Sullivan is working to improve sleep health equity for First Nations Australians through community co-designed, culturally responsive sleep programs which harmonise sleep science with Indigenous Australian perspectives and knowledges about sleep.

Dr Sullivan’s research and clinical expertise is in the behavioural aspects of sleep; he is an Editor of the journal Research Directions: Sleep Psychology (Cambridge University Press) and is board certified by the US-based Board of Behavioral Sleep Medicine. Dr Sullivan completed postgraduate training in sleep at the University of Sydney (MSc), and his PhD in Clinical Psychology at Griffith University, where his doctoral research examined psychological factors involved in sleep-related headaches.

Dwan is an environmental epidemiologist, with a particular interest in children's environmental health. Her current research explores the following:

• Environmentally persistent free radicals, air pollution, and children's lung outcomes
• Maternal exposure to green space, ambient temperature and air pollution and the association with neonatal and child outcomes
• The knowledge of GPs and naturopaths on environmental health issues for preconception care
• Exposures to phthalates and allergic disease

Dwan has a background in public health and nutrition. She is a founder and co-host of the R Peer Group at UQ/QIMR

Dr Sarah Reedman is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre group within the UQ Child Health Research Centre. Sarah is passionate about enabling participation of young people with disabilities in sports and active recreation. She is interested demonstrating how paediatric physiotherapists, occupational therapists and exercise physiologists are well-placed to deliver effective physical activity promotion interventions in young people with disabilites. Sarah is also involved in the conduct of a large, multi-site randomized controlled trial of an intensive functional goal-directed motor training intervention in children with bilateral cerebral palsy (Hand Arm Bimanual Intensive Training Including Lower Extremity [HABIT-ILE]).

Sarah is experienced in the following research methods:

• Design, conduct and administration of randomized controlled trials (including multi-site trials)
• Cross-sectional and cohort studies
• Validation of rehabilitation outcome measures
• Objective measurement of physical activity behaviours, tri-axial accelerometry

Sarah is available as an associate supervisor for HDR students.

Dr. Stewart Trost is a Professor in the School of Human Movement Studies Department at The University of Queensland. Trost received his PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of South Carolina, Colombia SC, USA. Trost leads the Children’s Physical Activity Research Group (CPARG) at the QLD Centre of Children’s Health Research. CPARG is dedicated to expanding the body of knowledge on physical activity and its promotion in children and adolescents. An overarching aim of CPARG is to enhance the health of young people by generating the knowledge needed to design and implement effective programs to increase physical activity in children with typical development and those with chronic and complex health conditions. His research interests include device-based assessment of physical activity and sedentary behavior, early life prevention of childhood obesity and chronic disease, therapeutic exercise programs for children with chronic health conditions, and the relationships between physical activity and other health behaviors.

Dr Laura Bentley is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Child Health Research Centre at The University of Queensland. Laura has a background in developmental psychology and her PhD explored the impact of music on early cognition and self-regulation skills. Laura is currently working on a MRFF funded project (AusCP MSK) which aims to identify the early biomarkers of musculoskeletal complications in children with moderate-severe cerebral palsy (GMCS III-V).

Dr Kalina Rossa is currently a Research Fellow at the Child Health Research Institute and with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Across the Lifecourse. She has an interest in the behavioural and psychological consequences of sleep loss, and in the design, development and implementation of behavioural interventions that aim to support sleep and wellbeing in a range of populations and settings. She has direct experience in clinical trials design and implementation (both clinical and 'in community'), and applied phychophysiological measurement across controlled experimental settings and in the field.

Leanne Sakzewski is an Associate Professor at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland. Leanne completed her undergraduate training in the field of occupational therapy at the University of Queensland. Prior to entering research, she practiced as a senior occupational therapist for eighteen years in paediatric rehabilitation and child development. She completed her PhD in 2010 from The University of Queensland in the field of upper limb rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy, and achieved a Dean's Commendation for outstanding Research Higher Degree.

Research interests

Leanne's research interests are in the conduct of randomised clinical trials in the field of cerebral palsy and childhood onset acquired brain injuries. In particular, she has focused on randomised controlled trials of:

* upper limb training approaches for infants and children with unilateral cerebral palsy;

* intensive models of motor training to improve gross motor and manual abilities for children with bilateral cerebral palsy;

* participation-focused intervention to increase physically active leisure for children with cerebral palsy;

* social skills group-based program for adolescents with brain injuries.

The objective of my research is to improve understanding of the genetic etiology and biological mechanisms underlying risk of common psychiatric disorders, particularly those with onset during childhood and adolescence. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Child Health Research Centre, I lead a number of domestic and international collaborations that evaluate the association between polygenic risk scores, environmental variables and behaviour during childhood and adolescence. My group applies innovative statistical methods to large longitudinal datasets with information from infancy through to adulthood and to evaluate genetic and environmental contributions to risk to mental health problems. In addition, our research focuses on the potential clinical utility of polygenic risk scores in psychiatry. I have contributed to major advances in understanding of the etiology of a number of psychiatric disorders, with a major focus on depression

PhD and Honours projects are available in the group. Please contact me for more information.

Dr Sobia Zafar is a specialist paediatric dentist, clinical senior lecturer and the discipline lead in paediatric dentistry at The University of Queensland. She also holds an affiliated position of Senior Research Fellow at the Child Health Research Centre. She is the current president of the Australia and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry (ANZSPD) Qld section and the councillor for the International Association of Dental Research (IADR) ANZ for Brisbane section.

Sobia completed her DClinDent and PhD from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Her research and clinical interests are in dental education, digital dentistry, and children's oral health, including those with special needs. She is frequently an invited speaker nationally and internationally on these subjects. Sobia has over 100 publications, comprising full journal papers, a book chapter and published abstracts, in national and international high-quality peer-reviewed journals. Sobia has successfully supervised 40 Honours research students, five HDR (PhD and MPhil) and two DClinDent students to completion. Sobia was the winner of the "Best Research Supervisor Award" for Higher Degree Research students in 2022 and also in 2023.

She is a passionate teacher involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at UQ and in the wider dental profession in Australia and overseas. She has also conducted multiple hands-on courses locally and overseas for the Australian Dental Association Qld branch. Sobia has received numerous teaching awards and fellowships in recognition of her contributions, including from UQ the HABS Commendation for Substantive Contributions to Student Learning (2020), HABS Programs that Enhance Learning (APEL) Commendation (2021), HABS Commendation for Substantive Contributions to Student Learning Award (2022), and a UQ Teaching Excellence Award for APEL Commendation (2022). In 2022, she gained a Fellowship from the Faculty of Dental Trainers of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh, UK, as peer recognition for her accomplishments in dental education. She has recently received the Excellence in Health Professional Education Award from the Australian and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators (ANZAHPE) and Flinders University (2023).

Sobia is a highly recognised and respected community leader. Sobia is involved with various dental charities, including the Australian Dental Health Foundation, the Esesson Foundation, and the Turbans4Australia, to provide emergency and essential dental care to underprivileged children (refugees, asylum seekers, those with special needs, and from disadvantaged communities) in the Brisbane and Gold Coast regions. Her efforts as a community leader and leading health professional have been recognised with awards within UQ (the 2022 LeadHers Rise Community Award) and at the national level (the 2022 Appreciation Award from Turbans4Australia). As recognition from her dental peers, she was granted a Fellowship of the Pierre Fauchard Academy.

Dr Joseph Yunis obtained his PhD from the University of Queensland under the mentorship of Associate Professor Philip Stevenson at the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences on understanding the role of CD4+ T cells in herpesvirus immunity. He uncovered the immune evasion mechanisms of CD4+ T cells by cytomegaloviruses and demonstrated a novel vaccine design that specifically licences CD4+ T cells to control herpesvirus infection. Dr Yunis trained in Immunology under Professor Di Yu, first at the John Curtin School of Medical Research of Australian National University (Canberra), UQ Frazer Institute and now at the Child Health Research Centre. Dr Yunis employs preclinial models of infection (acute, chronic and latent), murine cancer models (melanoma, colorectal, glioma, osteosarcoma) and xenograft models of patient-derived tumour cells ((pediatric) to evaulate function and immune modulation of CD8+ T cells through immunisation and infection in immunity. His research has been recognised by a number of awards including, the Frazer Institute publication of the month award, The Gretel and Gordon Bootes Medical Research and Education Foundation Award, Eureka Research Fund for Immunology and Virology and UQ postdoctoral Fellowship and the Australian and New Zealand Sarcoma Association award.