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Jason D. Pole is the Deputy Director of Research for the Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC) and a Professor in the Centre for Health Services Research (CHSR) within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. Jason's program of research utilises clinical and surveillance data linked with real-world administrative data to answer health questions in several areas.

Jason has a background in epidemiology, health services research and digital health with an emphasis in the use of real-world data and complex survey instruments.

Currently, Jason has research interests in the areas of digital health applications to improve system performance including patient safety, health care utilization among childhood cancer survivors, the effects of childhood cancer treatment specifically on the development of second cancers and education achievement and has interests in the financial impact of a childhood cancer diagnosis on the family and the long-term financial health of the survivor. More recently, Jason has developed an interest in adolescent and young adult oncology (AYA) survivors and the specific long-term needs of this unique cancer population.

Jason maintains appointments as an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and an Adjunct Scientist with the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and an Adjunct Senior Scientist with ICES, Toronto.

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.

Natasha is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Research Fellow at the Child Health Research Centre. Natasha leads the Perinatal and Early Life Exposures Research Group.

The Perinatal and Early Life Exposures Group is dedicated to uncovering the foundational influences on lifelong health and wellbeing. Their research focuses on the critical impact of environmental, nutritional, substance exposures, and psychosocial factors during the perinatal and early childhood periods on long-term health outcomes. By advancing our understanding of these early exposures, they aim to inform public health strategies, improve clinical practices, and ultimately enhance the health and well-being of future generations. Their work contributes to reducing the burden of chronic diseases and mental health disorders, promoting healthier developmental outcomes, intergenerational health benefits and fostering resilient communities.

Dr Retamal-Walter is Lecturer in Speech Pathology in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at The University of Queensland. Building on over 15 years of professional experience, Dr Retamal-Walter's interest in Information and Communication Technologies relies on the use of technology to provide person- and family-centred services directly into the home environment, which is a person's natural communication environment. His research interests also include the use of simulation, virtual/augmented reality, and other innovative approaches in the preparation and training of students from speech pathology, allied health, and other health and education disciplines.

University Profile: Dr Retamal-Walter is Lecturer in Speech Pathology in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences.

Teaching Themes: Communication and Feeding Difficulties in Paediatrics; Hearing Loss Across the Lifespan.

Research interests: Telepractice, Communication Difficulties, Hearing Impairment, Person- and Family-Centred Care, Early Intervention, Telehealth, Professional Education, Interprofessional Practice.

Publications: 4 peer-reviewed journal articles, 1 book chapter.

Peer-Reviewer: Exceptional Children (Sage), International Journal of Audiology (Taylor & Francis), International Journal of Developmental Disabilities (Taylor & Francis), IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (EMBS), Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (BMC), Speech, Language and Hearing (Taylor & Francis), Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology (Taylor & Francis), Chilean Journal of Speech-Language and Hearing.

Conjoint Professor Paul Robinson is the Deputy Director of the Children’s Health Environment Program within the Child Health Research Centre (CHRC), and Senior Staff Specialist in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. His research program performs translational research outlining the role of peripheral airway function tests in early lung disease detection and ongoing monitoring of established disease.

He has led the development and standardisation of novel measures of lung function across the entire age range from infancy onwards, facilitating the development of commercial equipment available for widespread use. His research focuses on defining the clinical utility of two specific peripheral airway function tests (Multiple breath washout, MBW, and oscillometry) in important obstructive lung diseases (e.g., asthma, cystic fibrosis, and post bone marrow transplant pulmonary graft vs host disease) and in understanding the impacts of environmental exposures. Structure-function relationships have been explored using state-of-the-art imaging techniques, with the aim of also developing new strategies to reduce any radiation exposure associated with these to advance incorporation into clinical care (e.g., ultra-low dose CT).

These novel lung function tools not only in the hospital setting but also in the school and home setting, enabling the successful development of a parent-supervised remote monitoring strategy for asthma which has been shown to reflect clinically meaningful outcomes missed by conventional approaches. In collaboration with industry, this strategy is now being employed in a series of research projects.

Involvement in longitudinal birth cohorts has outlined the early lung function trajectories in health, and the identification of risk factors affecting normal lung development and contributing to the early development of asthma. Studies investigating environmental health have highlighted the adverse effects of ultrafine particle air pollution.

Professor Robinson’s standing as an international expert, both in terms of clinical and research experience, has led to broader leadership roles across national and international levels.

Dr Jessica Schults is a Queensland Government Clinical Research Fellow and incoming NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2026) based at the Herston Infectious Diseases Institute and The University of Queensland. A previous paediatric critical care nurse, Jessica has extensive clinical experience in critical care, with a particular passion for ventilator associated infections. Jessica’s research program aims to reduce the burden of healthcare-associated infections through better hospital surveillance, safer invasive device care, and rapid translation of evidence. She is a Chief Investigator on the IVCare adaptive platform trial, which evaluates strategies to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections, and leads the NHMRC-funded REBUILD project, which aims to strengthen national infection control systems using a learning health system approach. Jessica has a strong interest in the application of digital technologies, including AI-enabled risk prediction and clinical decision support tools. Jessica has strong, established partnerships with national and international healthcare consumers, organisations, and health services. She holds leadership roles with the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, is a board member for the ANZ Intensive Care Foundation and is a technical advisor to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Jessica is committed to growing the next generation of clinician-researchers, in-particular, in the underrepresented field of nursing.

My group works to understand and improve sleep for children and families. Sleep is a key ‘pillar of health’ alongside nutrition and activity. It is critical for healthy development, growth, learning, social and emotional functioning, and community participation.

I am the UQ Node Director for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (the Life Course Centre). The Life Course Centre is committed to understanding and overcoming the problems of disadvantage, and to helping improve the lives of disadvantaged children and families. The Centre brings together researchers across multiple disciplines in four leading Universities, and significant government and non-government agencies to address these questions.

I am also the UQ Node director for the ARC centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. The Digital Child aims to support children growing up in the rapidly changing digital world, and provide strong evidence and guidance for children, families, educators, government and other concerned with children’s wellbeing.

We collaborate with many other groups around broader issues of sleep and technology, sleep and the environment (including disasters), mental health and wellbeing, pain, disability, and new technologies and approaches. Our work has been supported by the ARC, NHMRC, the MRFF, the NIH, and the DSTG. We use a wide range of methods and measures, including direct physiological and behavioural measurement (inc. ECG, EEG, EMG, actigraphy, computerized tests, simulations, environmental monitoring etc.), quantitative methods (inc. experimental and secondary data approaches), and qualitative methods including co-design and co-conduct approaches.

My team has additional expertise in evaluation of health and other services for government and other agencies, the design of complex interventions, and community consultation and engagement.

https://lifecoursecentre.org.au

https://digitalchild.org.au

Karen Thorpe is Australian Research Council, Laureate Professor and Group Leader in Child Development, Education and Care at the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland. Her research is grounded in the understanding that early learning experiences shape brain development and are critical in establishing trajectories of health, social inclusion and learning across the lifespan. A particular focus of her work is early care and education environments including parenting, parent work, quality of care and education, and the early years workforce.

Karen leads a multi-disciplinary team of developmental scientists undertaking large scale longitudinal studies with embedded studies to explicate mechanisms that enable or limit children’s life chances. She was Foundation Psychologist on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children at the University of Bristol, UK; led the evaluation of the Preparing School Trial for Queensland Government; led the Queensland team of the E4Kids study of quality in Australian Early Education and Care and a recent data linkage project with Queensland Government to track participants through their school journey. In partnership with Queensland Government, Goodstart Early Learning and the Creche and Kindergarten Association she led a large population study of the Australian ECEC workforce (ARC Linkage). Her current research, as a chief investigator on the ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families across the life course, and through an ARC Laureate fellowship, is to examine barriers to providing high quality early learning services in developmentally vulnerable communities.

In 2013 and again in 2019 Karen was named by the Australian Financial Review as among Australia's 100 Women of Influence for the impacts of her research on educational and family policy. In 2020 she was recognised by Australian Government, Advance Global Awards for her international contribution to education. Karen chairs the Australian Early Years Reference Council for Evidence for Learning, Australia whose remit is to build a strong evidence-base in early childhood education and care with focus on translation into policy and practice. She is also director on the board of the Australian Research Council for Children and Youth and advisor to the national board of Beyond Blue – Be You.

Dr. Kelvin Tuong is a Senior Research Fellow/Group Leader at the Ian Frazer Centre for Children’s Immunotherapy Research (IFCCIR), Child Health Research Centre. He is interested in single-cell analysis of immune cells and harnessing adaptive immune receptors for understanding immune cell development and function in health and in cancer.

Dr. Tuong was born and raised in Singapore and moved to Brisbane, Australia, after completing national service in Singapore and obtaining a Diploma in Biomedical Laboratory Technology (Ngee Ann Polytechnic).

Dr. Tuong was originally trained as a molecular cell biologist and gradually transitioned into bioinformatics during his post-doctoral training. He has been very prolific for an early career researcher, having published >70 articles since 2013, with nearly a third of them as first/co-first or last author and has a stellar track record of pushing out highly collaborative work in prestigious journals including Nature, Cell, Science, Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology J Exp Med etc. He has the rare combination of having excellent laboratory and bioinformatics skill sets which provide him a strong command of both fundamental immunology and computational approaches.

Dr. Tuong completed his undergraduate Bachelor's degree in Biomedical science with Class I Honours, followed by his PhD in macrophage cell biology and endocrinology at UQ (Prof. Jenny Stow lab and Emiritus Prof. George Muscat lab, IMB, UQ). He then went on to a post-doc position with Emiritus Prof. Ian Frazer (co-inventor of the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine, UQ Frazer Institute, Translational Research Institute) where he worked on HPV immunology, cervical cancer and skin cancer. In his time in the Frazer lab, he developed an interest in bioinformatics analyses as a means to tackle and understanding immunology problems in health and disease. He then moved to the UK and joined Prof. Menna Clatworthy's lab at the University of Cambridge and Dr. Sarah Teichmann's lab at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. He has focused his interests on single-cell analyses of tissue immune cells, including T and B cells and their specific receptors (TCR/BCR). He has developed bespoke bioinformatics software, including one tailored for single-cell B Cell Receptor sequencing analysis, Dandelion, which he used in one of the largest combined single-cell transcriptomic, surface proteomic and TCR/BCR sequencing dataset in the world, published in Nature Medicine, and more recently in Nature Biotechnology where we introduced a TCR-based pseudotime trajectory analysis method.

Dr. Tuong is now leading the Computational Immunology group at the IFCCIR and his lab is focused on investigating how pediatric immunity is perturbed during cancer at the cellular level and how this information can be used for creating novel warning systems for children with cancer. For potential students/post-docs/trainees interested in joining the team, please contact Dr. Tuong at z.tuong@uq.edu.au.

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.

Children deserve the best of our healthcare. As Professor and Chair in Paediatric Nursing, conjoint between the University of Queensland (UQ) and Children’s Health Queensland, Amanda is working to optimise health service delivery for children in hospital, so they are able to receive the treatment they need, without complications. She also aims to improve the capacity, capability and excellence of consumer-focussed, powerful research across paediatric healthcare.

At UQ, Amanda leads the Paediatric Nursing and Patient Safety research group, which is based across the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work and the Children's Health Research Centre.

Amanda is also co-Chair of the Children's Inpatient Research Colloraborative of Australia and New Zealand (CIRCAN), which facilitates hospital-based paediatric research studies across metropolitan, regional and rural hospitals in Australasia. She is also Director of Child UnLimited, an Australian network of researchers, clinicians, advocates and families with a shared vision: to improve the clinical care and quality of life of children, adolescents and young adults living with a chronic illness or disability.

Dr Jacqueline Walker joined the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences in November 2015 and is working as a Senior Lecturer. She completed her doctoral degree in paediatric nutrition at The University of Queensland in March 2013, focusing on energy balance and body composition in children with cerebral palsy. Prior to this, she completed her undergraduate studies in exercise science and nutrition and dietetics at The University of Sydney. Jacqueline has worked as a dietitian for a number of years in acute hospital settings, community clinical settings and private practice, specialising in paediatric dietetics.

Dr Lahann Wijenayake is the Head of Orthopaedic Surgery at The University of Queensland. He is a Brisbane based orthopaedic surgeon having obtained his FRACS and FAorthA through the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators. Dr Wijenayake is a surgeon at the Queensland Children's Hospital. He has a keen interest in medical student teaching as well as research in the field of paediatric orthopaedics, orthopaedics, and medical student education.

Dr. Ayaho Yamamoto is the Group Leader of Laboratory Science at the Children's Health and Environmental Program and is a research fellow in the field of Biomedical Science. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanistic links between environmental exposures and adverse respiratory outcomes. In particular, she focuses on the cellular responses following air pollution exposure and/or viral infection on human respiratory epithelium, and the age differences in immune defence mechanisms. Investigate on early intervention strategies with dietary antioxidants to improve respiratory health and reduce the risk of long-term chronic diseases.

Dr. Yamamoto has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health and Public Health; her research focused on childhood asthma. She has a Master of Science in Biomedical Science and Pharmacology; the research focus was to understand the mechanisms and to test new drugs for osteoporosis and chondrosarcomas metastasis. She has worked in a Uni-based start-up company for drug development.