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As I am a teaching-focussed academic, my research interests centre on teaching and learning. Specifically, I want to understand how undergraduate students learn in a conceptually challenging discipline like physiology. However, the primary purpose of any T&L research is not simply to improve our knowledge and disseminate findings, although that is important. Instead, the primary aim of our research must always be to improve student learning outcomes. It is essential not only that we do research in T&L, but that we also incorporate those research findings into our teaching and curriculum design, and encourage others to do so too. Currently my research is pursuing three major themes: (1) promotion of the metacognition of learning; (2) how we promote the development of undergraduate science students ‘scientific’ skills, encompassing science communication, scientific reasoning and critical thinking; and (3) innovations in assessment and feedback to support student learning.

Leanne is an academic specialising in Indigenous public health. She has a strong background as a health practitioner, executive manager in both the Australian Government and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, and as an international public health consultant. She has extensive experience teaching using a strengths-based approach as opposed to the deficit model, and supports other staff to utilise culturally-safe teaching practices across health professional education programs at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. She was a co-lead on the Game Changing Education - Embedding Indigenous knowledges in the training and development of the health workforce in a culturally safe transformative learning environment project, funded through both teaching fellowship and teaching innovation grants, which have been implemented in both the HaBS and Medicine faculties. Leanne and the Indigenous Health Education and Workforce Development team from UQ and the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health were awarded two prestigious and highly competitive awards: the Business & Higher Education Roundtable Award for Outstanding Collaboration in Higher Education and Training, and the Australian Awards for University Teaching Award for Programs that Enhance Learning. Leanne brings this knowledge and experience to her role as Co-Chair of the World Federation of Public Health Associations' Public Health Professionals' Education and Training Working Group, which has published the results of a curriculum mapping project benchmarked against the Global Charter for the Public’s Health. She is also a member of the Steering Committee and Technical Advisory Group for the World Health Organization project on national workforce capacity to implement the essential public health functions.

Dr Emma Crawford is an occupational therapist and researcher whose work centres on promoting wellbeing for infants, children, families and communities. Emma's primary focus is on cross-cultural projects that link with community organisations to create social change and reduce the impacts of disadvantage by supporting health enhancing environments and activities in early life. At the centre of Emma's work is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3 - ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing across all ages. Currently, Emma is leading several projects:

1) The BABI Project (research): refugee and asylum seeker families' expereinces during the perinatal period (systematic review, qualitative focus group and interview research)

2) The Uni-Friends program (student delivered service and student placement) - a social-emotional helth promotion program that draws on cultural responsiveness (The Making Connecitons Framework) and community development principles in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled School

3) LUCIE-NDC (research) - mothers' experiences of accessing Neuroprotective-Developmental Care in the first 12 months of their infants' lives

Emma has a strong interest in understanding human experiences, community-driven initiatives, and strengths-based, innovative, evidence based, complex approaches to wellbeing that consider individuals and systems She also carries out research regarding allied health student placements in culturally diverse settings including low-middle income countries and Indigenous contexts. She works as a Lecturer at the University of Queensland, Australia after having worked in a range of occupational therapy roles including with children with autism, with asylum seekers, with Indigenous Australians with chronic disease, and completing her PhD in Political Science and International Studies in 2015.

I am an Associate Professor in the School of Languages and Cultures at UQ (since 2017), having formerly been an assistant professor at the Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES), University of Hong Kong (since 2014). I hold an MA TESOL from the University of London and an M.Phil/Ph.D in applied linguistics from the University of Cambridge.

My areas of research and supervisory expertise include generative AI, corpus linguistics and the use of AI/corpora for language learning (known as 'data-driven learning'), as well as L2 writing research and English for General and Specific Academic Purposes. I have featured in Stanford's Top 2% Scientists lists for 2023 and 2024.

I am currently Co-Editor in Chief of Language Learning & Technology (SSCI, Q1); Editor in Chief of the Australian Review of Applied Linguistics (SCOPUS, Q1), have served as Associate Editor for the Journal of English for Academic Purposes (Q1), sit on the editorial boards of JSLW, IRAL, System, Applied Corpus Linguistics, Research Syntheses in Applied Linguistics, Research Methods in Applied Linguistics, and the book series Studies in Corpus Linguistics.

Gloria Dall'Alba is an Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Queensland and higher education consultant at GD Higher Ed Consulting. Her research focuses on learning and teaching in higher education and the workplace, with a particular interest in educating for the professions and the philosophy of higher education. After completing a PhD at Monash University in Australia and Postdoctoral Fellowship at Gothenburg University in Sweden, she has held positions at the University of Queensland, the University of Melbourne and RMIT University, as well as at Karolinska Institute and a secondment to Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. She has published widely on a range of issues relating to higher education, workplace learning and research inquiry. A strong strand of her research is interdisciplinary. She has collaborated with researchers from Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and the USA from the fields of higher education, pharmacy, business, dentistry, engineering, forensic science, medicine, nursing, philosophy and physics.

For further details on publications: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8337-0530

In biostatistics, the real measure of good work is not the journal’s impact factor or the size of the grant, but whether the analysis is honest, the methods are fit for purpose, and the findings can be trusted to guide decisions. Dr Darssan aims to do this kind of work: careful, transparent, and selective within focused teams of like-minded colleagues where statistical thinking is shared rather than outsourced. The goal remains constant: better evidence that ultimately advances modelling of geographical patterns and environmental impacts.

His research centres on applying and extending statistical methods, particularly spatial and environmental approaches, to address practical problems in complex observational and environmental data. He remains committed to transparent, reproducible practice and to mentoring the next generation of applied spatial and environmental modellers.

Dr Darssan values teaching that builds genuine statistical confidence rather than surface-level competence. His approach centres on active learning, real-world data, and creating an environment that encourages students to ask questions, challenge ideas, and think critically. He uses R-based workshops, practical case studies, and structured discussion to develop computational skill, logical reasoning, and critical judgement. As a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA), he remains committed to reflective, student-centred practice that prepares learners to use statistics thoughtfully in their future work. He has taught approximately 1,300 postgraduate and 1,000 undergraduate students in foundational and applied statistics, and has supervised 9 Master’s dissertations and 8 PhD students to completion.

He values service as service, not as a means of promotion or personal return, but as a genuine commitment to helping others. Externally, he contributed as Statistics Editor for Clinical Toxicology, Associate Editor for Archives of Environmental and Occupational Health, President of the Statistical Society of Australia – Queensland Branch, Webinar Coordinator for the Teaching of Statistics in the Health Sciences section of the American Statistical Association, and Social Media Editor for the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Statistics. He also regularly reviews manuscripts and examines research theses.

Within the University, he has served as Program Director of the Bachelor of Health Sciences, co-founder of the Environmental Epidemiology Research Group, Engagement Coordinator for current students, PhD progress review chair and thesis examiner. He also developed the School’s LinkedIn presence. He particularly values conversations with like-minded people who undertake service for its own sake, rather than for personal benefit.

As a service statistician, Dr Darssan has spent years supporting investigator-initiated clinical trials, contributing to study design, randomisation, protocol development, statistical analysis plans, final reports, and data safety monitoring. He has provided statistical expertise to clinicians and researchers across ophthalmology, nephrology, rheumatology, endocrinology, and health services research.

Dr Darsy Darssan is a Senior Lecturer in Biostatistics at The University of Queensland’s School of Public Health. He holds three degrees in Statistics from mathematical sciences schools: a BSc (Hons) from the University of Jaffna (2005), an MAppSc from RMIT University (2008), and a PhD from Queensland University of Technology (2014). His early career included roles at the Australian Council for Educational Research, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Wollongong, followed by postdoctoral research in biostatistics at the University of Liverpool, UK. He returned to Australia in late 2015 and has been at UQ ever since.

Do good by stealth, and blush to find it fame.

I am an early career researcher with 5 years post-PhD and estimated research time relative to opportunity of 3 years. Currently, I am a Senior Research Fellow at The University of Queensland’s (UQ) Australian Frailty Network. I have years of study and work experience, including consumer and community involvement, in various healthcare settings in Brazil (2009-2019), the UK (2003-2008) and Australia (2019-present). I came to Australia in December 2019 for a 12-month PhD research placement at UQ after winning a highly competitive scholarship from the Brazilian Government. I have a Bachelor of Pharmacy, a Graduate Certificate in Project Management, a Master of Philosophy in Public Health, a Diploma of Higher Education in Youth and Community Studies and an OCN Level 3 Certificate in Community Development. I completed my PhD in Public Health in 2021.

I have a proven track record for delivering high-quality projects, with national significance, including policy change and integration into the national strategy in Brazil, and the implementation of a digital model of care developed in Australia. My track record demonstrates a rising career trajectory. My research interests are telehealth, virtual care and digital health, including digitally disrupted models of care for chronic conditions, trust and confidence in telehealth and digital health, digital health literacy, health services research, including implementation and evaluation strategies, mixed-methods, cross-sectional studies, co-design and qualitative inquiry, community and consumer involvement in research and service redesign.

Lori is an experienced intersive care nurse who has worked in a range of Intensive Care environments, and with an interest in advance mechancial ventilation, ECMO and VAD management. She completed her PhD in 2023, which investigated sleep monitoring techniques and sleep distruabnce among ICU patients, and impact of the clinical environment. Lori is the program lead in nursing at the University of Queensland and has an interest in how emerging technologies can be leveraged in nursing education and clinical simulation to enhance nursing students knowledge and critical thinking skills. Her career has focussed on providing high quality patient care to the critically ill, and undertaking clinical research to optimise patient care and outcomes.

Alana is an experienced physiotherapist, researcher and lecturer at The University of Queensland. She has a strong clinical background in private practice physiotherapy, with a particular interest in the physiotherapy management of temporomandibular disorders. Alana is a guest member of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Orofacial Pain, and is an active member of the Neck and Head Research Unit (NAHRU), Professional Education Research Engagement Theme and Knowledge Translation Research Engagement Theme at The University of Queensland. Alana's PhD explored disability associated with persistent intra-articular temporomandibular disorders in adults. She has achieved numerous high-quality research outputs and has an increasing national and international research profile in the areas of temporomandibular disorders and clinical education. Alana is experienced across a variety of research methodologies and paradigms, including qualitative and quantitative approaches, with a keen interest in knowledge translation across intra-professional, inter-professional, academic and industry settings.

I am Senior Lecturer in Endangered Languages, and convenor of the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalisation. I am also an active researcher, with several projects on Indigenous language revitalisation and maintenance in Central Australia and in Queensland.

My approach to both teaching and research is collaborative, community-guided and applied. This informed by my on-going self-reflexivity as a non-Indigenous woman and my experience living and working on unceded Kaurna, Arrernte, Warumungu, Warlpiri, Pintupi-Luritja country and, since moving to the University of Queensland in 2019, Jagera and Turrbal country.

I have supervisory expertise in Indigenous language revitalisation and the sociology of language, including languages in education, language policy and planning and language in the arts.

The research I am commited to generates both academic publications and high impact non-traditional research outputs. I have published 15 articles, 11 book chapters, 4 books, including a Warumungu learner's dictionary and a co-edited volume. I have co-developed and co-curated two exhibitions, created curriculum and learning materials, compiled a language teacher resource books and image bank for language, teaching, and co-authored commissioned reports and reviews in languages education and languages policy.

Dr Edwards is an Associate Professor in the School of Education where she is currently the Director of Research Innovation and Higher Degree Research. Her research spans education, psychology and medical education and her collaborators are national and international experts in these disciplines. Dr Edwards has an international reputation for contributing to understanding the link between anxiety, attention, and memory. Her work supports the notion that an inability to efficiently process information and maintain concentration, plays a critical role in the development and maintenance of emotional disorders.

Dr Edwards' latest work focusses on the translation of theory-driven, basic science into treatments for clinical problems, specifically for children and adolescents. For example, her research laboratory is currently conducting a series of studies investigating whether training the cognitive processes most vulnerable to anxiety and depression can in turn reduce emotional symptoms in children and adolescents. This work also seeks to understand the influence of cognitive training on academic achievement.

Dr Edwards completed a PhD and an honours degree in psychology (Bond University), and an undergraduate degree in education (Griffith University). For over two decades, she has worked as a primary classroom teacher, special education teacher, guidance counsellor, and psychologist. She has taught and supervised clinical, professional and research skills in education, psychology and medicine and worked in higher education in the United Kingdom and Australia. Dr Edwards joined The University of Queensland in 2020 to teach into the Master of Educational Studies (Guidance, Counselling and Careers).

Emerita Professor Diann (Di) Eley is the former Director of MD Student Research and Director of Research Training in the Faculty of Medicine. She is the Chair of the UQ Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC B) and she serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE).

Research career began with 20 years as a bench scientist in bio-medical laboratories in Kenya and the UK. Academic career began in 2000, receiving a PhD in health psychology from University of Bristol. Moved to the School of Medicine at UQ in 2003.

Primary research focus is research training and rural health workforce. Developed and implemented the Clinician-Scientist Track (MD-PhD and MD-MPhil) in the UQ Medical School.

Over 150 peer reviewed journal publications and received UQ and national awards for programs that enhance learning.

• 2015: The University of Queensland Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
• 2015: The University of Queensland Award for Excellence in Leadership
• 2014: Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Senior Teaching Excellence Award
• 2014: Dean’s Award for Innovation in Curriculum Development. School of Medicine
• 2013: The University of Queensland Faculty of Health Sciences Award for Teaching Excellence.
• 2006: National Carrick Award for Australian University Teaching – Innovation in curricula,
• 2005: The University of Queensland Awards for Enhancement of Student Learning

Key research areas: Intellectual and developmental disability; Inclusive mathematics education; Down syndrome; Mathematics learning difficulties; Quality of life.

Dr Rhonda Faragher AO is a Professor in Inclusive Education. She has internationally recognised expertise in the mathematics education of learners with Down syndrome. In her research and teaching, she works to improve the educational outcomes of students who have difficulties learning mathematics, for whatever reason, including through educational disadvantage. Beyond mathematics education, she has expertise in inclusive education in a range of contexts, including secondary classrooms.

Dr Faragher is the Director of the Down Syndrome Research Program within the School of Education. She is an appointed Board member to the Academy on Education, Teaching and Research of IASSIDD - the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Chair of the Down syndrome Special Interest Research Group of IASSIDD, Vice-President of Down Syndrome International and an Independent Director of Down Syndrome Australia. She is Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities.

Dr Faragher is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of IASSIDD and has received a number of awards for her work including the 2020 UQ Award for Excellence in Community, Diversity and Inclusion, the 2016 ACU Vice-Chancellor's Medal for Staff Excellence, a Commonwealth of Australia Endeavour Executive Award and the 2011 Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia Research Award. In 2023, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Recent books / chapters

Faragher, R. (2023). A practical guide to educating learners with Down syndrome. Supporting lifelong learning. Routledge.

Faragher, R. M. (2023). Individual student characteristics, abilities and personal qualities and the teacher’s role in improving mathematics learning outcomes. In A. Manizade, N. Buchholtz, & K. Beswick (Eds.), The evolution of research on teaching mathematics. International perspectives in the digital era. (pp. 227-253). Springer Nature. https://doi.org/https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-31193-2

Faragher, R., Robertson, P., & Bird, G. (2020). International guidelines for the education of learners with Down syndrome. DSi.

Siemon, D., Warren, E., Beswick, K., Faragher, R., Miller, J., Horne, M., Jazby, D., & Breed, M. (2020). Teaching mathematics: foundations to middle years. 3rd ed. Oxford University Press.

Brown, R. I., & Faragher, R. (Eds.). (2018). Quality of life and intellectual disability. Knowledge application to other social and educational challenges. (Revised ed.). Nova.

Recent articles

Faragher, R., & Lloyd, J. (Early View). Continuing conceptualising QOL through application to the lives of young adults with Down syndrome. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12479

Vassos, M., Faragher, R., Nankervis, K., Breedt, R., Boyle, F., Smith, S., & Kelly, J. (2023). The ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics and disability: Findings from a scoping review and their humanrights implications. Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-023-00362-1

Yanes, T., Vaishnavi, N., Wallingford, C., Faragher, R., Nankervis, K., Jacobs, C., Vassos, M., Boyle, F., Carroll, A., Smith, S., & McInerney-Leo, A. (2023). Australasian genetic counselors’ attitudes toward disability and prenatal testing: Findings from a cross-sectional survey. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 1-12. https://doi.org/http://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1788

Wanjagua, R., Hepburn, S., Faragher, R., John, S. T., Gayathri, K., Gitonga, M., Meshy, C. F., Miranda, L., & Sindano, D. (2022). Key learnings from COVID‐19 to sustain quality of life for families of individuals with IDD. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 19(1), 72–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12415

Faragher, R., Chen, M., Miranda, L., Poon, K., Rumiati, Chang, F., & Chen, H. (2021). Inclusive Education in Asia: Insights From Some Country Case Studies. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 18(1), 23–35. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12369

Faragher, R.M. & Clarke, B. A. (2020). Inclusive practices in the teaching of mathematics : some findings from research including children with Down syndrome. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 32(1), 121–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-019-00294-x

Faragher, R,M. (2019). The New 'Functional Mathematics' for Learners with Down Syndrome : Numeracy for a Digital World. International Journal of Disability, Development, and Education, 66(2), 206–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2019.1571172

Associate Professor Rachel Fitzgerald is Deputy Associate Dean (Academic) in the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law at The University of Queensland, where she leads strategic initiatives in digital education, curriculum innovation, assessment transformation, and teaching quality. Her work focuses on responsible AI in higher education, online learning design, assessment innovation, and future-focused curriculum development.

Rachel chairs UQ’s Digital Learning Sub-Committee and is Chair of the national Teaching and Education Focused Academic (TEFA) Network, representing more than 1,400 Education Focused academics across Australia. She is also Editor in Chief of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice and a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA), recognised for sustained strategic leadership in higher education teaching and learning.

Her research and leadership explore the intersection of AI, digital transformation, pedagogy, and academic development, with a particular focus on ethical and human-centred approaches to educational innovation. Rachel contributes to national and international policy discussions, keynote events, and sector initiatives related to AI, assessment, online learning, and teaching quality.

Her recent publications include the Springer Nature book: Technology-Enhanced Learning and the Virtual University, the Routledge book: Navigating the Impossible in Online Learning Design and a UQ Pressbooks pubication Inquiry in action: using AI to reimagine learning and teaching: case studies from the frontline of higher education practice.

Areas of expertise include:

• Generative AI in higher education
• Digital learning and online pedagogy
• Assessment and academic integrity
• Curriculum innovation and learning design
• Teaching quality and academic development
• Lifelong learning and microcredentials

I am a public health sociologist with research interests in the health and wellbeing of people experiencing marginalisation and the social determinants of (sexual) health. I am the course coordinator of PUBH7033 Foundations of Public Health and PUBH7003 Qualitative Research Methods. I am engaged in social research projects related to HIV, sexual health, young people, LGBTIQ+ health, sex worker health and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Dr Cassandra France has a PhD in brand strategy and is a Senior Lecturer at UQ in the Marketing Discipline.

After gaining industry experience working in brand strategy, advertising and marketing, Cassandra's research approach bridges theory and practice to better understand how transformative branding can be executed by brand managers to benefit both the brand, the consumer and society. Cassandra is interested in customer-brand relationships, as well as the role of brands in contributing to society. Recent work is focused on brand purpose, SDGs and corporate social activism with upcoming work exploring non-profit brand vulnerability. Her work appears in the Journal of Product & Brand Management, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Brand Management, Journal of Marketing Management, among others.

Cassandra is a dedicated educator, previously Program Leading the Master of Business at University of Queensland and receiving numerous awards for excellence in teaching, including the 2024 Australian Awards for University Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, the 2023 UQ Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, the 2022 BEL Award for Excellence in Student Learning and the 2021 UQ Business School Excellence Award for Student Engagement.

Cassandra is the HDR Coordinator for the Marketing Discipline and has completed training in Supervising Doctoral Studies, Contemporary Expectations in HDR Supervision, Supervising Indigenous HDR candidates, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Core Cultural Learning and Mental Health First Aid.

Professor Peter Galbraith has an outstanding profile in mathematics education. In research, Peter’s major contribution has been in the field of mathematical modelling and the teaching of modelling to secondary school students. Peter is widely recognised for his international leadership in mathematics education. He has served on the editorial board of Educational Studies in Mathematics since 1999.

My teaching practice is anchored in the scholarship of reflective practice, an evidence-based approach proven to enhance teaching quality and improve student outcomes and grounded in the conviction that quality teaching is fundamental to student success.

As the Academic Lead for Advancing Teaching at UQ’s Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI), I design programs that enhance teaching excellence. Through these programs, my leadership and expertise impact governance, curriculum innovation, and has shaped inclusive academic communities within and beyond UQ.

My research impacts Higher Education globally and focuses on recognising and rewarding teaching expertise, shaping policies across higher education institutions. I have contributed to 24 curriculum reviews of academic programs, published 84 scholarly works, secured $1.9M in funding to investigate and innovate university education practices, and spearheaded international collaborations that influence teaching recognition and career progression globally.

A dedicated mentor, I have supported over 800 UQ staff in achieving HEA Fellowships, guided senior leaders globally in attaining their Principal Fellowship status. I have established similar schemes in partnership with 8 universities across in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK.

I am the program convener of the Graduate Certificate of University Teaching Practice which enables UQ staff develop teaching expertise. Successful completion of this accredited program leads to HEA Fellowship.