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Dr Damon Kent

Honorary Principal Fellow
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Associate Professor Damon Kent is an expert in the development and processing of metallic biomaterials, light structural metals and metallic composites. He applies advanced characterisation to study the links between structure and processing with the aim to control properties and performance.

Damon Kent
Damon Kent

Dr Aditya Khanna

Affiliate of Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM)
Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Lecturer
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Dr Aditya Khanna is a Lecturer (Applied Mechanics) at The University of Queensland (commenced 2023). Prior to joining UQ, Aditya worked as an engineering consultant (dynamics and vibration) at Vipac Engineers & Scientists Ltd and held an adjunct lecturer appointment at The University of Adelaide. Aditya's research and industry consulting background is in the areas of: stress analysis, fatigue and fracture assessment, structural dynamics, vibration control, and non-destructive testing,

Aditya Khanna
Aditya Khanna

Professor Bronwyn Laycock

Affiliate of Centre for Marine Science
Centre for Marine Science
Faculty of Science
Professor
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Professor Bronwyn Laycock has a diverse background in translational research, working not only in academia but also in industry and as a consulting chemist as well as at CSIRO. Her research activities have ranged from bio/degradable polymers, composites, organic and organometallic synthesis, waste conversion technologies, and pulp and paper chemistry, to general polymer chemistry. She is currently working across a range of projects with a focus on materials for circular economy applications and management of the transition to the new plastics economy. The application areas in her research program include biopolymers (particularly polyhydroxyalkanoates), polymer lifetime estimation and end-of-life management/conversion technologies, biocomposites, controlled release matrixes for pesticide and fertiliser applications, polyurethane chemistry, and biodegradable packaging.

She has a strong history of successful commercialisation and impact, being a co-inventor on CSIRO's extended wear contact lens program (recognised as its fourth most significant invention) - for which she was awarded a joint CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement 2009. As a Project Leader and Deputy Program Leader within the CRC for Polymers, she also managed a project that delivered an oxodegradable thin film polyethylene that was commercially licenced by Integrated Packaging. This work earned the team a Joint Chairman’s Award for research/commercialization (CRC for Polymers) and an Excellence in Innovation Award (CRC Association).

Bronwyn Laycock
Bronwyn Laycock

Dr Ian Levett

Affiliate of ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites
ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Research Fellow
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Ian has been a research fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering since 2023. He has a diverse background in chemical engineering R&D, with PhD in chemical engineering at UQ, experience in pilot scale hydrometallurgy where he was a lead researcher in the product development team for AlphaHPA and has a growing researcher profile focussing on bioplastics production, modification, and applications, as well as their life-cycle assessments. His current research within the ARC Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites is supporting transition away from linear, non-degradable plastics toward a more circular economy through the production of a bioderived and biodegradable bioplastic called PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) using halophilic biotechnology, with expertise in scaleup design and techno-economic assessments. Another topic Ian is passionate about is nutrient pollution, which has cascading effects on our local aquatic ecosystems, as well as air quality and climate change. To address this global challenge, he is developing novel controlled release fertilisers by coating them with PHA and other bioplastics to help mitigate nutrient losses from agricultural lands and reducing fertiliser requirements. Ian is a motivated problem-solver, applying fundamental chemical engineering principles to help support a transition to a more sustainable future.

Ian Levett
Ian Levett

Dr Mingyuan Lu

Affiliate of Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM)
Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Senior Lecturer
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Dr. Mingyuan Lu was awarded her PhD from The University of Queensland in Febuary 2014. She has previously completed a Masters of Engineering (June 2009, Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, China), and a Bachelor of Engineering (June 2007, Materials Science and Engineering, Central south University, China).

Mingyuan has more than 10 years’ experience in research, and during this period she has gained extensive experience with material synthesis, mechanical mechanics, and material characterization including nanoindentation, nanoscratching, atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, and focused ion beam milling (FIB); additionally,she has experience with structural and compositional analysis techniques (Raman, XRD, EDS, DTA, DSC etc.).

Mingyuan's contributions to the field of mechanical and materials engineering are listed below:

Materials mechanics

  • (2015-2016) developed a new and successful FIB-machined micro-cantilever bending technique to study the fracture and interfacial properties of the protective intermetallic coatings on magnesium alloys: this technique can be applied to a wide range of materials, sub-surface structures and multilayered structures. Based on this methodology, they later developed a micro-bridge four-point bending technique. This approach can generate a “stable” interfacial delamination, and thus enables quantitative analysis of interfacial toughness.
  • (2011-2014) developed an indentation-based methodology for assessing the interfacial adhesion of bilayer structures, in a joint project that was funded by WIN Semiconductor Co., Taiwan: the methodology developed has been used to test the reliability of SiN-passivated GaAs semiconductor wafer products.

Materials synthesis and processing

  • (2015-current) developing a selective laser sintering process for the additive manufacturing of porous and biodegradable scaffolds, made from a biopolymer, for bone tissue engineering: this innovative process can produce scaffolds without the use of an artificial 3D model, and the scaffold has a unique interconnected pore architecture and large surface area making it suitable for bone tissue regeneration applications. The promising outcomes of the preliminary study have elicited strong support from UQ; it has received two generous internal grants (a philanthropic grant for an ECR in the field of engineering, and SEED funding) to enable further study in this field. The scaffolds will shortly be tested in a pre-clinical mouse model (funded by SEEM grant) to study biocompatibility and osteoconductivity.
  • (2007-2009) developed high-performance refractory metallic materials using powder metallurgy processes: in this project, they discovered the effect of trace TiC, ZrC Carbide nanoparticles on the mechanical properties, sintering behaviour and microstructure of molybdenum alloys.
Mingyuan Lu
Mingyuan Lu

Associate Professor Bin Luo

Associate Professor
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Affiliate of Nanomaterials Centre
NanoMaterials Centre
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
UQ Amplify Fellow and Group Leader
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

A/Professor Bin Luo is currently an ARC Future Fellow and Group Leader in Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) at the University of Queensland (UQ). He received his doctoral degree in Physical Chemistry from National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (NCNST), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) in July 2013. In August 2014, Dr Luo joined UQ as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in AIBN. He then secured highly competitive UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2015-2018), ARC DECRA Fellowship (2018-2021), and ARC Future Fellowship (2021-2025).

Research interests in Luo group mainly include

  • Design of functional materials for next generation energy storage applications, including multivalent metal batteries, redox flow batteries and solid state batteries.
  • Exploring new conceptual energy conversion or storage systems (e.g. flexible/micro-batteries, solar rechargeable battery).
  • Revealing the structure-performance relationship of functional materials via in/ex situ investigations.
  • Interaction of biomaterials and energy storage.
Bin Luo
Bin Luo

Dr Xiaodong Ma

Affiliate of Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Senior Research Fellow
Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Dr Xiaodong Ma obtained his Bachelor's Degree in 2006 and a Master's Degree in 2009 from Dalian University of Technology, China, then graduated with a PhD in 2012 from The University of Tokyo, Japan, supported by the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho: MEXT) Scholarship.

Dr Ma joined The University of Queensland in 2012, right after his PhD graduation, starting as a postdoctoral research fellow.

Dr Ma is now the group leader of the High-Temperature Processing (HTP) group and leading the HTP Program at JKMRC, SMI of UQ. He is an expert in experimental and modelling research on thermodynamics and kinetics of high-temperature materials processing for ferrous, non-ferrous and advanced materials. He has extensive hands-on experience in fundamental study and applied research, including solar cell silicon purification, ironmaking, steel secondary refining, copper smelting, metal extraction from low-grade complexed ores, and waste treatment, etc. His research activities also extend to the development of high-strength and high-end specials steels by sophisticated control of second phase particles. Along with the research, he is also good at materials characterization by operating the analytical facilities of SEM, EPMA, TEM, XRD, ICP, etc.

His current research interests span the decarburization of ironmaking and steelmaking with hydrogen metallurgy and lower CO2 emission technologies in the metallurgical sector and high temperature processing of critical minerals, aiming to bridge the gap between conventional metal production and the emerging circular, sustainable economy..

Xiaodong Ma
Xiaodong Ma

Professor Darren Martin

Affiliate of ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites
ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Affiliate of Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformati
ARC COE for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Professor
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Professor Darren Martin FTSE

A Translational Materials Scientist and Intensive Connector, Darren's work sits at the nexus of three key themes of strong fundamental materials science, safe biomaterials and nanomaterials and scalable advanced manufacturing

Darren has always had a strong passion for translation, as evidenced by the following four major research translation outputs, which share the capacity of advanced materials to enable impacts in health, sustainability, and social empowerment:

1996-2012 - Aortech Biomaterials Ltd: We developed a more biostable pacemaker lead insulation which is now implanted in over 80 million people worldwide (Abbott Medical).

2001-2020 - TenasiTech Pty Ltd: In 2020 our scratch resistant and break-proof acrylic glass technology was sold to RTP, a multinational plastics compounder who now sell into several large markets (appliances, personal care, construction, cell phone cases, automotive parts, etc).

2011-2022 - Spinifex Nanocellulose Platform Technology: In 2021, this technology was licensed to Brisbane startup Trioda Medical Pty Ltd for the development of injectable medical gels.

2015-Present - Sorghum-derived Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC): My team have demonstrated that sorghum grasses can be pulped and refined into MFC in a far more sustainable manner than wood biomass.

International Collaborators and Industry Partners

Professor Martin’s current international collaborators include Stony Brook University (USA), DTU (Denmark) and IIT-Delhi (India). He also has several materials co-development projects and collaborations with companies such as Advanta Seeds, GSA Innovation, Opal Paper, Cardia Bioplastics, GMG, GrapheneX, Duromer, OPS, Dulux, Australian Wood Fibre and others.

Prizes, Honours and Awards

Excellence & Commercialisation

• 2020 - UTS Chancellor’s Award (awarded to the top Alumni from the whole of UTS each year)

• 2020 - UTS Alumni Award for Excellence - Faculty of Science • 2016 & 2019 - 2 UQ Partners in Research Excellence Awards (PIREAs) (Spinifex project Bulugudu partnership)

• 2015 - State finalist in the 2015 Telstra Business Awards (TenasiTech Pty Ltd)

• 2010 - UQ Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology Commercialisation Award

• 2010 - Engineers Australia Nanoengineering Panel

• 2007 - iLab Prize at the QLD Enterprise Awards (lead to TenasiTech pre-seed investment from UniSeed)

Service & Leadership

• 2021 - ATSE Reconciliation Action Plan reference group and Industry and Innovation Forum

• 2021 - ATSE President Nominations and Interview Committee to deliberate on the current ATSE President

• 2019 - UQ Teams Leadership Award (Spinifex project Bulugudu partnership)

• 2019 - Business Higher Education Round Table Award (Community Engagement Bulugudu partnership)

• 1993 - Member of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute RACI and the RACI QLD Polymer Group

Darren Martin
Darren Martin

Dr Stuart McDonald

Affiliate of Centre for Multiscale Energy Systems
Centre for Multiscale Energy Systems
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Affiliate of Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM)
Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Affiliate of Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials
Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Senior Research Fellow
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Dr McDonald is a graduate of The University of Queensland (UQ) having obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (Manufacturing and Materials) in 1997 and a PhD in Materials Engineering in 2002. He is a currently a Senior Research Fellow in the Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NSCMEM).

His research is in the field of microstructure control through solidification science and in particular on understanding the effect of trace element additions on nucleation and growth phenomena. He has numerous publications and expertise in the areas of:

1. Lead-free Solder Alloys

2. Grain refinement

3. Machining and heat treatment of titanium alloys

4. Mg-based Hydrogen Storage Alloys

5. Casting and Solidification of Al-Si Alloys

6. Eutectic solidification and modification

Stuart McDonald
Stuart McDonald

Professor Michael Monteiro

Senior Group Leader
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Professor
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Faculty of Science
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Professor Michael Monteiro has established an international reputation in the field of 'living' radical polymerization to create complex polymer architectures. He is now building designer polymers for various biomedical applications, including vaccines, drug delivery and stem cells. He is dedicated to translating research into commercial outcomes, with 7 PCT and provisional patents since 2005 and start-up company DendriMed Pty Ltd. He was awarded an ARC QEII Fellowship in 2004 and an ARC Future Fellowship in 2009. He has attracted ARC and NHMRC grants; and Queensland State Government funding in excess of $7 million.

International links

Professor Monteiro has built a strong collaboration with Professor Virgil Percec from the University of Pennsylvania to develop and understand the new SET-LRP. He has developed a collaboration with Professor Rachel O'Reilly from the University of Warwick to develop nanoreactors that mimic enzyme activity. In collaboration with Professor Eugenia Kumacheva from the University of Toronto, they developed temperature responsive micron-sized particles from encapsulation of cells.

Michael Monteiro
Michael Monteiro

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev

Theme Leader Therm. Computation
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering and a member of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre led by Prof. Evgueni Jak.

He graduated with a Master in Chemistry (chemical thermodynamics) from Lomonosov's Moscow State University, Deparment of Chemistry in 2012. His Master's Thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the NaOH-Al(OH)3-Na2SiO3-H2O system for applications in Bayer's process of bauxite treatment" as part of a bigger project initiated in collaboration with Rusal company aimed at utilisation/valorisation of red mud residues accumulated during the production of aluminium oxide from bauxite ores.

In 2019, he completed a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal, Canada within The Centre For Research in Computational Thermodynamics (CRCT), where he acquired expertise in FactSage software, multicomponent database development, and was included in the list of official collaborators of FactSage. His PhD thesis was "Thermodynamic optimization of the Na2O-K2O-Al2O3-CaO-MgO-B2O3-SiO2 system" sponsored by Glass Consortium including Corning and SCHOTT glass producers. The purpose of the database he developed was to assist the industry in designing new glasses with special properties: chemically hardened glasses (smartphones), technical glasses with high thermal and chemical resilience (boron-containing glasses), chemically inert glasses, etc.

Short after receiving his PhD, Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev accepted a position at The University of Queensland as part of the Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre's team where he has an official title of Theme Leader in Thermodynamic Computations, combining his broad expertise in metallurgy, chemical engineering, applied mathematics, and programming.

Dr Evgenii Nekhoroshev has always been passionate about formalisation and automation of big research tasks. He started working on developing an automated solver for thermodynamic optimisation during his PhD thesis which was improved and finalised using the ideas of Prof. Evgueni Jak about real-time derivative matrix optimization and sensitivity analysis applicable to large multicomponent systems. His contribution to the Centre allowed to make transition to a continuous optimization approach when experimental and modelling streams of work in the Centre are efficiently combined together. It allows to include the most recent experimental datasets into a self-consistent database update with minimal time delays.

Evgenii Nekhoroshev
Evgenii Nekhoroshev

Professor Kazuhiro Nogita

Affiliate of Centre for Multiscale Energy Systems
Centre for Multiscale Energy Systems
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Affiliate of Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM)
Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Centre Director of Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials
Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Professor
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Prof Kazuhiro Nogita’s research interests are in: working on Pb-free solder alloys and intermetallics, hydrogen storage alloys, Li-ion battery anode materials, Zn-Al coating alloys and structural Al-Si and Mg alloys. The unifying theme throughout his research career has been the development of environmentally sustainable materials solutions for conventional and alternative electronic, transport and power industries.

Prof Nogita graduated as an Engineer in Japan in 1990 and worked in the nuclear power industry with Hitachi Ltd. for several years. He was awarded a PhD from Kyushu University in 1997 and has subsequently worked on a variety of research projects, including the development of materials for alternative power industries and environmentally friendly applications. He migrated to Australia in 1999 after accepting a position at the University of Queensland, where he currently holds the title of Professor and Director of the Nihon Superior Centre for the Manufacture of Electronic Materials (NS CMEM) within the School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering, and a founding manager of The University of Queensland - Kyushu University Oceania Project (“UQ-KU Project”). He is also an invited Professor at Kyushu University and at the University of Malaysia Perlis.

Currently, the majority of Prof Nogita’s research is in two major areas, namely lead-free solders for electronic applications and metal based hydrogen-storage alloys. He holds 15 international patents and has authored over 200 refereed scientific papers. His research has been acknowledged with several awards/fellowships, including Queensland Government Smart Futures Fellowship and he has been instrumental in the establishment of a spin-off company, Hydrexia Pty. Ltd.

Kazuhiro Nogita
Kazuhiro Nogita

Professor Steven Pratt

Centre Director of ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites
ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Professor
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Biography:

Associate Professor Steven Pratt is known internationally for his work on the development of polyhdroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics, and their associated wood-fibre composites, and nationally for his delivery of training courses to environmental professionals.

He has authored over 150 scientific publications, with his major contribution to the field of environmental biotechnology being the invention of the TOGA® Sensor for examination and control of biotech/bioprocess systems.

He leads the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites at UQ, and has won awards for his outstanding contribution to supervision and enhancing the research supervision culture.

Research:

Assocaite Professor Pratt is a research and education leader in environmental engineering, known internationally for his work on the development of polyhdroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics, and their associated wood-fibre composites, and nationally for his delivery of training courses to environmental professionals. His research is industrially relevant; he has published on models for effective industry-education partnerships.

He is now Director of the new ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites. ARC Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites

Plastics are now ubiquitous in our lives, and the systems within our modern society could not function without these light weight, easily formable, strong, cheap, durable, and readily available materials. However, our success at engineering such useful materials has created a systemic problem, with more than 10 million tonnes of plastic leaking into the global environment annually. Urgent change is needed to address this ‘plastic crisis’, and biodegradable bioplastics, along with their natural fibre composites, will play a pivotal role in this transition to a more sustainable plastics economy. Already, we are witnessing unprecedented growth in the global bioplastics industry – the projected annual growth to 2030 is 16-30%, leading to an estimated global market value of US$40B. As the world transitions towards the integration of bioplastics into a more sustainable plastics economy, there is a real opportunity for Australia to transform our existing plastics industry. Australia is uniquely positioned to become a global leader in the emerging bioplastic and biocomposite industry this decade, supported by our abundance of the raw natural materials needed for their manufacture. The ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites will capitalise on Australia’s abundant natural bioresources to drive advances in technology for the development of bioplastic and biocomposite products for the new bioeconomy.

Teaching and Learning:

Dr Pratt has taught a variety of courses in process engineering, including Environmental Systems Engineering, Wastewater Treatment, Clean Technology and Environmental Biotechnology.

Additionally, he has run the IWES Principles of Wastewater Treatment course, which has an intake of about 100 professionals each year.

Projects:

ARC ITTC for Bioplastics and Biocomposties.

Steven Pratt
Steven Pratt

Dr Stephen Sanderson

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Stephen is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Bernhardt group at the University of Queensland. His current research is focused on the theory of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and molecular dynamics.

Stephen completed a double degree in electrical engineering and physics at James Cook University, followed by a PhD in physics, also at James Cook University, under the supervision of Prof. Ronald White and Dr Bronson Philippa, as well as the University of Queensland's Prof. Paul Burn and Prof. Alan Mark. His PhD focused on using kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations of charge and exciton dynamics, coupled with atomistic molecular dynamics deposition simulations to establish a better understanding of structure-property relationships in organic semiconductors, particularly organic light-emitting diodes.

Stephen Sanderson
Stephen Sanderson

Dr Abbas Shafiee

Honorary Senior Fellow
Frazer Institute
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Dr Abbas Shafiee is leading a multidisciplinary program in Regenerative Dermatology and Biofabrication. His research integrates stem cell biology, organoid technology, and bioengineering to develop advanced human models and regenerative therapies for skin repair and disease.

Dr Shafiee completed his PhD in stem cell biology, discovering a previously unknown vascular stem cell population, termed the Meso-Endothelial Bipotent Progenitor, and mapping its molecular signatures (Stem Cell Reports 2018). This seminal discovery advanced the understanding of human vascular development and regeneration.

He subsequently joined Distinguished Professor Dietmar Hutmacher’s group, where he developed humanised tissue-engineered bone and tumour models that mimic cancer metastasis and tumor–stroma interactions. These models (International Journal of Cancer (2018), Biomaterials (2018, 2020), and Bone Research (2019), Acta Biomaterialia (2020), Bone (2022)) provided unprecedented insights into human-specific cancer biology and preclinical drug testing.

Dr Shafiee joined Metro North Health (MNH) in 2020 to lead a research program and develop, implement, and evaluate the applications of 3D printing, scanning, cell therapies, and biofabrication technologies in skin wound settings, and dermatology research. His team has developed vascularised and immune-integrated skin organoids and 3D-printed bioengineered grafts that accelerate wound closure with minimal scarring (Biomaterials 2021; Advanced Healthcare Materials (2022; 2025); Small 2024; Burns & Trauma 2025). These breakthroughs underpin new patient-specific skin disease models, and drug screening platforms (Acta Biomaterialia 2025). He is the lead inventor on an international patent protecting an Optimized Method for Generating Human Skin Organoids (WO/2025/097221), which forms the foundation for emerging commercial and translational partnerships. This body of work led to the establishment of the International Consortium for Organoid Research in Dermatology, a global network accelerating discovery and translation in skin biology, rare genetic skin diseases, and regenerative dermatology.

Dr Shafiee has supervised more than ten PhD, Masters, honours students and contributed to multiple professional, editorial, and scientific leadership roles. He has authored over 84 peer-reviewed publications (>4,700 citations, h-index 37) and delivered more than 40 invited, keynote, and plenary presentations internationally. He serves on multiple professional and editorial boards, including Australian Wound & Tissue Repair Society (AWTRS), Burns & Trauma, and Engineered Regeneration. In recognition of his pioneering contributions to regenerative medicine and science communication, he has received multiple honours, including the 2024 Frazer Institute Rising Star Award, the 2025 AWTRS EMCR Award, and the 2025 Queensland Young Tall Poppy Science Award.

He actively engages with the media, schools, and community programs to inspire future scientists and raise public awareness of regenerative medicine and organoid technologies. His outreach has reached millions nationwide through major media coverage (e.g., The Australian, 7NEWS, ABC NEWS) .

Research areas:

  • Human iPSC-derived skin organoids and skin-on-chip models
  • Vascularization and immune integration in skin tissue engineering
  • Rare genetic skin diseases and personalized regenerative therapies
  • Translational biofabrication and wound healing technologies
  • Organoid-based preclinical drug discovery platforms

Honours, Masters, and PhD opportunities are available for motivated students interested in regenerative dermatology, biofabrication, and organoid biology.

Abbas Shafiee
Abbas Shafiee

Dr Zhiming Shi

Affiliate of Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Research Fellow
Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Zhiming Shi

Dr Denis Shishin

Theme Leader, Thermodynamic Modelling and Education
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Dr. Denis Shishin,

  • Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Chemistry from Moscow State University (Diploma with Honors)
  • PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from University of Montreal, Canada
  • 2014 - Current: Research Fellow in Pyrometallurgy Innovation Centre (PYROSEARCH) of the University of Queensland
Denis Shishin
Denis Shishin

Dr Adnan Sufian

Honorary Lecturer
School of Civil Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Dr Adnan Sufian completed his PhD at UNSW Sydney, spending one year as a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the University of Queensland, he was a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London and has also worked as a geotechnical engineer with SMEC Australia. Dr Sufian's field of research is in the area of multi-scale and multi-phase mechanics of granular materials. His research aims to develop tools and guidelines so that geotechnical engineers can better handle, manipulate and construct with granular materials, and this can lead to innovative solutions to geotechnical issues surrounding the development of urban infrastructure. He is also interested in understanding natural phenomena associated with granular geomaterials such as landscapes affected by erosion, mass movement of materials in landslides, and mitigating the spread of contaminants in subsurface flows. Dr Sufian has strong expertise in the development of novel, efficient and rigorous multi-scale computational modelling techniques, including the Discrete Element Method, Computational Fluid Dynamics and Network Models, with a core focus on the interaction of water with soil particles. His research is naturally multidisciplinary and he currently collaborates with physicists, mathematicians and engineers to uncover emergent phenomena from the collective behaviour of granular particles.

Adnan Sufian
Adnan Sufian

Dr Ummul Sultana

Affiliate of Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining
Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Advance QLD Industry Research Fellow
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Media expert

Dr Ummul Sultana is a Industry Research Fellow in the Hydrometallurgy Research Group within the School of Chemical Engineering, at the University of Queensland. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, followed by Master’s degree in Hydrometallurgy and PhD in Materials Engineering from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. After finishing her PhD, she started her research career as a Postdoctoral Researcher at UQ in the School of Chemical Engineering in 2019. She has gained experiences in the field of hydrogen energy, nanomaterials-based electrocatalysts development, thermodynamic phase equilibria & database development as well as advanced materials’ characterization techniques. She was invited to the Ohio State University in United States of America to participate in a short course on advanced materials’ characterization techniques. She has been largely contributing to the research area of treating industrial tailings & critical metal recovery techniques. She has also been engaged in teaching, staff & laboratory management as well as managing the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines in UQ laboratories. Due to her research excellence, she has received the Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award for the class of 2019 and High Achiever Award in 2018 from QUT. She has several publications in well reputed journals and two of her journal articles have been featured in the front covers of “Advanced Functional Materials” (IF 20) and “ChemElectroCehm” (IF 5). In 2021, she was awarded the Research Fellowship Grant from the UQ Research and Innovation Centre. Ummul is currently focusing on Extracting Queensland’s Rare Earth Elements Sustainably project supported by the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy. She is also an Associate Fellow of Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), member of Royal Society of Chemistry and Engineers Australia professional societies.

Teaching and Learning:

  • Metal Production and Recycling [METL2201]
  • Hydrometallurgy and Electrometallurgy [METL6204]
  • Pyrometallurgy [MINE3212]
Ummul Sultana
Ummul Sultana

Dr Kaige Sun

Affiliate of Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation
Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision

Dr Kaige Sun is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide (GETCO2) and UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation at The University of Queensland. He received his PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from The University of Queensland, where his research focused on electrochemical ion separation and selectivity. His current main research interests centre on green electrochemical techniques for energy and environmental applications, such as electrochemical CO2 capture and conversion, electrochemical deionization, and the development of advanced biomass-derived electroactive materials. To date, he has published over 27 peer-reviewed publications in Nature indexed/top-tier journals, including Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Energy Materials, Advanced Materials, Environmental Science & Technology, Chemical Reviews, etc.

Topics related to current research interests:

1. Energy-efficient electrochemical CO2 capture and direct air capture

2. Tailoring microenvironment for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to valuable chemicals

3. Electrochemical ion separation and recovery

4. High-value utilization of biomass to electroactive materials

Kaige Sun
Kaige Sun