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Dr. Yang Liu is an evolutionary geneticist, currently working at the University of Queensland (UQ) as a Research Fellow. Prior to UQ, he obtained a PhD from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and did a postdoc research at UBC and University of Cambridge. He is broadly interested in the eco-evolutionary dynamics of plant populations that have undergone environmental heterogeneity over spatiotemporal scales. The goal of his research is to increase our understanding of the impacts of major episodes in plant demography and life histories on trait evolution and to foster sustainability. He tackles research questions at the interface between ecology and evolutionary biology with the integration of population genetics and quantitative genomics to elucidate the ecological and genetic basis of phenotypic traits and biological adaptation.

Currently, he leverages available Arabidopsis natural accessions across its geographic distribution range, coupled with their genomic data, to perform common-garden and divergent selection experiments. From these he aims to dissect features of the genetic architecture of traits and to reveal their relationships to environmental conditions. He is focusing on the shoot branching phenotype and its associated traits including flowering timing.

ECO-EVO-GENOMICS TEAM

Three PhD positions available in 2023-2025

Ongoing Projects

Project 1: Unification of selection and inheritance informs adaptive potential for generations to come (Applications open in 2023; CLOSED)

Natural selection acts on phenotypes and produces immediate phenotypic effects within a generation. In this short-term process, some phenotypes are more successful than others. Use of single traits for selection analysis could generate opposing outcomes and cannot predict how selection operates on an organism. In contrast, multivariate selection in trait combinations utilizes the attribute of functional integrations to reveal how selection works in a multi-dimensional trait space. Selection is an important force driving evolution but not equal to evolution; the latter leads to changes in genetic variation. Only through assessment of the evolutionary responses of phenotypes can we understand the transmission of such selection from one generation to the next. How does selection occurring within a generation affect evolution across generations? In the project, we aim to address the question by unifying the two processes to forecast evolutionary potential in relation to selection. To that end, we partition genetic variance into components based on an experimental design, employ experimental evolution to estimate additive genetic variance-covariances (G) on quantitative scales and evaluate G-matrix evolution. We eventually hope to elucidate how populations subjected to artificial selection move along evolutionary trajectories and whether there are genetic constraints making the fitness optimum evolutionarily inaccessible.

Project 2: Genetic and ecological bases of shoot branching divergence across Arabidopsis species-wide accessions (Applications open in 2024; CLOSED)

Spatial patterns of genetic variation are shaped by environmental factors, topological features, and dispersal barriers. As a result, we often can identify population genetic structure stratified by geographic locations or ecological niches, the drivers of population isolation by distance or the environment, clinal genetic variation over space in alignment with gradually varying environment gradients, and adaptive genetic variation in relation to environmental variables. At the ecological level, assembly rules uncover the coordination of phenotypic traits along environmental clines. Tradeoffs between traits represent the consequence of environmental filters and reflect adaptation to environmental heterogeneity. For example, three fundamental adaptive strategies are delineated by a CSR theory, that is, Competitors, Stress-tolerators, and Ruderals. As such, ways of genetic and phenotypic assemblage over space and throughout time point to a role for natural selection driven by spatially varying environmental conditions to maintain genetic variation that confers natural variation in phenotypes. In this project, we focus on an important agronomic trait – shoot branching – due to its important contribution to the overall shoot architecture of a plant and being a potential target for yield optimization. We aim to dissect features of the genetic architecture of the trait and to reveal its relationships to environmental conditions. We integrate geographic, environmental, and genomic data from the 1001 Arabidopsis Genomes Project, coupled with the branching phenotype measured in selected accessions and then forecasted for the rest of the 1001 accessions using machine-learning models, to investigate the ecological relevance and genetic underpinnings of branching divergence across the Arabidopsis species-wide accessions. Our study has implications for enhancing our understanding of the genetic and ecological basis of shoot branching divergence and the potential for generating novel knowledge for improving phenotypic predictability.

Project 3: Dimensionality, modularity, and integration: Insights from the architecture features of pan-genomes, pan-transcriptome, pan-epigenomes, and pan-chromatin (applications open in 2025) Application Portal ALSO ACCEPTING EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FROM INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS

Organisms are functionally integrated systems, where interactions among phenotypic traits make the whole more than the sum of its parts. How is a suite of traits assembled into an adaptive module? How is an intramodule rewired to form a regulatory network? What is the persistence and stability of a module under exposures to perturbations triggered by altered interactions between the response to disparate environmental conditions or between the responses of multiple traits to the same environment? What constrains modules to vary independently, reflecting the integration and canalization of evolutionary trajectories? In this project, we utilize a compilation of pan-genomes, pan-transcriptome, pan-epigenomes, and pan-chromatin resources of Arabidopsis thaliana to uncover how dimensionality, modularity, and integration are organized at different omics levels including genetic polymorphisms, structural variants, RNA isoforms, expression abundance, epigenetic imprinting, and chromatin accessibility. Ultimately, we apply such functional elements to multivariate genomic selection, in the hope of enhancing multilayered omics-enabled prediction.

Dr Liu is a research fellow with more than 15 years of experience in the field of pharmacometrics. She specialises in population pharmacokinetic modelling and provides popPK analysis and dosing simulation support for various projects in Centre of Research Excellence RESPOND

Dr. Jiajun Liu is Principal Research Scientist and Science Leader for the Distributed Sensing Systems Group (DSSG) at the CSIRO, and leads the Distributed Intelligence team in the DSSG. He is also an Adjunct Associate Professor@UQ. He received his PhD/BEng from the University of Queensland, Australia, and Nanjing University, China, in 2013 and 2006, respectively.

His research interest covers a range of topics in Machine Learning and Data Science, including efficient neural nets, graph learning, and multimedia/multimodal analytics. At CSIRO he is looking into how to make sensing systems more intelligent and efficient, by developing knowledge distillation and efficient neural architectures to enable efficient AI models on edge devices and distributed sensing applications.

He also serves as a reviewer/TPC member/Area Chair for numerous international journals and conferences, such as IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, The VLDB Journal, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, IEEE Transactions on Big Data, Clustering Computing, Ad Hoc Networks, Neurocomputing, Multimedia Systems, ACM Multimedia Conference 14' 21', CIKM 21', PAKDD 17~20', APWeb 16', etc.

Dr Minran Liu is a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. His teaching and research focus on Asia-Pacific security, East Asian politics, Chinese politics and strategy.

Before joining UQ, he was a Lecturer in International & Political Studies at the School of Humanities & Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra, at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA). Additionally, he served as a Lecturer in International Relations within the Discipline of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, where he was also the Degree Director for the Master of International Security program. He is a Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee of the International Studies Association (ISA) Asia-Pacific. He is an Adjunct Fellow at the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology Sydney and an Honorary Member of the University of Sydney's China Studies Centre. He regularly provides commentary on international relations through various Australian and international media outlets, including ABC, SBS, Sky News, CNA, The Straits Times, China Daily, and Het Financieele Dagblad, among others.

Dr. Liu specialises in extracellular vesicles, osteosarcoma, breast cancer, tissue engineering, immunomodulation and biomaterial functionalisation.

Dr. Liu is a clinician (surgeon)-scientist with clinical and preclinical expertise in tissue repair and immunomodulation. Dr. Liu obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Shanghai JiaoTong University (China); and a PhD degree from RWTH Aachen University (Germany).

Dr. Liu works with extracellular vesicles, including newly discovered matrix-bound nanovesicles. Dr. Liu’s current projects involve assessing the role of extracellular vesicle glycans on immunomodulation in metastatic breast cancer and metastatic pediatric cancers, such as osteosarcoma. Dr. Liu also has a background in biological scaffold functionalisation with the goal of developing innovative approaches that bring advanced benefits directly to clinical soft tissue repair.

Transporters for Catecholamines and Serotonin. Science Education.

The overall theme of Lesley Lluka's research over 3 decades has been the structure and function of the noradrenaline transporter (NET) and the serotonin transporter (SERT). These transporters are important sites of action of drugs such as antidepressants.

More recently, Lesley Lluka's work has increasingly moved to Science Education, with a focus on areas such as student engagement in practical classes, innovative assessment practices to drive deep learning, and internationalization of the curriculum.

Organic functional materials development (design, synthesis & characterisation) for quantum based optoelectronics

Associate Professor Shih-Chun Lo (Lawrence)

Lawrence held a prestigious Swire Scholarship while carrying out his PhD study on semiconductor material development for organic solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs) at Oxford University, UK (1996-2000). His post-doctoral research at Oxford University focused on the design, synthesis and characterisation of fluorescent and phosphorescent dendrimers for highly efficient LEDs. Dendrimers have been recognised internationally as the third main class of LED materials, alongside small molecules and polymers, in which he played a key role. In December 2007, he joined the University of Queensland as a Lecturer in Chemistry of Materials. His research work has focused on the development of new functional semiconductor materials for quantum based optoelectronic applications (e.g. solar cells, LEDs, photodetectors, sensors, superconductors & organic lasers) as well as clean energy generation.

I lead the extracellular vesicle (EV) diagnostic and therapeutic research theme within the Centre for Personalised Nanomedicine at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN). My expertise spans EV biology, hypoxia research, cancer metastasis, and cancer immunology. At the AIBN, my research program focuses on developing innovative approaches to engineer therapeutic EVs and develop cutting-edge technologies to profile circulating EVs in the bloodstream. I have made significant conceptual contributions in the field through new analytical techniques and optimal isolation methodologies for EVs. This has been fundamental to the field and has contributed to overcoming the limitations of existing purification protocols that have hindered the potential translational applications of EVs in cancer.

Dr Elton Lobo is a digital health researcher with specialised expertise in human-computer interaction and neurological disorders. He is currently a Research Fellow and Technology Lead for the Dementia & Neuro Mental Health Research Unit at the UQ Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland, where he leads co-design initiatives to develop user-centred technology solutions.

Dr Lobo holds a joint PhD in Public Health from the University of Copenhagen and Information Technology from Deakin University. His interdisciplinary work bridges public health, information technology and clinical practice to address complex consumer needs. His work has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals including national and international research collaborations. He actively supervises medical, public health and engineering students, and leads technology development in multiple MRFF-funded projects focused on participatory design approaches.

Em. Professor Lockington primarily researchs topics in the area of water transport in coastal soils and aquifers, including water exchange with plants and atmosphere. However, he has also conducted research on moisture transport in building materials and the design of sustainable tourism destinations. In addition to substantial contributions as a reviewer for a wide range of journals and funding bodies, Em. Prof Lockington has held editorial roles on two major journals in the area of hydrology and water resources research (Water Resources Research 2007 - 2012; Advances in Water Resources 1997 - 2020). Em. Prof. Lockington has undertaken a number of leadership roles across his career, including Program Leader for the Sustainable Tourism CRC I and II (Engineering and Design) from 2000 - 2008, Head of the Environmental Engineering Division (School of Engineering, UQ) from 2004 - 2010, and Research Program Leader for the ARC SRI funded National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training from 2009 - 2015. From 2010 to 2020 he frequently acted as Head of the School of Civil Engineering. From 2007 till 2025 he was a Fellow of the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications.

Dr Krystal Lockwood is a Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti woman, and Research Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures at The University of Queensland. Krystal is an applied justice researcher with experience in using co-design, realist, and Indigenous methodologies. Broadly, she has focused her work on addressing the impact of the carceral system on Indigenous peoples and communities, and is particularly interested in supporting Indigenous knowledges, perspectives, and programs of justice. Krystal’s research has focused on influencing evidence-informed practice, with projects in sentencing, Indigenous initiatives in the justice sector, and reintegration programs.

Jason Lodge is a chef by trade, a psychological scientist by training, and an educator by profession. For over 20 years, Jason has worked to better understand learning to enhance education, particularly via digital technologies.

Jason is Professor of Educational Psychology and Director of the Learning, Instruction, and Technology Lab in the School of Education at The University of Queensland (UQ). With the lab team, Jason explores the cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional aspects of learning, particularly in higher education and with digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI). He and his team have a particular interest in self- and co-regulated learning.

Recently, Jason has been focused on the evolving role of AI in education. He serves as an expert advisor to the OECD and Australian National Task Force on Artificial Intelligence in Education and led the Assessment Experts Forum in partnership with the Australian Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA). The resulting resource, Assessment Reform for the Age of Artificial Intelligence, is being used across education sectors in Australia and around the world to rethink assessment in light of the emergence of generative AI. His most recent work in partnership with the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) has been on developing a national framework for AI in higher education, a translation of the Australian Framework for Generative Artificial Intelligence in Schools.

Jason holds fellowships with the Psychonomic Society (US) and the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia and is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). He has received numerous teaching awards, including the Australian Psychological Society’s Distinguished Contribution to Psychological Education and the Australian Teacher Education Association Teacher Educator Award. Jason was also an inaugural winner of the ASCILITE and CAULLT Award for Outstanding Leadership in Digital Learning in Higher Education in 2023. Additionally, he is an editor of Student Success and until recently served as the Lead Editor of Australasian Journal of Educational Technology.

Benignus is a geriatrician who is passionate about working collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams to deliver exceptional patient-centred care. He currently holds staff specialist appointments at Mater Hospital Brisbane and The Prince Charles Hospital.

He has a strong interest in research and has embarked on a PhD examining frailty and goals of care in patients living with chronic kidney disease. He holds an appointment working as a clinical academic in Professor Hubbard’s team at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Health Services Research with a particular remit to support interdisciplinary education and training about frailty.

Prior to his medical training Benignus worked for KPMG, a professional services firm.

Julia Loginova is a dedicated researcher passionate about sustainability and justice in the minerals and energy sectors in an era of energy transitions, climate change, and geopolitical volatility. Growing up in northern Russia (Komi Zyrian) sparked her interest in socioeconomic, environmental and political transformations in regions affected by resource extraction. She has academic qualifications in economics and law, natural resource management, and human geography, and completed her PhD at the University of Melbourne on Indigenous community responses to climate change and resource extraction in the Arctic. Julia is highly skilled in qualitative research, data science, network analysis, and spatial research, providing unique mixed-method insights on complex challenges.

Since joining the University of Queensland in 2018, she has focused her research on globalization of the resources sector, governance of energy transitions, socioeconomic redistributions, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous community participation in multiple geographies, including Australia, China, Russia, Ecuador, and the Arctic region. Julia's current research projects include Indigenous co-ownership of renewable energy projects, coal transitions in multiple geographies, and assessment of risks in resource extraction regions. She is a Chief Investigator on the ARC Discovery project that aims to improve the sustainability of copper global production networks in Australia, Zambia, and Chile, and is a collaborator on a research project on the geopolitics of critical minerals. At UQ, Julia contributes to teaching courses on global change, sustainable cities and regions, and geopolitics.

Aditi is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Science Research, The University of Queensland. Aditi has a background in Clinical Psychology and is passionate about using her research knowledge and skills in making a positive contribution to the community.