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Ray Mahoney is a descendant of the Bidjara people of Central West Qld and is a Research Scientist with the Australian e Health Research Centre (AEHRC) at CSIRO. Ray’s research background includes cardiovascular disease, e-health, culturally safe care and racism in the health sector.

Prof Tim Mahony joined QAAFI’s Centre for Animal Science in October 2010, after 15 years of conducting research projects with the Queensland Government. He obtained his PhD from James Cook University in the area of molecular microbiology. During 2001 and 2002, Prof Mahony was a visiting professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

Research interests

Dr Mahony’s research interests are in the area of molecular virology revolving around improving viral disease control in production animals such as cattle and poultry. His group is characterising the molecular interactions between invading pathogens and the subsequent host responses with the goal of developing new vaccines and diagnostic technologies. A key component of this work includes improving the basic understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underpin and drive viral virulence and evolution. Next-generation sequencing has been used to sequence the genomes of herpesviruses and adenoviruses from a variety of species including, cattle, chickens, marsupials, horses, and crocodiles. Prof Mahony’s team is also investigating the role of virally encoded microRNAs in virulence, replication, and disease development. His group was one of the first in the world to apply bacterial artificial chromosome infectious clone technology for the efficient manipulation of herpesviruses that have large DNA genomes. These strategies are also being exploited to understand viral gene function and the development of vaccines.

Currently, Prof Mahony is researching risk factors that protect and predispose feedlot cattle to developing bovine respiratory disease (BRD). He is also leading the development of new vaccines for BRD and cattle tick infestations. Prof Mahony has also led the development of new vaccine delivery technologies for the poultry industry targeting the application of in ovo strategies. Prof Mahony research into improving animal health is increasing industry productivity, food safety, and consumer confidence in food products and he is keen to explore collaborations with other scientists in this area.

Prof Mahony has a strong interest to work with post-graduate students and has supervised a number of post-graduate students from Australia and overseas. These projects have covered research areas in molecular virology, animal health, vaccine development, and pathogen-host interactions.

Judith is an expert on events and tourism impacts and legacy. Judith’s work aims to understand and enhance the positive impacts of tourism and events on the communities and societies which host them. She is working on a number of projects in fields including Olympic Games legacies, the links between events and social connectivity (including social capital, social cohesion and social justice) and assessing the potential impacts of climate change on the tourism and events sector. She received her PhD from the University of Strathclyde in 2005, focusing on decision-making in the context of academic conferences. She also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Victoria University, Melbourne, and worked in the Department of Management at Monash University, Melbourne, before coming to UQ in 2014.

Biography

Jeffrey Mak (PhD) is an organic chemist at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. His publications cover a range of disciplines such as biological and medicinal chemistry, total synthesis, and physical organic chemistry. Dr Mak was selected as a Rising Star of Chemistry by the Australian Journal of Chemistry (2022).

Jeffrey Mak was awarded the Harriett Marks Bursary and a UQ University Medal before undertaking doctorate studies in natural product total synthesis with Prof. Craig Williams. This culminated in the first total synthesis of two caged diterpenes, (−)-neovibsanin G and (−)-14-epi-neovibsanin G. Next, he joined Prof. David Fairlie's group at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He is currently active in the fields of chemical biology and drug development. He is recognised for his development of ligands that modulate mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, which are a newly characterised subset of immune cells important in antibacterial defence (Accounts of Chemical Research, 2021). In 2014, he was part of an Australian team that discovered the identity of the ligands that activate MAIT cells, as published in Nature, playing a key role in the chemical synthesis and characterisation of the unstable and structurally unprecedented ligands (Nature Communications, 2017). He was selected as a CAS SciFinder Future Leader by the Chemical Abstract Service (a division of the American Chemical Society, 2017). In 2018, Dr Mak was chief investigator on a UQ Early Career Researcher Grant for developing new drug leads that target MAIT cells. Other recent awards include RSC Twitter Poster Conference (Chemical Biology) 1st Prize (2018), and a CASS Travel Award (2018).

Dr Mak has lectured in the undergraduate course Advanced Organic Chemistry (CHEM3001, 2017-2023). He has also served as a member of the UQ Cultural Inclusion Council, and as an ACS Wikipedia Fellow to systematically improve the chemistry and scientific content on Wikipedia (2018).

Student projects

Projects in medicinal chemistry, synthesis, and chemical biology are available (depending on lab space) for enthusiastic organic chemistry students at all levels (PhD, Masters, Honours, Undergraduate). These include the design and synthesis of:

1. Stable analogues of immunostimulating bacterial ligands towards vaccines and anti-cancer immunotherapies
2. Chemical biology tools for exploring MAIT cell activation
3. Highly selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors as new drug leads

Previous student publications:

1. Mak JYW* et al. (2024) Potent Immunomodulators Developed from an Unstable Bacterial Metabolite of Vitamin B2 Biosynthesis. Angewandte Chemie, e202400632.
2. Mak JYW et al. (2021) HDAC7 inhibition by phenacetyl and phenylbenzoyl hydroxamates. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 64 (4), 2186-2204.
3. Awad W, Ler GJM et al. (2020) The molecular basis underpinning the potency and specificity of MAIT cell antigens. Nature Immunology, 21 (4), 400-411.
4. Ler GJM, Xu W, Mak JYW, Liu L et al. (2019) Computer modelling and synthesis of deoxy and monohydroxy analogues of a ribitylaminouracil bacterial metabolite that potently activates human T cells. Chemistry – A European Journal, 25 (68), 15594-15608.

Key research areas: Inquiry-based teaching practices in mathematics education; statistical reasoning and informal inference; data science education in schools

Dr Katie Makar is a Professor in Mathematics and Statistics Education at The University of Queensland and President of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA). Her award-winning research focuses on mathematics teachers’ learning of pedagogies that support complex problem solving and children’s statistical reasoning in an era of data science. Funded by over $1.6 million in grants and consultancies, Katie’s classroom-based research collaborates with practicing teachers to seek pragmatic solutions to improving teaching and learning.

Her most recent ARC Discovery Project (2017-2020, $370 000) Developing classroom norms of inquiry based learning in mathematics collaborated with Associate Professor Jill Fielding to investigate how primary teachers initiate, build and sustain a productive classroom culture and mathematical practices conducive to addressing complex problems that rely on mathematical evidence. Her four previous ARC projects studied teachers’ adoption of inquiry-based practices (ARC Linkage Projects 2007-2009, 2009-2012), development of positive learning environments and data-based argumentation (ARC Discovery Projects 2012-2014, 2014-2017).

The quality and impact of Katie’s highly-cited research is evidenced by both university and national awards. A Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) Research Award (2017) recently acknowledged the international impact of her work on children’s statistical reasoning, particularly her development of informal statistical inference. Katie had previously won MERGA’s Early Career (2007) and Practical Implications (2011) Awards, providing national recognition of the quality and impact of her research on teachers’ adoption of mathematical inquiry. Social and Behavioural Science Faculty Award for Research Impact and Innovation (2010) and UQ Promoting Women Fellowship (2010) further showcased her research within the university.

Katie is the former deputy and acting Head of the School of Education (2016-2018) and has been consultant to the Queensland Department of Education, Queensland College of Teachers, Wireless Generation (New York), Cognition Education (New Zealand) and the Australian Centre for Educational Research. She led a project team for the Australian Academy of Science’s reSolve: Mathematics by Inquiry initiative to design innovative mathematics curriculum units for teachers that utilised mathematical inquiry.

Katie's leadership is further evident in her engagement with the profession. As President of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA), she leads capacity-building, research quality and outreach initiatives to shape the direction of the field. Her other leadership roles include co-director (with Prof Dani Ben-Zvi, University of Haifa) of the International Collaboration for Research in Statistical Reasoning, Thinking and Literacy (2013-present); Executive Boards for the International Association for Statistical Education (2017-2019) and Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (2009-2012; 2023-2024); current or past editorial board member for three peer-reviewed journals (Mathematics Education Research Journal, Statistics Education Research Journal and Technology Innovations in Statistics Education) and guest editor of three special issues (Mathematical Thinking and Learning and Educational Studies in Mathematics).

A highly-cited author, Katie has published seven authored and edited books, twenty-five peer-reviewed journal articles and sixteen book chapters as well as presenting her research on six continents. Her edited volumes of research include the Handbook of Research in Statistics Education (Springer, 2018), Research in Mathematics Education in Australasia 2012-2015 (Springer, 2016) and The Teaching and Learning of Statistics: International Perspectives (Springer, 2015).

A former classroom teacher for 15 years in USA, Malaysia and Nepal, Katie holds a PhD in Mathematics Education (University of Texas), Master of Arts in Mathematics (Pure Mathematical Logic, University of California, Berkeley) and Bachelor of Arts (with honours) in Mathematics. She is a qualified secondary mathematics teacher (Queensland, California).

Born in Sydney Australia, 1941. Educated at North Sydney High, then Sydney University (B.A. in Philosophy, first class honours). Commonwealth Scholarship to Oxford University UK,leading to D.Phil. 1965 with thesis on "Rules of truth for modal logic". From 1965 to 1982 worked at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (Assistant, Associate, Full Professor in the Philosophy Department), then from 1980 to 2000 as Programme Specialist in Unesco (Philosophy Division). From 2001 to 2006 Professor at King's College London (Computer Science Department), then from 2007 to 2019 Guest Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, London School of Economics (LSE). Currently living in Paris, and since September 2022 Honorary Associate Professor in the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, University of Queensland.

An intellectual autobiography entitled "A tale of five cities" was published in S.O. Hansson ed., David Makinson on Classical Methods for Non-Classical Problems (Series: Outstanding Contributions to Logic) Springer 2014, pp 19-32, with recollections also in an interview in The Reasoner 2014, also available at personal website mentioned below..

Ihtisham is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Finance at the University of Queensland (UQ), also having earned his PhD in finance from UQ in 2020. With over a decade of teaching experience, both within and outside Australia, he has taught various undergraduate and postgraduate finance courses, both in traditional and online formats, covering topics such as Portfolio Management and Public Financial Management.

Ihtisham also has a vast experience in facilitating capacity building courses, especially for the public sector (Executive Education). He served as the Academic Director for UQ’s joint public sector finance program with the Queensland Treasury Corporation over the period 2021-2024. This role allowed him to bridge academic knowledge with practical industry insights, enriching the learning experience for both students and professionals alike. Notably, Ihtisham has been recognised for his excellence in teaching and learning, receiving the Student Engagement Award for his commitment to fostering a dynamic and engaging learning environment.

Ihtisham not only has a long teaching experience but is also actively involved in finance research. He has published scholarly work, in the fields of Sustainable Finance, Asset Pricing, and Corporate Finance in a number of highly ranked academic journals and has also been cited by different media outlets.

Professor Andrew Mallett is a Nephrologist with a special interest in inherited kidney disease and nephrogenetics. After graduating from James Cook University (MBBS, 2006) he completed physician training at Mackay Base Hospital, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and Princess Alexandra Hospital (MMed USyd, 2009; AFRACMA 2011; FRACP 2013; FASN 2016). Professor Mallett has undertaken a Churchill Fellowship and been a recurrent Visiting Fellow at Addenbrooke's Hospital (Cambridge, UK) and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research (University of Cambridge). He has completed a PhD in nephrogenetics collaborating nationally and internationally, and is a Consultant Nephrologist at RBWH, co-leading the statewide Queensland Conjoint Renal Genetics Service. Professor Mallett is National Director of KidGen, the AGHA Renal Genetics Rare Disease Flagship.

Professor Mallett has enjoyed a distinguished career in elite coaching and academia. Prof. Mallett was an Olympic and World Championship medal-winning coach and won a National university teaching award (2011). In 2017, he was awarded the prestigious August-Wilhelm Scheer Professorial Fellowship at Technische Universität München (TUM) in Germany. He developed a world-renowned online program in sports coaching and consults nationally and internationally to many elite sporting organisations. Prof. Mallett is a leading international scholar in two broad and interrelated research areas - sport psychology and coaching; specifically:

Understanding the person-in-context

• Multi-layered understanding of the person-in-context (personality profiling of coaches and athletes)
• Motivation of elite coaches and athletes (Self-Determination Theory - SDT);
• Autonomy-supportive learning environments in sport (Self-Determination Theory - SDT);
• Mental toughness in elite sport (coaches and athletes).
• Players' leadership: A Social Identity Approach (SIA)

High Performance coach learning and development:

• How high performance coaches learn in the workplace;
• Coaches as sculptors, architects, performers and leaders.

In 2016, Professor Mallett led and completed an international research project examining what can we learn from some of the world's most successful coaches. Prof. Mallett was Chair and Co-Chair of the Research Committee for the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) from 2010-2019.

Background

Professor Cliff Mallett joined the School of Human Movement Studies in 2000 after a career in physical education and also in elite coaching as a National High Performance Coach in track and field with the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS). He teaches undergraduate and graduate students and actively researches in the area of elite sport. Prof. Mallett regularly consults with elite coaches and athletes as well as coach developers in several national sporting organisations and international organisations.

Dr Mallyon has been with the School of Veterinary Science since April 2008. Currently, John is a clinical academic teaching final year students small animal medicine and surgery. He is also a course coordinator and mentor for the final year cohort. From 2011 until its closure in 2014, John was the director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at St Lucia. John's research interests include infectious diseases of dogs and cats and studies of the canine reproductive system. John is also an accredited cricket coach.

Cristián Maluk is a Senior Lecturer of Civil Engineering. His background is in structural fire engineering and in the broader scope of fire safety science. His research interests are in the fire performance of building construction materials and the resilience of structural systems during and after fire. Cristian has coordinated and contribute towards research studies in the fire safe design of structural concrete systems prestressed with fibre reinforced polymer tendons, heat-induced concrete spalling, performance of intumescent coatings under non-standard heating regimes, and developing novel fire testing methods.

Teaching and Learning

• Introduction to Fire Safety Engineering
• Fire Design for Implicit Safety
• Fire Dynamics Laboratory
• Structural Fire Engineering
• Introduction to Structural Design
• Engineering of Small Buildings

Awards

• Best Poster Award at the 10th International Conference on Structure in Fire (SiF), Belfast, UK, 2018.
• Recipient of the International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) Best Thesis Award “Excellence in Research” (years 2014-2016) to be presented during the 12th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), Lund, Sweden, 2017.
• Finalist of the Best PhD Thesis Award from the International Institute for FRP in Construction (IIFC). Award competition took place during the Composites in Civil Engineering (CICE) conference to be held in Hong Kong, 2016.
• Recipient of the Thomas Howard Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
• Price for 2016 Best Paper in the Journal of ICE Construction Materials.
• Recipient of the Philanthropic Grants for Early Career Engineering Researchers from the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, The University of Queensland.
• Best Paper Award at the 2nd Postgraduate Conference on Scotland Infrastructure and Environment, Edinburgh, UK, 2014.
• Best Poster Award at the 11th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), Christchurch, New Zealand, 2014.
• Recipient of the John Moyes Lessells Scholarship from The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK, 2013.
• Recipient of the Training School Travel Grant for Young Researchers on Integrated Fire Engineering and Response (COST TU0904) – Key Issues for the Future of Fire Engineering, Naples, Italy, 2013.
• Best Poster Award at the 10th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science (IAFSS), Maryland, USA, 2011.

Associate Professor Mamun is an internationally recognised leader in the areas of life course epidemiology and intergenerational perspectives. An approach that situates the individual risk factors and their interaction within a context that determines health outcomes has been the underlying basis of his research. He is one of the Principal Investigator’s of the Mater-University of Queensland Study of Pregnancy (MUSP) cohort. Over the past 14 years, he has been leading the respiratory and cardiovascular epidemiology research in the MUSP that included 30 years follow-up of the MUSP offspring cohort (Gen 2) and the first follow-up of the children-of-the-offspring cohort (Gen 3). In recent years, he expanded his research in the low & middle income countries focusing on the rapid socio-economic development and the demographic and epidemiological transitions.

Mamun has made significant contributions to understand the critical stages of life and early life determinants of health. From the life course perspective, some of his papers are influential while thinking about the early development of health and well-being. For instance, his research confirmed that parents, especially mothers, are the role model for offspring health and well-being development from early life to adolescence and then to young adulthood. His research shows that weight management and prevention of obesity should start as early as possible even before or during pregnancy. He is interested to contribute new knowledge about the extent that socioeconomic, family and environmental factors track from generation to generation and how this impacts on health and well-being of the future generations.

Mamun has received several national (e.g. ARC, NHMRC, and NHF) and international competitive grants. He was awarded several highly competitive fellowships (e.g. NHMRC CDF Level 2, 2012-2016, NHMRC CDF Level 1, 2008-2011) and awards (UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards, 2009 and NHF Grants-in-Aid 2008). He has more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, most of which are published in high impact journals. He has an outstanding track-record of supervising RHD students. For instance, in the last five years, he has supervised 16 PhD students- 10 as Primary Advisor, who have been awarded their degrees.

Research Interests:

• Respiratory and cardiovascular health- development and early prevention
• Maternal and child health- early life environment and critical windows
• Social, structural and environmental basis of health and well-being
• Methodological innovation in longitudinal studies, administrative data and meta-analysis

Dr Catherine Manathunga is Associate Professor in the School of Education Policy and Implementation at the Victoria University, Wellington. Her research interests include postgraduate supervision, interdisciplinary research education, the history of teaching and learning in universities, and the professional development of supervisors and researchers.

Catherine is an historian and draws together expertise in historical, sociological and cultural studies research to bring an innovative, interdisciplinary perspective to higher education research, particularly focusing on doctoral education and the history of university teaching and learning. She currently researches in the following areas:

• Postgraduate Supervision : power, identity and culture in postgraduate supervision; power and desire in team supervision pedagogy
• Supervisor Educational Development : post-colonial interpretations of supervisor educational development;
• Research and Innovation Leader Development : research graduates attributes and outcomes in universities and industry; ongoing professional development for researchers in public and private sector research organisations; interdisciplinary research;
• History of Australian Teaching and Learning : a genealogy of the development of teaching and learning in Australian universities.

She currently supervises RHD students in the areas of effective teaching and learning in higher education, supporting international students' learning, evaluating effective teaching and learning and in development aid policy.

Dr Asmita Manchha is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Unspoken, Unheard, Unmet: Improving Access to Preventative Health Care through Better Conversations about Care team (UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences) and an Early Career Researcher. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2022, which examined the nature and consequences of the stigma of working in aged care. Asmita also has a first-class Bachelor of Business Management Honours’ degree from the UQ and Bachelor of Commerce from the Australian National University.

At the heart of Asmita’s research is her passion for developing practical, evidence-based resources to empower people who receive and provide aged care services. Her research themes include: (a) Understanding approaches to challenge stigma (i.e, negative attitudes, stereotypes) associated with aged care to promote a greater recognition of the aged care sector, (b) Development of a fit-for-purpose communication screening tool and resources for aged care workers to help older Australians have better conversations about aged care, (c) Exploration of interventions to support the recruitment and retention of people working in aged care with a strengths-based focus on career development, and (d) Application of language-based methods and frameworks from Systemic Functional Linguistics to examine complex social issues in the field of gerontology.

Asmita has vast experience in conducting qualitative and mixed-methods research pertaining to reframing negative perceptions about working in aged care, which have been published in The Gerontologist and Journal of Applied Gerontology. She is actively involved in the gerontology research community including the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG), where she is the QLD Divisional Secretary.

I have an engineering background, earning my mechanical engineering degree from UQ and beginning my career in the mining and telecommunication sectors, before starting new ventures in technology, agri-tech & workplace training domains. I leverage this background in my teaching for courses covering entrepreneurship, innovation and strategy. I have built online courses covering corporate innovation, service innovation culture, innovation strategy for quantum technology and navigating the demands of 21st century workskills: some purposed towards scale (attracting large learner enrolments) and others towards geographic dispersion (gaining access to learners who I would never come into contact with). I have a particular interest in the impact strategies for new ventures & new technologies to craft sustainable value frameworks, so welcome entrepreneurial research opportunities that target emerging economies, fast-evolving technology domains and design thinking pedagogy for new generations of innovators. I am an Associate Investigator for EQUS (Engineered Quantum Systems), an ARC Centre of Excellence anchored at UQ with 5 research nodes (UQ, ANU, USyd, Macquarie, UWA).