Find an expert

Dr. Gulshan Mahajan started his career in agronomy and has worked at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, India, for more than 23 years in different capacities and engaged in research, teaching and outreach activities. He also worked in matrix management at UQ, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) as well and PAU and have interacted across programs, institutes, and regions and developed and implemented programs successfully. He has guided one PhD student, four MSc students as a Principal Advisor and more than 20 students as an Associate Advisor. His interests fall within a broader area of agronomy, regenerative agriculture with particular emphasis on weed science, enhancing input-use efficiency, and developing ecologically based integrated crop management strategies for sustained production. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India and an Associate Editor of the Weed Science Society of America.

Dr Ray Maher is Director of Research at the School of Architecture Design and Planning at The University of Queensland. Ray collaborates broadly across institutions while leading research and capacity-building projects with government and industry. His work focuses on sustainable development strategy, urban development and design, Sustainable Development Goals, decision-support tools, circular economy, and addressing ‘wicked’ problems using systems, design, and futures thinking. Ray’s research is engagement-focused, interdisciplinary, and applied, which builds the capacity of stakeholders.

Ray is Lead Chief Investigator on research funding totalling over $1m, and a Chief Investigator on research funding totalling over $5m. He has 32 traditional and non-traditional research outputs with state, national, and regional impact.

Melanie Maher is a design lecturer, strategist, and visual communication designer whose work explores how design can be used as a tool for social justice, sustainable futures, and systems change. Her expertise sits at the intersection of visual communication design, design education, and applied social impact, with a particular focus on how strategic visual communication shapes understanding, influences decision-making, and supports collective action in complex social and environmental contexts.

Melanie’s design practice applies strategic design and visual communication to challenges across public and social infrastructure, community and disaster resilience, housing, health, and education. Working across Australia and internationally, her projects have addressed issues including cost-of-living pressures, energy equity, food security, social isolation, mental health and environmental protection. She has led and contributed to projects with government, non-government, and industry partners including the Queensland Government, Brisbane City Council, Oxfam, YMCA, ANHCA, HVEC, and Neighbourhood Centres Queensland (NCQ). As Strategic Communications Lead at NCQ, her team helped secure a record $115.8 million uplift in Queensland Government funding for the Neighbourhood Centre sector and formal recognition of NCQ as the state’s peak body.

Melanie has over a decade of experience as a lecturer and is currently an Associate Lecturer in Design in the School of Architecture, Design and Planning at The University of Queensland. Before joining UQ, she coordinated, lectured in, and developed over seventeen unique University courses in design over a twelve-year period, contributing to the advancement of an innovative, interdisciplinary design curriculum. In 2023, Melanie was awarded one of the Top 30 Design Lecturers internationally in the TDK Design Awards, amongst lecturers from across the UK, USA, Australia and NZ.

Melanie’s research and research communication span peer-reviewed academic publications, practice-led research, and non-traditional research outputs, including sector impact reports, government submissions, and public-facing publications. This work has contributed to significant change—it’s informed government policy, influenced funding, grown public awareness and shaped educational programs. A 2023 Sector Impact Report identified a seven-fold increase in the median emergency food relief distributed by Centres between 2019 and 2023, which led to the government funding of the $1.3m Community Food Program as well as an increase in emergency food relief funding directly to Centres statewide. She has co-authored research in Sustainability Science (a Q1 journal) and regularly collaborates with researchers, community organisations, and practitioners to translate complex research into accessible, impactful outcomes. Her work is driven by a strong commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration.

Melanie’s extensive collaborations span state, national and international networks while leading and contributing to projects with government and industry. She currently holds a strategic leadership role at the peak body Neighbourhood Centres Queensland, an organisation funded by the Department of Communities, Housing, and Digital Economy with a membership of over 150 organisations across Queensland. She’s also a regular lead contributor to the national peak body for Neighbourhood and Community Centres and involved with the International Federation for Settlement Houses.

Associate Professor Christopher Maher is a tertiary-referral Urogynaecologist at the Wesley & Mater Private Hospitals and Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital and active researcher and teacher at the University of Queensland. His long-term commitment to research and evidence based medicine has been rewarded with over 100 peer-review publications and many presentations at National and International conferences. He is the past president of the Queensland CFA (Continence Foundation of Australia), former Secretary of AGES, Chairman of IUGA Scientific Committee, Chair of Urogynaecology committee RANZCOG and is currently lead author of the Cochrane Review and International Collaboration on Incontinence on the surgical management of prolapse. Associate Professor Christopher Maher is the current Chairman of the Urogynaecological Society of Australia.

Professor Stephen Mahler is a Senior Group Leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and Director of the Australian Research Council Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation (CBI), University of Queensland. Professor Mahler is a biotechnologist with a focus on R&D of recombinant-DNA derived protein biopharmaceuticals, drug delivery systems and nanomedicines. Professor Mahler has a record of translational research success and engages extensively with industry associated with the biomedical sciences both nationally and internationally.

Research within CBI covers three thematic research areas; discovery of new biopharmaceuticals, engineering cells for production of protein-based biopharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing for industrial production. A current research interest is at the interface of the life sciences and materials science, using a synthetic biology approach for creating novel therapeutic entities as well as new systems for drug delivery.

Professor Mahler has a strong interest in education and training and was formerly Head of the Chemical and Biological Engineering Plan at the University of Queensland (2010-2016). Other educational initiatives include development of Masters Programs and a Continuing Professional Development program in the area of biopharmaceuticals. The CPD program is available to stakeholders in the industry, both in Australia and internationally.

Nadali (S'08–M'15 IEEE) is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, University of Queensland. He received the B.Sc. in electrical engineering from Isfahan University of Technology, Iran, in 2007, the M.Sc. degree in power engineering from Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, in 2010, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical power engineering from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, in 2015. His research interests include power systems economics and electricity markets, demand response, renewable energy, optimization, and stochastic programming.

---------------------

Awards:

UQI Scholarship, 2011-2015;

IEEE Australia Council Postgraduate Student Paper Award, 2014;

Poster Presentation Award, IEEE Australia and New Zealand Student Congress, Brisbane, 2014;

IEEE PES Queensland Travel Award, 2013;

Top First Year PhD Student, School of ITEE, University of Queensland, 2012.

---------------------

Current PhD Positions:

PES Group at UQ is always looking for talented prospective PhD students. Currently, we are looking for a PhD candidate who has experience in Demand Response and Distribution Network Issues, as well as confident at Mathematical Programming and Optimization. If you are interested, please contact me through my email (Attach your resume in PDF). Please keep in mind to be successful in your application at UQ, in addition to a good GPA, you have to show your strong research skill through your publications. So, if you don't have the above criteria, please don't bother yourself to contact me as your chance is slim.

Dr Kathleen Mahon is a Senior Lecturer, Higher Education, at the University of Queensland. Kathleen’s main research areas are higher education pedagogy and the professional learning of university teachers and leaders. She is particularly interested in how the university environment affects teaching and learning and educational leadership in higher education, and how sustainable and sustaining conditions can be promoted. Much of her work is centred on the notions of praxis and praxis-oriented pedagogy, and the challenges and possibilities for both in today's universities. Her interest in praxis has stemmed from concerns she has, after over thirty years as an educator, that there is still much work to be done to ensure that educational institutions live up to their own good intentions. Since completing her PhD on critical pedagogical praxis in higher education in 2014, Kathleen has become known internationally for her work on both educational praxis and practice theory, with her co-authored publications on the theory of practice architectures being particularly widely cited.

Kathleen is a co-founding Senior Editor of the international journal, Journal of Praxis in Higher Education, and a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal for Experiential Education. She is also a member of the Pedagogy, Education and Praxis (PEP) international collaborative research network, which includes scholars from universities in Australia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Colombia, and New Zealand.

Kathleen is a Docent (Associate Professor) at the University of Boras, in Sweden, where she has been working as an academic developer since 2016. Her research and university teaching is grounded in many years of teaching and leading in secondary schools in Queensland and the Northern Territory, and outdoor education centers in Queensland, Australia. Kathleen currently supervises PhD doctoral candidates in Sweden and Uganda.

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.

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 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.

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.