Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Centre for Research in Social Psychology (CRiSP)
Centre for Research in Social Psychology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Blake joined the School of Psychology at UQ in 2007 having previously been a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology. Blake won a Faculty Teaching Excellence Award in 2010 and a University of Queensland Teaching Excellence Award in 2016. He led a team that won the AAUT Higher Education Teacher of the Year award in 2019, and received the edX Prize in 2018. He currently teaches a second year elective about psychology and law. His research focuses on jury decision-making including the influence of gender-based stereotypes and the influence of different modes of evidence presentation. He is also interested in group membership and attitude-behaviour relations and how group membership influences thinking about the self. He is a leading instructor of the award-winning course: CRIME101x and the PSYC1030x Introduction to Developmental, Social & Clinical Psychology XSeries Program of four courses on edX.org.
My work focuses on Indigenous sovereignty, digital infrastructure, and the global education reform movement (GERM), with a particular emphasis on how Māori assert self-determination in systems traditionally shaped by settler-colonial and neoliberal logics.
I am a basic science researcher with training in cell biology, genetics and research translation. My research investigates the female reproductive system by focusing on the contribution of individual cells. I aim to understand the influence of genetic architecture, differentiation and maturation on these individual cells and how this contributes to changes in the microenvironment that can contribute to disease initiation and progression.
After the completion of my PhD in 2008 at the University of Queensland, I undertook post-doctoral studies at the University of Bern, Department of Biomedical Research (DBMR), focusing on endometriosis, ovarian and endometrial cancer. I curated patient samples from clinical research trials to investigate inflammatory and metabolic components of reproductive tissue and disease and began developing patient-derived models of the endometrium. I established a relationship between endometriosis lesions, nerves and pain and how this interaction was mediated by inflammation. I further developed patient-derived in vitro models to understand the interaction between inflammation and hormonal response of endometriotic lesions and how this could be utilized to target current and novel treatments. On returning to Australia in 2016 I joined the Genomics of Reproductive Disorders laboratory to integrate genetic background into patient-derived in vitro models. I established the Endometriosis Research Queensland Study (ERQS) in collaboration with the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and extended in vitro models into complex multi-cellular assembloids (combinations of organoids and surrounding stromal cells).
Professor Geoffrey McLachlan's research interests are in: data mining, statistical analysis of microarray, gene expression data, finite mixture models and medical statistics.
Professor McLachlan received his PhD from the University of Queensland in 1974 and his DSc from there in 1994. His current research projects in statistics are in the related fields of classification, cluster and discriminant analyses, image analysis, machine learning, neural networks, and pattern recognition, and in the field of statistical inference. The focus in the latter field has been on the theory and applications of finite mixture models and on estimation via the EM algorithm.
A common theme of his research in these fields has been statistical computation, with particular attention being given to the computational aspects of the statistical methodology. This computational theme extends to Professor McLachlan's more recent interests in the field of data mining.
He is also actively involved in research in the field of medical statistics and, more recently, in the statistical analysis of microarray gene expression data.
My research is informed by sociocultural theories that conceive learning as simultaneously intellectual, relational, emotional, and ideological. This understanding has been shaped by my own journey from secondary teacher to teacher educator, and an appreciation for teaching and learning as complex, human endeavours rather than simple exchanges of knowledge.
I investigate how people learn and form a sense of self across diverse educational settings, from secondary classrooms to universities, including in digital environments. Much of my work focuses on how preservice teachers navigate the process of becoming professionals in a climate of policy reform and public scrutiny.
Drawing on theorists including Vygotsky and Bakhtin, my research illuminates the experience of being both a teacher and a student as complex, relational, and deeply human.
Career counselling: theory and processes; Career development theory; Career programs; Qualitative career assessment; Supervision
Dr McMahon teaches in the areas of career development theory, career guidance and counselling, and supervision. She is particularly interested in the career development of children and adolescents and how young people may be supported by career programs. In the area of career counselling, she is interested in the application of constructivist approaches especially the use of qualitative career assessment. Within the area of supervision, she is interested in assisting guidance officers and school counsellors develop their supervision practices. Her recent focus within this area is on the use of technology to support rural and remote personnel.
My research has focused on molecular studies of pathogens, disease syndromes and health of Australian wildlife and domestic species. Particular research interests include the study of emerging and novel viral infections and syndromes of Australian bat species, being awarded the School of Veterinary Science, Award for Outstanding Contribution to Research in 2023. I am passionate about my undergraduate teaching in the discipline of animal genetics and genomics and my supervision and mentorship of Higher Degree Research students, being awarded the School of Veterinary Science, Helen Keates Developing Teacher Award, and Higher Degree Research Supervision Excellence Award in 2022. I mentor my students in developing their molecular biology skills in a diverse range of project areas, from molecular detection and characterisation of pathogens with zoonotic potential in wildlife and companion animals, characterisation of novel viruses of wildlife with potential wildlife health and conservation impacts and gene expression analyses in disease of companion animals.
Dr Chris McMillan is a virologist and vaccinologist whose work focuses on innovative vaccine platforms and advanced delivery technologies. His research spans several pathogens of global health importance, including seasonal and pandemic influenza, flaviviruses, poliovirus, SARS-CoV-2, and emerging viral threats. He works across multiple vaccine modalities, from recombinant proteins and virus-like particles to DNA, mRNA, and self-amplifying RNA platforms.
A major research focus is improving vaccine performance through targeted skin delivery using microarray patches (MAPs) to access immune-rich epidermal and dermal layers. By applying spatial transcriptomics and other tissue-scale profiling tools, we aim to map how MAP vaccines interact with the skin and draining lymph nodes in vivo to inform next-generation vaccine design.
He is also focusing on new RNA technologies, including self-amplifying RNA systems for both vaccine and therapeutic applications. This work integrates virology, RNA engineering, and spatial immunology to better understand and enhance immune responses at the tissue level.
Karen is a Professor of Development Geography in the School of the Environment and an ARC Industry Laureate Fellow (2026–2031). Her work examines how people experience and respond to the intersecting challenges of climate change, disaster risk, poverty, and displacement. Over the past two decades, she has led long-term, collaborative research partnerships across the Asia-Pacific, working with governments, NGOs, and local communities to understand lived experiences of vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation.
Karen’s research has included supporting farming communities in Aceh rebuilding after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; examining the experiences of newly settled migrants in Dhaka displaced by erosion and flooding; partnering with Torres Strait Elders to record traditional environmental knowledge; and documenting everyday climate impacts and adaptation stories across rural Pacific Island communities.
She has led a series of major research projects, including an ARC Future Fellowship, and has served in advisory roles for national governments and international organisations. She currently sits on the Expert Group on Non‑Economic Losses under the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (UNFCCC), contributing her expertise on climate-related impacts and social equity.
Karen grew up in Quirindi on Kamilaroi Country in NSW. Her rural upbringing fostered a deep commitment to research that is grounded, community-focused, and centred on supporting more just and resilient futures.
Associate Member of Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing
Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Professor McNaughton is Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics and Discipline Lead for Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland and Health and Well-Being Centre for Research Innovation, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland. She is an Accredited Practising Dietitian, Fellow of Dietitians Australia and a Registered Public Health Nutritionist.
She has almost 30 years expertise in nutrition and dietetics and has published over 242 peer-reviewed papers (H-index=60). She completed her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2003, and was subsequently appointed a Research Scientist in the MRC Centre for Human Nutrition Research (Cambridge, UK). She was employed at Deakin University from 2005 -2023. She has previously held nationally competitive fellowships from the ARC, Heart Foundation and NHMRC. She has received funding as a chief investigator on 27 externally funded project grants and tenders from NHMRC, ARC (Discovery, Linkage & LIEF), Heart Foundation, Diabetes Australia Research Trust, World Cancer Research Fund, the World Health Organisation, Food Standards Australia New Zealand and VicHealth. She currently supervises 5 PhD students and has previoulsy supervised 16 PhD students to completion and 9 Honours students & 8 Masters students.
She leads a program of research that focuses on strengthening the evidence-base for public health nutrition strategies and interventions with a focus on epidemiological methods. She has particular interest in translation of evidence into guidelines and nutrition communication messages. Her research covers:
Developing novel methods for measuring and interpreting population dietary intakes
Understanding the role of foods, eating patterns and dietary patterns in health and wellbeing;
Understanding dietary behaviors and their determinants across the life-course
Understanding the role of food and nutrition literacy in dietary intake
Translation of dietary patterns research into nutrition interventions, strategies and policy.
She has served on over 20 national and international committees and advisory groups including for the IARC, WHO, Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance, NHMRC, Heart Foundation, Australian Academy of Science National Nutrition Committee and Nutrition Australia. In September 2021, she was appointed Chair of the NHMRC Australian Dietary Guidelines Expert Review Committee.