Find an expert

Yang is currently a Adjunct Research Fellow at Prince Charles Hospital Northside Clinical Unit, UQ Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. He has extensive experience in analysing large-scale national and international health surveys and hospitalisaiton datasets with complex statistical models. He is interested in answering a couple of research questions in the population level (e.g. the associations between modifiable behaviors and chronic diseases; the inequalities in chronic disease risk).

Adriana Penman is a Senior Teaching-Focused Lecturer in Speech Pathology and the Head of Speech Pathology for the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS), Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences (HMBS) at The University of Queensland (UQ). She is an elected Academic member of the UQ Academic Board (2026-2028). Adriana is an experienced speech pathologist who has worked clinically in the areas of adult swallowing and communication disorders across the continuum of care and stuttering or fluency disorders across the lifespan. Adriana is passionate about sharing her knowledge, experience and expertise in these clinical areas through her teaching and research.

Adriana's teaching and research programs are driven by the need to create innovative and authentic solutions such as embedding simulation-based learning within health professional curricula to support students’ preparation for practice. Adriana leads a program of research that aims to assist the growth of new graduates who are prepared for future success in speech pathology through their enriched student educational experiences. As a previous ITaLI Affiliate Academic, she is interested in embedding experiential learning opportunities such as simulation-based learning into university classrooms more broadly to assist student learning and engagement, and to build their confidence and readiness for placement. Additionally, within her Affiliate Academic role in 2023-2024, Adriana is the ITaLI representative on the UQ Fitness to Practise Working Party review which is necessitated to continue to guide and support students as developing practitioners.

Adriana's program of research is focussed on the investigation of teaching and learning practices within speech pathology and more broadly, within health science professions with a specific focus on graduate preparedness for placement and the transition to professional practice. She maintains national and international collaborations with a learning community of academics interested in scholarship of teaching. Adriana’s PhD (2021) investigated the use of simulation-based learning to prepare speech pathology students for clinical practice. Her research utilises mixed methodologies however, she has a particular interest in qualitative studies. Adriana is an active researcher in stuttering across the lifespan, teaching and student learning practices, practice education and simulation pedagogy. She is also interested in exploring students’ engagement in interprofessional education and collaborative practice.

Awards and Fellowships:

• Australian Awards for University Teaching (AAUT) Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2025)
• Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy (2025)
• UQ Award for Teaching Excellence (2024)
• Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences (HaBS) Award for Teaching Excellence (2023)
• Fellow, Higher Education Academy (2019)
• Faculty of Heath and Behavioural Sciences (HaBS) Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2018)
• School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) Early Career Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2017)
• School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) Commendation for Early Career Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2016)

Dr Erin Pitt is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the area of Childhood Allergy and Epidemiology within the Child Health Research Centre (CHRC). Erin possesses a Bachelor of Health Science (Nutrition); a Master of Public Health (Epidemiology and Research Methods); and a PhD, which was conferred in March, 2020. Her doctoral research investigated the influence of local food environment and socio-ecological determinants on early childhood dietary intake using a mixed methods research approach, which had a strong focus on nutritional epidemiology in the context of public health nutrition.

Prior to pursuing an academic career, Erin worked as a Public Health Nutritionist with Queensland Health where she managed, designed, implemented, and evaluated community-based public health nutrition interventions in a range of settings and locations including rural/remote and metropolitan regions. Erin collaborated and engaged with a range of diverse government and non-government organisations and industry bodies to address priority areas including rural and remote food supply issues, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and nutrition, children’s food literacy and local government nutrition-related policy and planning.

Erin is currently working on a diverse range of projects including determinants of developing cow’s milk allergy in infancy; the role of migration in allergy prevalence; and the potential co-occurrence of allergy with neurodevelopmental conditions. She has a particular interest in the role of maternal and child dietary diversity as well as socio-economic determinants and their association with the development of allergy in children.

Dr Stacey Pizzino is a global health expert specialising in the intersection of conflict, disasters, and climate change. She is a Fellow with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) Conventional Weapons Programme, contributing to international policy dialogue on the humanitarian impacts of weapons systems. She also holds a visting fellow appointment at the Centre for Conflict and Health Security at Kings College London. Her research examines the health and environmental impacts of armed conflict, explosive ordnance and climate-driven extreme events - issues that increasingly shape the global public health landscape.

She led the world’s largest epidemiological study on casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war, analysing data from over 100,000 individuals across 17 countries. This landmark research contributes to global strategies aimed at mitigating the health consequences of explosive ordnance.

Dr Pizzino brings a unique perspective shaped by frontline experience as a paramedic alongside her academic expertise. She is the co-editor of a textbook on Disaster Health Management, contributing to the education and training of the next generation of disaster health professionals.

She is Co-Lead of CliMigHealth Asia Pacific, part of a global network advancing research, education, and policy on the intersections of climate change, migration, and health to build resilient, inclusive, and responsive health systems.

She has extensive experience in public health partnerships and policy translation, working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to inform research and transform findings into actionable policies that enhance population health outcomes.

Dr Pizzino is a skilled communicator and advocate, and regularly presents in global policy forums such as the United Nations. Her ability to engage policymakers, humanitarian agencies and global audiences ensures that her research drives real-world impact.

Dr Stefanie Plage is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the School of Social Science researching health and social care in the context of housing instability. Prior to her DECRA Fellowship, she was a Research Fellow with the Life Course Centre at the School of Social Science at UQ. Her expertise is in qualitative research methods, including longitudinal and visual methods. Her research interests span the sociology of emotions, disadvantage and health and illness. Stefanie has taught introductory and advanced courses in sociology and medical sociology, research design and qualitative inquiry, including the use of software for qualitative research (i.e. NVivo). Her work is multi-disciplinary. She completed her PhD at the Centre for Social Research in Health at The University of New South Wales. In her study she employed a mix of longitudinal qualitative interviews and visual elicitation methods to explore the lived experience of people with cancer.

As part of her DECRA, UQ offers a PhD opportunity. While the DECRA itself is not focussed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the project will support a PhD Candidate to address their experiences. The scholarship is advertised here https://study.uq.edu.au/study-options/phd-mphil-professional-doctorate/projects/dying-dignity-caring-people-without-home-end-life . Please reach out to Stefanie directly for more information.

Jason D. Pole is the Deputy Director of the Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC) and a Professor in the Medical School within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. Jason provides research leadership for QDHeC and manages his own research program that utilises clinical and surveillance data linked with real-world administrative data to answer health questions in several areas.

Jason has a background in epidemiology, health services research and digital health with an emphasis in the use of real-world data and complex survey instruments.

Currently, Jason has research interests in the areas of digital health applications to improve system performance including patient safety, health care utilization among childhood cancer survivors, the effects of childhood cancer treatment specifically on the development of second cancers and education achievement and has interests in the financial impact of a childhood cancer diagnosis on the family and the long-term financial health of the survivor. More recently, Jason has developed an interest in adolescent and young adult oncology (AYA) survivors and the specific long-term needs of this unique cancer population.

Jason maintains appointments as an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and an Adjunct Scientist with the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and an Adjunct Senior Scientist with ICES, Toronto.

Dr Javad Pool is a researcher focusing on the use of AI and the sustainable implementation of emerging technologies. He completed his PhD in Information Systems at The University of Queensland, where his thesis received the ACPHIS PhD Medal for the best PhD thesis in Information Systems in Australia. He has conducted research in Digital Health, Responsible AI, and Information Systems, with a particular focus on trust in AI, data privacy, and the socio-technical aspects of Information Systems. His work aims to develop a better understanding of responsible and effective use of Information Systems, particularly in organisational contexts.

Sarah is an occupational therapist with over 20 years clinical experience delivering specialised brain injury and complex neurological intervention across the continuum of care in Australia and the UK. Sarah is passionate about conducting research which enables improved rehabilitation outcomes and quality of life for people with brain injury. Her PhD, completed in 2018, investigated client-centred goal setting in the rehabilitation of community dwelling clients with acquired brain injury. The PhD provides insight into how clinicians may implement the client-centred goal setting process in practice to ensure that the meaningful and personally relevant goals of people with brain injury can be formulated, despite known barriers such as memory and self-awareness impairment.

Sarah is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Brain Injury Rehabilitation, Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (STARS) Education and Research Alliance, the University of Queensland. She also works in her private practice, to provide specialised brain injury rehabilitation services in Queensland, Australia.

Dr Melinda Protani is an epidemiologist with over 15 years experience in research and tertiary education. She is the current Program Director for the Master of Epidemiology at UQ. Her research is focussed on cancer aetiology, survivorship and patterns of care, with a particular interest in inequity in access to health services and the receipt of optimal cancer care. Dr Protani has experience in a number of methods including medical record audits, surveys of the general population, patient groups and clinicians, and data linkage using registry and administrative datasets.

Jonathan is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Musculoskeletal and Orthopaedic Research at the STARS Education and Research Alliance. “STARS” is the Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service specialist public health facility in Brisbane and the “Alliance” is between the University of Queensland (UQ) and Metro North Health in Queensland, Australia. He is also Steering Committee Member and Impactful Clinical Trials Co-Lead for the UQ Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHER).

His vision is to improve the quality of life of people with the most common and disabling types of joint pain. He is passionate about leading research priority setting partnerships and investigating the most effective and safe treatments to support condition management. A key part of this is understanding what works best for whom and why. He has a specialist interest in the clinical and surgical management of joint pain due to osteoarthritis and low back pain. To maximise research impact he also seeks to understand the best ways of getting new knowledge from research to the people who need it most including healthcare practitioners and people with joint pain.

His boundary-spanning physiotherapy career has involved clinical, academic, conjoint, policy and professional body roles. Prior to joining the University of Queensland, he was Research into Practice Adviser at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in the UK and he holds a Visiting Senior Research Fellow position at The University of York, UK.

He is in the top 1% of global osteoarthritis researchers and has secured over $6.3 million in grant funding and published over 52 peer-reviewed journal articles in top musculoskeletal journals including The Lancet Rheumatology, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, Rheumatology and the British Journal of Sports Medicine. He has lead-supervised three research students to completion (1 PhD, 1 MPhil and 1 Academy of Medical Sciences project student) and has 4 ongoing PhD students and 1 MPhil. He contributes to national policy (e.g. 2022 UK NICE osteoarthritis guideline committee), is a steering group member of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International Joint Effort Initiative (which seeks to improve the international implementation of evidence based osteoarthritis care) and has held national committee strategy, research and communications officer roles (e.g. for: The Community Rehabilitation Alliance; The British Society of Rheumatology, and; the Council for Allied Health Professions Research). He thrives through collaboration and welcomes approaches from prospective PhD students. He is committed to high quality consumer involvement and improving equity, diversity and belonging in research.

Examples of national and international recognition include:

-Invited advisor to NHS England Obesity Expert Group and report writer of “the impact of weight and weight management on osteoarthritis of the hip and knee” 2021-23.

-Invitations to give international conference plenaries including the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Epidemiology and Therapy Year in Review in 2021.

-Clinical Research Network West Midlands Research Scholar Fellowships x2 2020-2022

-National Institute of Health Care Research (NIHR) Academic Clinical Lecturer in Physiotherapy 2016-2019

-OARSI Young Investigator Award 2014

Professor Rae received her PhD in 2007 in the area of reproductive physiology and has been working in the area of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander maternal and infant health and chronic disease since that time. She began as the Group Lead for the Indigenous Health Research group at the Mater Research Institute in a role that bridges the Mater, University of QLD and is actively growing partnerships with the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector in QLD. The importance of maternal health for Indigenous communities has been identified as a critical national research priority by Indigenous communities. Her work has had a multidisciplicinary nature and while always focused on the health of Indigneous Australians she has published in areas including pregnancy and birth outcomes, nutrition, psychosocial health, growth and development during infancy, the use of arts in health education to name a few.She has a particular passion for working in partnership to co-design research projects that support improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Her specific focus has primarily been to develop programs that reduce chronic diseases which afflict Aboriginal people more commonly through early detection and diagnosis, health education, and developing a thorough understanding of risk factors that impact on this community. She has mentored her team of staff and students to co-produce and co-disseminate findings from these programs of work and to build research capacity for all team members including those who identify as Indigenous and for those from rural locations of research studies.

Prior to her role at Mater Research, she was the inaugaral Director of the Gomeroi gaaynggal program (2007-2019), which had two major programs of work 1. ArtsHealth for community engagement, health education and health promotion and 2. A Health research program for understanding the development of chronic disease in the Indigenous community through the Gomeroi gaaynggal cohort. Program 1 was successful in transitioning its funding to local Aboriginal community-controlled sector in Tamworth (2019). Prior to its transition, she led a community focussed ArtsHealth program to improve health knowledge, particularly in the areas of social and emotional wellbeing in the community, with the assistance of a team of beginning Indigenous researchers. Over 100,000 hours of community education were delivered through this program. 2. The Gomeroi gaaynggal cohort work has involved the recruitment and retention of a prospective longitudinal cohort of Indigenous women from pregnancy through until the infants are 10 years of age highlighting her expertise in working with Indigenous families during their antenatal and early childhood years. The importance of maternal health for this population is a critical priority to improving the life-long health of the Indigenous communities of Australia.

I received my Bachelor's in Biology (2001) from Yarmouk University in Jordan, followed by postgraduate degrees from the University of Houston in Houston-Texas (2002-2007). My studies are integrative in nature, joining the best of both the Neuroscience world and Circadian Biology (the study of biological clocks). In the laboratory of Prof. Arnold Eskin, I investigated how processes as complex as learning and memory are modulated by biological clocks i.e. the circadian (about 24 hours) system, using Aplysia californica as the experimental model. After completing my Master's in Science in 2005, my research focused on the mechanism by which biological clocks modulate learning and memory. This work was performed in the laboratories of Prof. Gregg Cahill and Prof. Greg Roman, experts in chronobiology and behavioral neuroscience, respectively. Using Zebrafish as a model system, I investigated the role of melatonin, a night-time restricted hormonal signal, in modulating long-term memory consolidation. My findings, published in Science in 2007, shows that the circadian system via the cyclic night-time confined synthesis/release of melatonin “the hormone of darkness” functions as a modulator, shaping daily variations in the efficiency by which memories are processed. After receiving my Ph.D. in 2007, I joined as a postdoctoral fellow the laboratory of the pharmacologist and melatonin researcher Prof. Margarita Dubocovich. My postdoctoral work engaged in elucidating the role of melatonin in circadian physiology and pharmacology during development and ageing in rodents (Mus musculus) and non-human primates (Macaca mulatta) at the Feinberg School of Medicine (Northwestern University-Chicago) and the State University of New York (SUNY). From 2010-2015, I held a teaching/research position in the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomy and the Dept. of Neurology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt-Germany. During this time, I was involved in teaching gross human anatomy while continuing my endeavor in understanding the mechanistics involved in shaping memory processes (acquisition, consolidation and retrieval) by the circadian system.

Gillian Ray-Barruel, RN PhD, is a Senior Research Fellow with UQ School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work and the Herston Infectious Diseases Institute (HeIDI), and she is Director of Education with the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR) and Associate Editor for the journal Infection, Disease & Health.

Formerly a critical care nurse and research coordinator, Gillian has over 15 years of vascular access research experience, with an emphasis on device assessment and clinical decision making to improve patient outcomes. After identifying a gap between evidence-based guidelines and clinical practice, she created the I-DECIDED® device assessment and decision tool, which has been included in several textbooks and disseminated in multiple languages and is in use in many hospitals worldwide.

Dr Sarah Reedman is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre group within the UQ Child Health Research Centre. Sarah is passionate about enabling participation of young people with disabilities in sports and active recreation. She is interested demonstrating how paediatric physiotherapists, occupational therapists and exercise physiologists are well-placed to deliver effective physical activity promotion interventions in young people with disabilites. Sarah is also involved in the conduct of a large, multi-site randomized controlled trial of an intensive functional goal-directed motor training intervention in children with bilateral cerebral palsy (Hand Arm Bimanual Intensive Training Including Lower Extremity [HABIT-ILE]).

Sarah is experienced in the following research methods:

• Design, conduct and administration of randomized controlled trials (including multi-site trials)
• Cross-sectional and cohort studies
• Validation of rehabilitation outcome measures
• Objective measurement of physical activity behaviours, tri-axial accelerometry

Sarah is available as an associate supervisor for HDR students.

Simon Reid is a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland. He is a keen advocate of One Health and the application of systems thinking approaches to understand and improve interventions for wicked zoonotic disease problems at the human-animal-ecosystem interface such as leptospirosis, brucellosis, human-bat interactions and antimicrobial resistance. His research focuses on understanding how to improve multisectoral governance, planning and implementation of responses to manage One Health problems. He delivers postgraduate courses in systems thinking, communicable disease control and One Health.

Dr Lynne Reid is a General Practitioner, medical educator and researcher with expertise in general practice education, sport and exercise medicine, musculoskeletal medicine, and preventive healthcare. She is a Senior Lecturer within the University of Queensland Medical School and works across undergraduate teaching, clinical supervision, assessment, and curriculum development.

Her work focuses on preparing future doctors for contemporary practice, with particular interests in immersive clinical education, evidence-based medicine, communication skills, preventative health, and whole-person care.

Her broader interests include:

• General practice and community-based medical education

• Sport and exercise medicine

• Musculoskeletal medicine and injury management

• Preventive health

• Women’s health

• Clinical assessment and feedback

• Digital health and AI in medical education

• Exercise prescription in primary care

Dr Reid is passionate about strengthening the role of general practice within the health system and building supportive learning environments for students, trainees and clinicians.

Children and families should be at the centre of the healthcare and research that affects them.

Claire is a paediatric researcher and dietitian working to improve how healthcare and research are designed, delivered and experienced by children and their families.

Her research program spans paediatric clinical trial design, tube feeding and nutrition, priority setting, and consumer and community involvement in research. Claire is particularly interested in developing approaches that enable children and young people to meaningfully shape the research intended to improve their health and healthcare. She believes children and families should be at the centre of the healthcare and research that affects them.

Claire is based within UQ's ULTRA Clinical Trials Capability team and is affiliated with the Child Health Research Centre. She is also Senior Paediatric Dietitian at Queensland Children's Hospital and an executive member of the Children's Inpatient Research Collaborative of Australia and New Zealand (CIRCAN), contributing to collaborative paediatric research across Australia and New Zealand.

Dr Felipe Retamal-Walter is a bilingual speech pathologist, audiologist, and early career academic at The University of Queensland. His research focuses on improving access, equity, and quality in communication and hearing healthcare across the lifespan. Drawing on over 15 years of experience across Chile and Australia, Felipe leads and contributes to international research projects funded nationally and internationally. He is a recipient of multiple academic recognitions, including top-cited article awards, international fellowships, and an invention patent for neonatal care technology.

Felipe uses mixed methods, implementation science, and participatory research approaches to co-design and evaluate practical, person-centred models of care. He works in partnership with families, students, clinicians, educators, and policymakers across many regions in Australia and the Pacific, North and South America, and Europe to develop tools, training, and systems that respond to the needs of underserved and diverse communities.

Felipe’s research themes include:

• Design, improvement, and evaluation of service delivery models to enhance access to timely and high-quality services. This is achieved by building honest, transparent, and long-lasting partnerships that consider all stakeholders as equal partners in care: clients, families, communities, healthcare professionals, and policymakers.
• Development and validation of implementation tools and measures to enhance person- and family-centred care, engagement, and shared decision-making in healthcare services. These tools promote equitable, community-based access for people across the lifespan in diverse regions and contexts.
• Implementation of culturally responsive education and training approaches to prepare health professions students for inclusive, digitally enabled, and person-centred practice in global and diverse contexts.

Felipe is an active member of the World Health Organization’s World Hearing Forum. He serves on The University of Queensland’s Cultural Inclusion Council and several research engagement themes. His work has informed national policy, clinical training programs, and service delivery innovations across Australia and other global settings. As an advocate for inclusion, Felipe also leads interdisciplinary initiatives that embed equity, diversity, and cultural responsiveness in healthcare and health education systems.

Nicole is a Research Fellow at the RECOVER Injury Research Centre, working within the Improving Health Outcomes after Musculoskeletal Injury program. Her current research focuses on the design and implementation of single-case experimental design studies to evaluate multidisciplinary interventions for whiplash and other musculoskeletal injuries sustained in road traffic incidents. Nicole completed her PhD in Psychology at The University of Queensland, where she investigated the effectiveness and mechanisms of mind-body therapies for pain management in injured athletes. This work advanced understanding of psychological predictors of pain, injury perception, and recovery in sporting contexts. Nicole has published in leading journals including Journal of Sports Sciences and Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, and presented at national and international conferences such as the Australian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting. She holds a Master of Clinical Research from The University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) from UQ, and is committed to developing personalised, evidence-based approaches to injury rehabilitation.