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Associate Professor Richard Hutch is an Honorary Associate Professor and Reader in Religion and Psychological Studies in the School of Historical and Philosopical Inquiry. His research interests include psychology of religion, sport and spirituality, self-narrations and life-writing, and death and dying.

His current research projects include:

• The American Civil Rights Movement: A Personal Narrative
• Sport, Spirituality and Productive Ageing
• History and Phenomenology of Religion

TO NOTE: Richard Hutch presented the keynote address at a symposium on the American Civil Rights Movement held at Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States on the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, 9 April 1865. It was also the 50th anniversary of the "Summer Community Organization and Political Education" project (SCOPE), which was sponsored by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), founded and led by Martin Luther King, Jr. Richard volunteered for the SCOPE project in rural counties in Alabama and Louisiana in the summer of 1965. The project spearheaded a massive voter registration drive throughout the South after "Bloody Sunday," the violent racial conflict that occurred at the beginning of the Selma to Montgomery march on March 7th that year. Through the efforts of SCOPE volunteers and others, who often faced life-threatening incidents of racial violence (as Richard himself did), the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was finally passed by the American Congress and signed by the President in August. The keynote address at Gettysburg College presented Richard's experiences in the South during his harrowing time there. He was honoured by his alma mater on the occasion with the establishment of an archive in his name in the Musselman Library at Gettysburg College, including the journal he kept during his summer in the South and other unique materials from the Civil Rights Movement. It can be noted at the town of Gettysburg was the site where the Civil War "Battle of Gettysburg" took place in July, 1863. Northern Union troops pushed the Southern Confederate troops from their so-called "high-water mark" back south across the Mason-Dixon Line (which separated "slave" states from "free" states, and was drawn on maps just beyond the southern border of the state of Pennsylvania near Gettysburg). The battle represented the beginning of the end of the Civil War, with the final defeat of the Confederacy by Abraham Lincoln's Union Army two years later on 9 April, 1865 at 3:15 in the afternoon, when church bells rang out throughout the North.

Associate Professor Hutch was the Director of Studies for the Faculty of Arts (2001-05) and Head of the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics (2005-08) at the University of Queensland. Before taking up his appointment at UQ in 1978, he was Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Southern Illinois University in the United States (1974-78). He graduated from Gettysburg College (BA, 1967), Yale University (BD, 1970) and the University of Chicago (MA, 1971; PhD, 1974).

Dr Daniel Liang-Dar Hwang is a genetic epidemiologist and statistical geneticist by training. His research interests include sensory nutrition, causal modelling, and personalized nutrition. Dr Hwang applies statistical models to big data to understand genetic and environmental factors contributing to individual differences in taste and olfactory perception and their relationship with dietary behaviour and chronic conditions (See his research on taste perception in The Conversation). He develops methods for increasing statistical power for gene discovery, estimating intergenerational causal relationships, and personalized intervention. He also works with clinicians to investigate impaired chemosensory perception in cancer patients and COVID-19.

Daniel has a B.Sc from the National Taiwan University, majoring in Biochemical Science and Technology, and an M.Biotech from the University of Pennsylvania. Following graduation, he worked as a research technician in Danielle Reed's lab at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, where he first developed a keen interest in genetics and chemosensory perception. Later, he was awarded scholarships to complete an M.Sc in Nutrition at the University of Washington, under the supervision of Glen Duncan, and a PhD in Genetic Epidemiology at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, under the supervision of Nicholas Martin and Margaret Wright. He then joined David Evans's group as a postdoc at the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute (now the Frazer Institute). Dr Hwang is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He is also an Affiliated Scientist at the Monell Chemical Senses Center.

Dr Hwang has published more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. His work has been referred to in international health policy guidelines and a WHO report for the intervention of childhood obesity and in a global patent for personalized wine selection. He is on the editorial boards of BMC Medicine and Twin Research and Human Genetics. Dr Hwang is a Leadership Team member of the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research, a global initiative to understand the relationship between smell loss and COVID-19 and foster the advancement of chemosensory science. He currently drives an international collaborative project to investigate the impact of COVID-19 vaccinations on long-COVID symptoms. Dr Hwang is a member of the National Committee for Nutrition of the Australian Academy of Science. He contributes to implementing the decadal plan for the science of nutrition in Australia.

Gregore is an epidemiologist whose research focuses on measuring and understanding 1) patterns of physical activity and sedentary behaviour across the lifespan; and 2) inequalities in population health. Gregore has been involved in various population-based cohort studies, including the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) and the Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Studies. Before moving to Australia in 2018, Gregore had professional experience working on the Coordination of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Health Promotion in the Brazilian Ministry of Health. During his career, most of his work has involved multidisciplinary research, transitioning from an early focus on physical education to the behavioural epidemiology of physical activity.

Paul specialises in Assessment and Management of Risk and Impact of Socio-Environmental determinants on the Wellbeing of our younger generations across their life span.

His overall vision is about how we use Environmental Health Intelligence to improve decision-making towards delivering more efficient Environmental Health Practices, Services and Solutions for local and regional communities in remote and disadvantaged socio-economic settings.

Within the complex interdisciplinary domains that hold the socio-environmental determinants of wellbeing, Paul’s operational research focuses on how / what interventions would best support communities to prevent, mitigate and adapt to EH risk and impact in rapidly changing environments and climate.

Professor Janda is a NHMRC Leadership Fellow (2025-29), and serves UQ as the Director, Centre for Health Services Research, and Professor in Behavioural Science at the Faculty of Faculty of Health, Medicine & Behavioural Sciences.Professor Janda leads the NHMRC Centre for Reserch Excellence in Skin Imaging and Precision Diagnosis (2021-2025) and the NHMRC funded Synergy Roadmap Towards Melanoma Screening (2022-2026). She trained as a health psychologist and is a behavioural scientist with a research background in cancer prevention and quality of life research. Prof Janda has strong clinical collaborations, and a passion for consumer-centered digital interventions that make self-management of health-related issues easier for people. Her work focuses on applied health and clinical research problems, making a difference to cancer prevention, early detection and treatment outcomes.

Previousely, until 2017, she led the Health Determinants and Health Systems Theme at The Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Before her NHMRC Leadership Fellowship, research was funded through an NHMRC Translating Research into Precatice Fewllowhip (2018-2020), NHMRC Career Development Fellowship Level II (2013-2017), NHMRC Career development fellowship I (2009-12) and NHMRC early career fellowship (2004-8). She was a research fellow for the Melanoma Screening trial with the Cancer Council Queensland before joining QUT in 2006.

Amal specialises in investigating the therapeutic aspects of focused ultrasound assisted gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases. He completed his PhD (2016-2020) at CAI/AIBN (UQ) under Prof. Kristofer Thurecht, studying the effect of different ligand densities on the distribution of nanocarriers in vitro and in vivo. He joined Prof. Terry Rabbitts’s lab at the Institute of Cancer Research London as a Postdoctoral Fellow (2020-2022), working on an intracellular antibody-assisted small molecule discovery project funded by Blood Cancer UK and by the Kay Kendall Leukemia Fund. His current research focuses on the therapeutic aspects of focused ultrasound-mediated gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases funded by the FightMND Foundation, in collaboration with Professor Kris Thurecht, Dr. Kara Vine-Perrow, Prof. Justin Yerbury, and Prof. Anthony White at the University of Queensland and the University of Wollongong.

Clara Jiang is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the University of Queensland. Clara’s research focuses on using genomic and transcriptomic analysis to investigate the genetic basis of cardiovascular and psychiatric disorders, with a particular focus on female health, as well as using statistical genomic approaches to explore possible opportunities for drug repurposing. Clara graduated from the University of Queensland with Bachelor of Advanced Science (First Class Honours) in 2017, and was awarded the University Medal. Clara was awarded her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2021, where she utilised bioinformatic approaches and molecular experiments to decipher the genetic aetiology of breast cancer, specifically the regulatory role of transposons or ‘jumping genes’ in modulating the transcriptional landscape in the cancer state. Clara is also a UQ Wellness ambassador and an advocate for promoting equity, diversity and inclusion in academia.

Professor David Johnson PSM

MB BS (Hons, Univ Medal), PhD (Syd), DMed(Res), FASN, FISN, FAHMS, FRACP

Department of Kidney and Transplant Services, Division of Medicine, Building 31, Princess Alexandra Hospital

david.johnson2@health.qld.gov.au

David Johnson is full-time Director of the Metro South Kidney and Transplant Service (MSKATS) and Medical Director of the Queensland Kidney Transplant Service (QKTS) at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Professor of Medicine and Professor of Population Health at University of Queensland, and Director of the Centre for Kidney Disease Research in Brisbane, Australia. He has a number of international leadership responsibilities, including Co-Chair of the International Society of Nephrology Global Kidney Health Atlas (ISN GKHA), Co-Chair of the International Society for Peritoneal Dialysis (ISPD) Guidelines on Peritonitis Prevention and Treatment, Co-Chair of the Global PDOPPS Steering Committee, Chair of SONG-PD, Immediate Past President of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology (ANZSN), Past President of the ISPD (2018-2020), Past Councillor of the ISN (2013-2019), and member of the ISN-ACT, ISN Research and ISN Monitor groups. He is currently a chair or member of 11 national and 7 international guideline groups and is ranked by Expertscape as the “top-rated expert in dialysis in the world during the years 2013-2023.” He has influenced policy and practice through his leadership as Deputy Chair of the Australian Better Evidence And Translation in Chronic Kidney Disease (BEAT-CKD) program, Deputy Chair of the Australasian Kidney Trials Network (AKTN), Chair of the Primary Healthcare Education Advisory Committee to Kidney Health Australia (PEAK), Co-Chair of the Australasian Creatinine and eGFR Consensus Working Party, Co-Chair of the Australasian Proteinuria Consensus Working Party, Member and Past-Chair of the ANZDATA Registry Peritoneal Dialysis Working Group, and Past-Chair of the Queensland Statewide Renal Clinical Network.

Having published over 1200 original manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and presented over 550 abstracts at national and international scientific meetings, he brings critical expertise in designing and conducting multi-centre, multi-national randomised controlled trials (RCTs), developing national and international registries, using innovative research methodologies (such as registry-based RCTs) and implementing trial findings into practice. He has held lead roles in high-impact, large, multi-centre RCTs that have informed global clinical practice, including CKD-FIX, IDEAL, balANZ, HONEYPOT, TESTING, HERO, and IMPENDIA. He is currently principal investigator of the TEACH-PD and INCH-HD trials, and chair of the PHOSPHATE Trial Global Steering Committee. He helped establish the Australian Peritonitis Registry and led the highly successful National PD Peritonitis Quality Improvement Project, which reduced national peritonitis rates by two-thirds. He also led the universal implementation of automated laboratory reporting of eGFR in ANZ which increased national detection rates by 40%.

He has won numerous awards for both his basic science and clinical research science studies, including the ANZSN TJ Neale Award for “outstanding contributions to nephrologic science” (2005), the US National Kidney Foundation International Distinguished Medal (2014), the Canadian Society of Nephrology Dimitrios Oreopoulos Award (2017) and the Asia-Pacific Society of Nephrology Priscilla Kincaid-Smith Award (2021). He was a Queensland finalist in the Australian of the Year Awards in 2009 and was awarded a Public Service Medal by the Governor-General of Australia in 2011 for outstanding public service, particularly research into the early detection and management of kidney disease.

A/Prof Stephen Johnston is a Reader in Reproduction (40% Teaching; 40% Research and 20% Service) in the School of Environment at the University of Queensland, where he teaches animal reproduction and captive husbandry to Bachelor of Wildlife Science and Science undergraduate and postgraduate students. He is current program coordinator for the Bachelor of Wildlife Science Program. He is also a research affiliate in the School of Veterinary Science. Stephen was trained as a zoologist and specialises in the area of reproductive biology in a broad diversity of species ranging from prawns to tigers but with a major focus on Australian mammals. A/Prof Johnston has published 300 scientific works in basic and applied science disciplines including reproductive anatomy, physiology and behaviour. He was the first person in the world to produce a pouch young following artificial insemination in a marsupial, a task that he and his colleagues have now carried out successfully in the koala, a total of 34 times. Stephen is also a specialist in the cryopreservation of marsupial spermatozoa and in the assessment of sperm DNA fragmentation, including human and domestic animal spermatozoa. A/Prof Johnston’s recent research interests and grant success include studies aimed at a better understanding of the effect of chlamydia on male koala reproduction, heat stress in koalas, sociobiology of koalas, genetic and reproductive management of koalas, wombat captive reproduction, echidna captive breeding, crocodile artificial insemination and prawn aquaculture. He is a Fellow of the Society for Reproductive Biology (2019)

Dr Amy Johnston currently holds a conjoint senior research fellow/senior lecturer position between University of QLD and Metro South Hospital & Health Service, Department of Emergency Medicine (based at Princess Alexandra hospital) and senior lectureship in School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work. For the past 4 years she worked across the academic and healthcare environments to conduct her own research as well as supporting clinicians to develop the skills and confidence to participate in, and conduct research projects relevant to their clinical work. Amy is a neurobiologist and nurse with extensive teaching and research experience and a particular interest in Emergency Department service delivery and patient flow. Her wide experience has helped her develop a broadening national and international profile. She has co-authored in excess of 90 (96) publications, 143 abstracts, between awarded approximately $0.8million in grant funding, and supported 3 PhD candidates to completion with another 5 currently working towards their PhD qualifications. Her H-index is 23 (Scopus). Field weighted citation impact 2016-2019 = 1.62 (SciVal March 2020), with 16.7% of publications in the top 10% most cited worldwide, 28.6% of publications in the top 10% of journals and 21.4% demonstrating international collaboration.

Researcher ID B-2931-2010; ORCID 0000-0002-9979-997X

Associate Professor Kelly Johnstone is a certified occupational hygienist (COH) and occupational health and safety (OHS) generalist with a focus on the protection of worker health. She is the Director of the Master of Occupational Hygiene in the School of the Environment, Faculty of Science, UQ. Kelly has experience in various industries, including education, the energy and resource sectors, construction, transport, and agriculture. She plays an active role in the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS) and the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH). Kelly is currently Chair of the Rural Industry Sector Standing Committee for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland.

Kelly's research interests focus on occupational health hazards including evaluating worker exposures to pesticides, respirable crystalline silica dust, and other hazardous chemicals. She has previously worked on applied and academic projects in indoor air quality, exposure to waste anaesthetic gases, thermal risk assessment, dust characterisation, and a range of OHS management-related projects.

Operations Manager - National Biologics Facility

Deputy Director - ARC Training Centre for Biopharmaceutical Innovation

Research Areas: Discovery and engineering of antibodies for diagnostic or therapeutic uses

BScApp (Biotech) Honours Class I (1998) The University of Queensland

PhD (2008) The University of Queensland

Dr Jordan is a medically trained cancer epidemiologist who is currently Professor of Epidemiology at the School of Public Health. Before starting her PhD, she worked in rural and urban general practice for over 10 years and brings that clinical experience to her research. She is currently a NHMRC Leadership Fellow and leads projects on ovarian and thyroid cancers, examining aetiology, patterns of care and survival. Her research employs a broad range of methods including individual patient and clinician surveys, molecular epidemiology and pooling of consortia data, but she has particular expertise in large-scale data linkage.

Dr. Vaibhavi Joshi is a postdoctoral research fellow at The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research. She is part of the Molecular Breast Pathology Lab alongside Prof. Sunil Lakhani, A/Prof Amy McCart Reed, and A/Prof Peter Simpson. Currently, she is working with with A/Prof Peter Simpson to investigate the molecular basis of breast cancer in young women, focusing on identifying novel biomarkers and potential targets to improve outcomes for this high-risk group.

Her research explores the hallmarks of metastasis, including tumor invasion,colonisation, and the tumor microenvironment. Dr. Joshi employs advanced molecular biology techniques to study cancer progression and uncover clinically relevant targets.

Dr. Joshi welcomes students and collaborators interested in cancer biology, metastasis, and innovative therapeutic strategies to join her in exploring cutting-edge projects.

The research focuses on the evaluation and management of neck pain from a physical therapy perspective

The research in the Cervical Spine and Whiplash Research Unit in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences has an applied clinical focus. Two models of neck pain are being investigated, idiopathic neck pain and neck pain following trauma. The research questions and investigates the possible physical and psychological processes underlying the pain and functional disturbances associated with neck disorders to better identify and quantify the impairments or disturbances in the sensory, muscle, sensorimotor and psychological systems.

Whiplash associated disorders

Processes associated with chronic whiplash associated disorders have been researched, identifying problems in the sensory, motor and postural control systems. A prospective study of prognostic indicators for whiplash from within 4 weeks of injury to recovery or chronicity (6 months post injury) identified sensory, motor and psychological processes associated with recovery and non recovery. A multicentre, international collaborative project is underway to test the sensitivity and specificity of these indicators. This research questions the current classification system for whiplash associated disorders. One RCT of management of chronic whiplash associated disorders has been completed. Currently an RCT is underway to test whether a pragmatic multi-professional management program for acute whiplash will lessen the incidence of transition to chronicity.

Cervicogenic headache

Research into cervicogenic headache has established the physical criteria which characterise cervicogenic headache. A specific pattern of articular and muscle impairment clearly identifies cervicogenic headache from other types of benign intermittent frequent headache with symptomatic overlap (eg tension-type headache and frequent migraine without aura). An RCT has been conducted to investigate the efficacy of physiotherapy treatment methods designed to address these impairments. Current research is investigating cervicogenic headache in the elderly.

Impairment in the neck muscle system and sensorimotor control

The nature of impairments in the cervical muscle system associated with neck pain is being researched. Impairments in the motor control of the deep and superficial neck muscles have been identified in cognitive, functional and automatic tasks. The changes appear to be generic reactions to neck pain syndromes regardless of aetiology. Two randomised controlled trials have been conducted testing the effectiveness of a specific exercise regime developed from this research. The possible physiological mechanisms underlying the effectives of different therapeutic exercise strategies are currently being researched to ensure best evidence-based practice in the field of therapeutic exercise for cervical disorders.

Dr. Aleksandr Kakinen is NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, the University of Queensland, Australia. He obtained his Ph.D. degree (2014) at Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow (2016–2020) at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Australia. His research interests range from nanomedicine and amyloids diseases to structural biology and nanotoxicology. Dr. Kakinen has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in high impact factor journals e.g. Chemical Society Reviews, Advanced Materials, Nature Communications, Nano Letters and ACS Nano. In addition to his scientific activities, Aleksandr is also passionate about scientific design and has founded a design studio that specialises in scientific illustrations and biomedical animations.

Dr Shamshad Karatela is an environmental epidemiologist and a public health researcher. From being a molecular microbiologist, she further developed her skills in public health, environmental epidemiology, exposure science, bio-monitoring, infectious diseases, microbiome and intellectual disability. She has also developed skills in program monitoring and evaluation, survey design, curricula development/training, supervision, management and data analysis. Her particular research interest focuses on understanding the long-term impacts of developmental exposures (from gestation, early life, into adolescence) to environmental chemicals/pollutants/contaminants.