Find an expert

Dr Natalee Newton is a molecular and structural virologist passionate about understanding the structure of flaviviruses and using these findings for the design and development of vaccines and therapeutics. Dr Newton completed her PhD at SCMB, UQ, developing a chimeric system to safely study the structure, using cryo-EM, of highly pathogenic tick- and mosquito-borne flaviviruses such as West Nile virus, dengue virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus. She also investigated the maturation and virion structure of an insect-specific flavivirus, which changed the way we view flavivirus architecture. Following this, Dr Newton began her post doc at SCMB UQ where she is now assessing the structure and immune profile of ancestral and sylvatic flaviviruses.

Professor Robert Newton, PhD, DSc, AEP, CSCS*D, FACSM, FESSA, FNSCA

Professor Robert Newton is Professor of Exercise Medicine in the Exercise Medicine Research Institute that he established (2004) at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia. Prior to appointment at Edith Cowan University, Professor Newton was Director of the Biomechanics Laboratory, at Ball State University in Indiana, and was visiting research fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, in the Center for Sports Medicine. Current major research directions include: exercise medicine as neoadjuvant, adjuvant and rehabilitative cancer therapy to reduce side-effects and enhance effectiveness of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy; the influence of targeted exercise medicine on tumour biology and exercise medicine for reducing decline in quality of life, strength, body composition and functional ability in cancer patients.

Professor Newton is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction with the NSCA, Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, Fellow of Exercise and Sports Science Australia and Fellow of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Member of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, American Society of Clinical Oncology and American College of Sports Medicine. In 2004 he was awarded Outstanding Sports Scientist of the Year by the NSCA. In 2018 he received the career achievement award from the Cancer Council WA and was a finalist for Western Australian of the Year and finalist for the Premier’s Science Award. In 2019, Professor Newton was named the Western Australian Premier’s Scientist of the Year. In 2021, The University of Queensland awarded Professor Newton a Higher Doctorate (DSc) for his research into exercise oncology. Professor Newton was a finalist in the Research Australia Health and Medical Research Awards for 2021 and received a Highly Commended Frontiers Award.

Professor Newton has supervised 8 postdoctoral fellows, 52 PhD, 26 Masters by Research and 3 Honours students to successful completion. He is currently supervising 5 PhD students and 2 Masters students.

Professor Newton has published over 1,000 scientific papers including 550 refereed scientific journal articles, 490 conference abstracts and papers, three books, 17 book chapters and has a current Scopus h-Index of 96 with his work being cited over 32,000 times. Topic of greatest publication output is exercise and cancer for a field-weighted citation impact of 3.00 and prominence percentile of 99.31. As of 2024 Professor Newton had attracted 258 competitive research grants valued at $50,773,064 including NHMRC, PCFA, Cancer Australia and World Cancer Research Fund International.

Dr Giselle Newton (she/her) is a digital health sociologist at the Centre for Digital Cultures and Societies and has worked at UQ since 2023. Giselle is a Research Fellow on the Australian Ad Observatory in the Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. Giselle's research program is focused on individuals' experiences with digital, reproductive and genetic technologies, considering how these technologies shape personal and family life. Giselle is interested in methodological and ethical considerations, and participatory, creative and data donation methods in social research. She has experience working in interdisciplinary teams developing and applying digital tools, infrastructure and observatories to better understand individuals (often unobservable and ephemeral) digital social worlds.

Giselle holds an appointment as Adjunct Associate Lecturer at the Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW, Sydney. Giselle is a co-convenor of the Australian Sociological Association Thematic Group on Families and Relationships. Giselle was awarded the Early Career International Visiting Fellowship, University of Sheffield for 2024-25.

Research

Current projects:

• Targeted digital advertising in fertility, reproduction and parenting
• Understanding stakeholders’ perspectives on public inquiries in sexual and reproductive health
• DNA datascapes: how individuals seek information about family via direct-to-consumer DNA testing

Past projects:

• How alcohol and gambling companies target people most at risk with marketing for addictive products on social media, using the Australian Mobile Ad Toolkit (contract research project commissioned by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education Limited, with A/Prof Nic Carah and Lauren Hayden)
• On target: Understanding advertising in the fertility sector with data from the Australian Ad Observatory, a winter research collaboration (with Romy Wilson Gray and Maria Proctor).
• Everyday belongings: how Australian donor-conceived adults’ use digital technologies to bond, sleuth, educate and strategise. Giselle's PhD study won Dean’s Award for Outstanding PhD Theses in 2022.
• Understanding care endings: Sociological and educational approaches to support pathways out of caring

Research supervision

Current students:

• Lauren Hayden (PhD candidate, UQ) - Digital advertising and cultures of alcohol consumption on social media platforms (with A/Prof Nicholas Carah, Prof Daniel Angus)
• Simone Sanders (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - Representations of breast cancer predisposition testing on TikTok: a qualitative content analysis
• Lina Choi (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - Direct-to-consumer DNA testing content online
• Phoebe Price-Barker (Honours, Criminology, UQ) - Assessing cyber vulnerabilities in direct-to-consumer genetic testing platforms

Past students:

• Cushla McKinney (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - The impact of direct-to-consumer DNA testing on genetic counselling practice (with Dr Lisa Dive, A/Prof Aideen McInerny-Leo, Dr Vaishnavi Nathan).
• Diya Dilip Porwal (Master of Genetic Counselling student, UTS) - Experiences of carrier screening and genetic testing in gamete donors (with Julia Mansour and Dr Lisa Dive).

Areas of supervision: Giselle welcomes research proposals focused on social research in digital identities and cultures; family relationships and practices; DNA and genetic testing/screening; reproductive health and donation.

Teaching

Giselle has coordinated and lectured across undergraduate and postgraduate programs in courses in humanities, social sciences and health. She was course coordinator for COMU2030 Communication Research Methods in 2023, lecturer in HHSS6000 HASS Honours Research Design in 2024 and HHSS6040 Honours Research Design in Arts and Culture in 2025.

Elize has a broad interested in avian biology and conservation. Here at UQ, as an affiliated research with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, she is developing a comprehensive conservation action database for shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway to support conservation strategies and inform effective management for these migratory species.

With a background in population and evolutionary genomics, Elize’s research has explored how major drivers such as the captive trade, habitat fragmentation, and climate change shape avian species across diverse ecosystems, from the tropical forests of Southeast Asia to the icy landscapes of Antarctica. Through her current research in applied conservation, she leverages her genomic expertise to develop more targeted strategies for biodiversity preservation. Her aim is to bridge the gap between foundational genomic research and practical conservation strategies, addressing critical challenges in wildlife management and ecosystem sustainability.

Elize completed her BSc (Hons) at the National University of Singapore, where she studied the genomic impacts of the illegal songbird trade on local populations of the White-rumped Shama. Following this, she worked as a research assistant with the Avian Evolution Lab, focusing on the landscape and conservation genomics of birds, using Singapore as a case study. For her PhD at the University of Tasmania, Elize investigated how climate influences Antarctic seabirds, using genomic and modeling approaches to explore their responses to environmental change.

Dr Dominic Ng graduated with a BSc (Hons) and gained his PhD from the University of Western Australia. His doctoral studies, conducted in the laboratory of Assoc. Prof. Marie Bogoyevitch, were focused on cardiomyocyte signalling mechanisms regulating pathological tissue growth (ie cardiac hypertrophy). He continued his research training in Singapore as a post-doctoral research fellow based at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, the flagship institute of Singapore’s science agency (A*STAR) located at the world renowned Biopolis research precinct. During this time, his research interests turned to the complex regulation of the cytoskeleton and their functions in development and disease.

He returned to the Australian medical research community on an NHMRC Peter Doherty Fellowship (2006-2010) followed by a Faculty Trust Roper Fellowship (2011-2012). In this time, Dominic established an independent research program focused on complex signalling regulation of microtubule organization. In 2013, Dominic was appointed as a Senior Research Fellow, supported by an ARC Future Fellowship (2013-2016) at the Department of Biochemistry within the Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne. In 2015, Dominic relocated his research group to the School of Biomedical Science, University of Queensland and is currently appointed as an ARC Future Fellow and Senior Lecturer.

Associate Professor Son Nghiem is the Head of the Health Economics Research and Modelling Unit, Centre for Health Services Research, The University of Queensland. A/Prof Nghiem has a background in applied econometrics and has 18 years of experience in health services research, health economics, and health technology assessment. He has been a chief investigator on 18 research grants, including ten grants as a chief investigator A, with a total funding of more than $15 million. A/Prof Nghiem successfully led a multidisciplinary team to develop the Queensland Cardiovascular Disease Cohort Linkage Study, the first data linkage cohort study for cardiovascular disease in Australia. A/Prof Nghiem has an excellent publication track record with 150 peer-reviewed articles, three book chapters and one book. His publications have been cited over 4000 times, resulting in an average H-index 36.

I completed a PhD in Neuroscience with Jack Pettigrew (FRS) at Vision, Touch & Hearing Research Centre followed by an NHMRC Clinical Research Fellowship at Alfred Health & Monash University.

Back in QLD I'm continuing a transdisciplinary research & innovation program to Bring Discoveries of the Brain to Life!

I'm currently focused on developing novel MedTech Biotech diagnostics & therapeutics for enhancing human performance, recovery & resilience with the following projects:

[1] Precision Pain Medicine — the largest genetic study of persistent (chronic) pain in Australia, in collaboration with QIMR Berghofer & Monash University, aims to identify pharmacogenomics causal pathways for the design of personalised therapeutics & effective early intervention approaches (e.g., screening, education, prevention).

[2] Brain Switcha — A digital transdiagnostic biomarker and cloud-based large-scale population phenotyping & analytics platform to improve early intervention strategies in sleep & mental health conditions (esp. at-risk youth cohorts) and recruitment screening for Defence forces.

[3] VCS — vestibulocortical stimulation: A simple, inexpensive, non-invasive & non-pharmacologic neurotherapeutic treatment technique for fibromyalgia (with US colleagues) and other centralised pain syndromes, sleep apnoea, dementia & mental health conditions (e.g., depression, PTSD, bipolar disorder).

I also have >5 years professional services experience providing specialist research performance evaluation, consultation, reporting & training workshops that successfully delivered several major strategic priorities to a large internal & external client base — such as organisational unit leaders/managers at multiple levels (e.g., Centre/Department) and senior executive business missions for national/international strategic partnerships. This work includes mapping, monitoring & benchmarking of research capacity, capabilities/strengths, gaps & collaboration networks (e.g., clinical, corporate & government) across diverse disciplines for Annual & Septennial Departmental Reviews (e.g., patent, policy & clinical guideline citations; external stakeholder engagement including media); ARC Engagement & Impact assessments; and workforce capability development (e.g., recruitment for senior leadership positions and ranking of NHMRC/ARC funding applicants).

In particular, I enjoy meeting & connecting people with a shared vision & commitment towards building innovative & sustainable public-private partnerships to deliver meaningful solutions for the wider community.

I completed my PhD in Neuroscience at UQ in 2009. After this, I undertook postdoctoral training in motor neuron disease/amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (MND/ALS) under the mentorship of neurologists at Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital. In 2012, I received a MND Research Australia Bill Gole Fellowship to develop a research focus to study metabolic dysfunction in MND/ALS. I started my independent research group at UQ in 2015, after receiving the Scott Sullivan MND Research Fellowship to lead a translational program to define the contribution of altered metabolic homeostasis to MND/ALS pathophysiology. In 2017, I relocated my laboratory to the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology to introduce the use of human stem cells for disease modelling into my reserach program. In 2020, I was awarded a FightMND Mid-Career Research Fellowship to transition into clinical trials.

My current research integrates studies in MND/ALS patients with studies in human-derived cell models (stem cell-derived neurons, human primary myosatellite cells, human myotubes) and mouse models of MND/ALS. I have served as lead investigator or co-investigator on several projects aimed at defining the mechanisms that drive MND/ALS and identifying therapeutic strategies for the disease. Projects have led to the expediting of clinical trials (NCT03506425; NCT04788745, NCT05959850). In 2021, I established the MND at UQ Collective to enhance national and international collaboration, and to facilitate community consultation to drive scientific and clinical discoveries in ALS and FTD (www.uq.edu.au/mnd-collective).

I have received invitations to contribute to high impact review articles (i.e., Brain, Nat Rev Neurol), and have received >20 invitations to speak at conferences including: 33rd International ALS/MND Symposium (2022, Plenary), 64th Japanese Society of Neurology Meeting (2023, Tokyo; Plenary), 3rd International Pan-Asian Consortium for Treatment and Research in ALS (PACTALS) Congress (2023, Kuala Lumpur), 18th International Congress on Neuromuscular Diseases (2024, Perth).

Dr Ngo is a highly successful recent PhD graduate from The University of Queensland who has led a project examining outcomes of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation at a nationwide scale in Australia and New Zealand. Throughout her PhD study, Dr Ngo has excelled in outcomes research and her work has been selected as finalist for prize competitions at local and international conferences, most notably, the Young Investigator Award competition at Heart Rhythm Society Scientific Meeting 2020. Besides her success in academia, she is also a passionate young doctor who graduated from one of the best medical schools in Vietnam with multiple prizes and awards achieved, including the prestigious Australia Awards Fellowship. She is now working as a RMO at The Prince Charles Hospital.

Dr. Tuan Nguyen is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland. He has worked on a diverse range of multidisciplinary research projects, focusing primarily on advancing fundamental knowledge and developing environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions for minerals, oil, and gas processing, as well as environmental pollution management. Over the past five years, his research has closely aligned with the needs of the mineral resource sector, particularly in addressing engineering and environmental challenges associated with the clean energy transition, using both experimental and modeling approaches.

Dr. Nguyen’s current work emphasizes the secondary prospectivity of mineral residues, rare earth elements (REE), biomining, carbon-locking methods, and innovative technologies aimed at minimizing water-, waste-, and carbon-footprints. His research also covers “green” and sustainable solutions for agriculture, including pesticides, fertilizers, peptides, nanofibers, gas hydrates, and geopolymers as cement alternatives. Additionally, he has expertise in molecular dynamics simulations (GROMACS, LAMMPS, Reactive FF, Coarse-grained Force Fields, Organo- & Mineral-associated simulations, Materials Studio), applied to various aspects of mineral, oil, and gas processing.

Tuan has secured over $1.9 million in research funding from ARC, QLD, ACARP, ANSTO, UQ-ECR, and various industry partners. His research has received multiple recognitions, including being named among the “Top 25 Most Cited Papers Published 2012-2016” by Chemical Engineering Science (2016), “Top Cited Papers for 2011 and 2012” (2013). Other accolades include Best Journal Papers in Chemical Engineering (UQ, 2013), the Best Poster Prize “The IUPAC Poster Award at the World Polymer Congress MACRO” (2018), and the EUREKA Student Science Research Award (2006).

He has been actively involved in organizing national and international conferences and leading roundtable discussions. Notable events include TMS 2025 – Energy Technologies and CO2 Management, TMS 2025 – Innovations in Energy Materials, the Australian Mine Waste Symposium, and the 26th World Mining Congress. Dr. Nguyen has also served on the TMS Energy Committee since 2022.

Dr Ngoc N. Nguyen is an associate lecturer and an ARC DECRA Fellow at School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. He was awarded an Australia Award Scholarship by the Australian Government for studying at UQ and attained a PhD in Chemical Engineering at UQ in 2018. After completing his PhD, he was awarded a renowned Alexander von Humboldt (AvH) Fellowship by the AvH Foundation (the German Government) and worked as an AvH fellow at the Department of Physics at Interfaces, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (Germany) for three years (2019-2021). Dr Nguyen used to work as a visiting scholar to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in USA and a lecturer at Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Vietnam. He recently secured a prestigious ARC DECRA (Discovery Early-Career Researcher Award) granted by the Australian Research Council (ARC). He is also an associate investigator within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Eco-enabling Beneficiation of Minerals.

His research strives for creating cutting-edge knowledge and innovations in three inter-related pillars of the low-carbon economy:

(1) sustainable energy,

(2) natural resources including critical metals,

(3) innovative approaches for tackling environmental issues such as CO2 emissions and mine waste.

He is working concurrently in these pillars. In particular, he is leading an ARC DECRA project about unconventional energy storage by locking fuel gases (e.g., hydrogen, methane) in the solid lattice of water, taking the intrinsic advantages of water as the cheapest, safest and most sustainable feedstock on Earth. Besides, he his working actively in eco-efficient extraction and separation of valuable resources from the Earth's crust toward a sustainable mineral processing industry for supplying sufficient commodities (e.g., metals) for the energy transition. In addition, Dr Nguyen has enduring interest in creating innovations for tackling the pressing environment problems such as CO2 emissions, with special interest in carbon capture and storage and utilisation, as well as addressing the mine waste in the mineral processing industry and the recylcing of critical metal-containing waste.