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I studied Technical Mathematics at the Vienna University of Technology. I also earned a Master's degree in Law and I finished the first ("non-clinical") part of Medical Studies at the University of Vienna. I earned my PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Vienna in 2007. My PhD advisor was Christian Schmeiser, my co-advisor was Peter Markowich. I spent several months at the University of Buenos Aires working with C. Lederman and at the ENS-Paris rue d'Ulm in the group of B. Perthame.

Before coming to UQ, I held post-doc positions at the Wolfgang Pauli Insitute (Vienna), University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (RICAM). In 2013 I won an Erwin Schrödinger Fellowship of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). I was a post-doc researcher in the group of Alex Mogilner first at UC Davis, then at the Courant Institute of Math. Sciences (New York University).

I moved to UQ in Dec. 2016. More recently, in 2024, I spent 4 months at the department of Mathemetics of the U. of Heidelberg as a visiting scientist.

Dr. Melanie Oey is currently Research Officer at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience in the Group of Prof. Ben Hankamer. She was born in Berlin, Germany, and went to the University of Potsdam to study Biochemistry. During her studies she worked at the Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Golm, Germany, where she also received her Ph.D. in 2009 for her work on the production of lysin antibiotics in tobacco plants. In the same year she came to Australia to work at the University of Queensland, and has since then developed new technologies which are base for the newly launched "Breakthrough Science Program in Algal Biomedicine" at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience.

Her research interestes are:

- High value product production (e.g. vaccines, antibiotics, pain killer) in Algae via chloroplast and nuclear transformation

- Improvement of bio-hydrogen production from microalgae

- Development of new molecular tools for microalgae

Her work has been funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Dr Stina Oftedal is an accredited practicing dietitian and postdoctoral research fellow at the Queensland Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation Research Centre (QCPRRC). Stina completed her undergraduate degree at Queensland University of Technology in 2010, and completed her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2016. Stina's PhD explored the association of modifiable health behaviours (diet and physical activity) on growth and body composition in preschool-aged children with cerebral palsy, and this continues to be the focus of her postdoctoral work. She also has an interest in infant feeding and diet quality.

Dr. Charles Okafor is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland. His work involves the economic evaluation of healthcare technologies, and the application of health economics in public health and health services research. He previously worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry as a Research and Development Manager.

He holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree (BPharm) from the University of Nigeria; a Master of Clinical Pharmacy degree (MPharm) from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; and a PhD in Health Economics from Griffith University.

Charles is a member of the Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi); the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research (ISPOR); and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE).

Pauline has extensive knowledge and research experience in Molecular biology, Plant tissue culture, transformation and gene modification using CRIPSR/Cas9. Pauline has worked on both cereals and legumes. Her interests are in understanding and underpinning molecular mechanisms used by extremophiles to survive harsh conditions.

Pauline is currently working on understanding rice domestication by using gene editing techniques to modify agronomically important traits in both wild and cultivated rice species. Her ultimate goal is to see high end laboratory research transition to benefit the consumer/breeders/ farmers.

TYLER OKIMOTO is a Professor and Associate Dean (Academic) for the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Law at the University of Queensland. He received his Ph.D. in Organisational Psychology from New York University in 2005, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Psychology at Flinders University in Australia, and in the School of Management at Yale University.

Tyler's research aims to better facilitate collaboration and consensus between diverse points of view, and to understand the role of leadership in overcoming those challenges. He often examines consensus/collaboration as a conduit for social justice in organisations and society, both how a lack of consensus contributes to injustice and inequality, and how people can effectively collaborate to move past conflict and repair harmonious relationships.

He is also an award-winning educator, teaching both traditional and online/blended courses on leadership, human resources, conflict/negotiation, and decision-making in the Undergraduate, MBA, and Executive levels. He was also the Program Director and Academic Lead Designer of UQ’s MicroMasters Program in Business Leadership, a series of five postgraduate-level MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses); in its first year, this program reached over 60,000 learners from 193 different countries, and was a 2019 finalist for the global edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions to Online Education.

Dr. Elvis Okoffo is a Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, Australia. His research is centred on developing innovative analytical methods to characterize and monitor environmental and human exposures associated with plastics. He has pioneered novel sampling approaches and analytical techniques for the rapid screening and monitoring of various types of plastics, including microplastics, nanoplastics, and biodegradable plastics in environmental samples (e.g., drinking water, wastewater, biosolids, seafood, marine water and sediments, compost, food, road dust, among others). By leveraging cutting-edge technologies (such as pressurised liquid extraction, ultrafiltration and pyrolysis gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry) and scientific methodologies, his research aims to provide valuable insights into the distribution, abundance, and impacts of plastic pollution, ultimately contributing to the development of effective strategies for mitigating the adverse effects of plastic pollution on ecosystems and human health.

Rebecca Olive joined the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences in 2017. Her work about lifestyle and nature sports contributes to critical cultural, social and historical teaching and research relating to sport, physical cultures, bodies, and health. Rebecca publishes in journals and books across Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Sport Sociology, and Sport History, and has co-edited a book with Holly Thorpe, Women in Action Sport Cultures: Identity, Politics and Experience (2016).

In 2019, she was awarded a DECRA for her project baout human-ocean health, 'Understanding ecological sensibilities in recreational lifestyle sports'. This project explores practices and cultures of ocean swimming and surfing to understand intersections human and environmental health. The project uses ethnographic methods (fieldwork and interviews) to make sense of ocean-swimmers’ and surfers' relationships to sharks, plastics, and localism at a range of urban and regional beaches. You can read more about this work on her Moving Oceans website.

Rebecca also continues focus on issues of equity and diversity and action/lifestyle sports and cultures, in particular women's experiences. Taking a feminist cultural studies approach to theories of power, ethics and pedagogy, she is interested in how we influence cultural change in everyday lived physical cultures towards more inclusive access and participation. Current projects include:

• Bluespaces and health
• Nature sports
• Women in sport, physical activity and leisure practices
• Self-representation on social media – elite athletes, recreational sports and fitness cultures
• Feminist research methods

Dr Gerry Olive is a Queensland trained Respiratory Physician and early career researcher, undertaking a PhD in the field of lung cancer diagnosis. He has a keen clinical and research interest in the diagnostic approach to nodules and diagnostic bronchoscopy, including endobronchial ultrasound.

Rebecca Olson is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Queensland, cutting-edge translational qualitative researcher, mentor and award-winning educator with expertise in the sociologies of health and emotions. As Director of SocioHealthLab, she leads an interdisciplinary collective of researchers, health professional educators and practitioners interested in doing health and healthcare differently: more socially aware, more relational, more inclusive and more just. As Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Social Science, she prioritises collaborative, reflexive, creative and emotions-centred practices in higher education. With over 75 scholarly publications – as well as news media and creative video productions – Rebecca is a prolific contributor to public debate. With research interests spanning medicinal cannabis and health professions education to climate anxiety, Olson is internationally renowned for bringing sociological insight to complex challenges related to emotions, wellbeing, healthcare and caregiving.

Emma is a Koori, Aboriginal woman from the Wiradjuri Nation in New Sourth Wales through her mother and grandparents, and Middle-Eastern, Jewish Australian on her Father’s side. While Emma was born in Muloobinba (Newcastle, New South Wales), she moved and grew up in Winnam (Wynnum), on Quandamooka Country (Moreton Bay).

Emma has a professional background in leadership, executive management, management, organisational change and Indigenous Engagement. Emma's research, informed by Indigenous methodologies, is on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Employment, reviewing State Government strategies, programs, policies and legislation focused on the targeted recruitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Hannah is an experienced Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) who holds positions as a Senior Dietitian at The Surgical, Treatment and Rehabilitation Service, Knowledge Translation Workforce Development Officer for Metro North Hospital and Health Service, and Honorary Research Fellow within the University of Queensland, Centre for Health Services Research.

Hannah completed her PhD at the University of Queensland in 2024. Her PhD focused on person-centred care and interprofessional practice in nutrition and food services in rehabilitation, and has been internationally recognised. Hannah published four first-author peer-reviewed articles from her PhD research and has been invited to present her work at national conferences. Hannah has also secured competitive research funding to advance her clinical research program and translate her findings into practice across Queensland hospitals and health services, establishing herself as a promising early-career clinician-researcher. This has been reflected in recent awards, including the Practice-based Evidence in Nutrition Prize from Dietitians Australia (2024).

Hannah’s clinical research program aims to improve nutrition care in rehabilitation populations by harnessing technology, data-driven decision-making, and consumer engagement. Recent projects within this program include co-designing and implementing innovative nutrition education videos: https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/news/nutrition-information-for-patients, co-developing quality indicators for rehabilitation nutrition and food services with consumers and multidisciplinary staff, and using body composition measures to inform precision nutrition care.

As a Knowledge Translation Workforce Development Officer and clinically embedded researcher, Hannah is committed to bridging the gap between contemporary research and clinical practice. Hannah leads the Metro North arm of the Allied Health Translating Research into Practice (AH-TRIP) initiative: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/clinical-practice/database-tools/translating-research-into-practice-trip/translating-research-into-practice, aimed at increasing knowledge translation capacity in health professionals. Her involvement in various projects reflects this commitment to both knowledge translation and innovation, including contributing to developing and implementing a new high-value Malnutrition Model of Care and supporting the implementation of interprofessional mealtime enhancement strategies into routine practice.