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Adrian Oehmen is an Associate Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland. He leads research in the area of bioprocess engineering, particularly focussing on wastewater treatment, resource recovery and sustainable materials and processes. His research interests include enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR or BioP) and P recovery, microbial entrapment, acid mine drainage and metal recovery, biopolymer (polyhydroxyalkanoate – PHA) production and metabolic modelling as applied to mixed and co-cultures of microorganisms. He has published more than 100 papers in international scientific journals, led or collaborated on more than 30 research projects (many with industry). He is active within the International Water Association (IWA), serving on specialist group and conference committees and is an Associate Editor of Water Research.

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 Stephen Ogada is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Animal Science at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland (UQ). He has over a decade of experience applying molecular, genomic and bioinformatics approaches to study host and pathogen evolution and to diagnose, surveil and control infectious diseases of livestock and poultry, first in East Africa and now in Australia. At UQ, he is working towards developing point-of-care diagnostic approaches for endemic and notifiable animal diseases, including testing pathways needed to combat endemic livestock diseases in Australia. This also includes genomic surveillance of emerging threats within a One Health framework.

Before joining UQ, Stephen spent nearly a decade at the Institute for Biotechnology Research at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), where he studied, taught, and worked on One Health surveillance projects with national and international partners to address pathogens affecting wildlife, livestock, and smallholder poultry. Alongside his research, he brings extensive expertise in capacity-building, project coordination, and management, enabling successful collaborations among government agencies, national and international research institutes, and industry partners.

Thea is a Senior Lecturer (Teaching Focused) in Nursing with responsibility for teaching, curriculum development, and assessment across postgraduate and undergraduate programs. Her current work centres on coordinating high-quality learning experiences that support the development of clinical reasoning, communication skills, and readiness for professional nursing practice.

She has experience teaching large student cohorts and developing assessments that emphasise authenticity, clarity, and alignment with clinical practice expectations. Her teaching approach focuses on structured clinical communication, person-centred assessment, and safe decision-making in acute and complex care contexts.

Thea has held leadership roles including course coordination and subject area coordination, and contributes to academic governance through assessment quality assurance and academic integrity activities. She is interested in understanding and responding to the challenges and opportunities facing contemporary higher education, particularly in relation to assessment practices, academic standards, and student learning in digitally mediated and AI-enabled environments.

She is committed to evidence-informed teaching and continuous improvement in nursing education.

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.

Dr Josephine Okurame is a Lecturer in Research at The University of Queensland. She brings a multidisciplinary background that spans health research, education, equity focused pathways, artificial intelligence, and community engaged scholarship. Her work sits at the intersection of widening participation, underserved populations, and the translation of research into practical outcomes for learners, professionals, and communities.

Josephine’s research centres on improving access, representation, and success for students from underserved and rural backgrounds, particularly within health and medical training pathways. Her scholarship draws on mixed methods approaches and emphasises the integration of lived experience, systems thinking, and evidence informed policy and practice. She has a growing interest in the ethical use of artificial intelligence in academia, with a focus on responsible integration into teaching, research design, research communication, and academic capacity building. Her interests explore how AI can support equity, transparency, and accessibility while maintaining academic integrity and human centred decision making.

With a strong foundation in teaching and research capacity building, Josephine supports students, clinicians, and early career researchers to engage in meaningful research activity. She has experience in mentoring, curriculum informed research integration, and developing research confidence amongs inidividuals who are new to research environments. Her work strengthens the link between education, workforce development, and service delivery.

Josephine also has a strong interest in research communication and knowledge translation. She focuses on making complex evidence understandable and actionable for diverse audiences, including educators, community stakeholders, and policy contributors. Her broader academic vision centres on equitable systems, sustainable career pathways, and strengthening the pipeline between education, community need, and workforce outcomes.

Through her role at UQ, she contributes to research, teaching, and collaboration that support the long term goal of a more inclusive and responsive health workforce.

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.