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Scaling-up fermentation processes is not straightforward due to the emergence of concentration gradients at scale. For gas fermentation processes, with CO2, CO and CH4 and H2, scaling is even more challenging as high mass transfer rates need to be obtained. In his work, Lars is developing a framework to reliably scale-up gas fermentation processes, considering both mass transfer and concentration gradients. We aim to employ mechanistic models, combined with wet-lab data, to develop relationships and fluid dynamic (CFD) models to estimate the fermentation performance at industrial scale. He specialised in topics like bioreactor and bioprocess design, bioprocess scale-up/scale-down, mass transfer and transport phenomena, metabolic and kinetic modelling and simulation techniques.

Artem Pulemotov holds a Bachelor's degree from Kyiv University and a PhD from Cornell University. His research is primarily in the field of geometric analysis. He had been a Dickson Instructor at the University of Chicago before joining the School of Mathematics and Physics at UQ as a lecturer in 2012.

Dr Cheneal Puljevic is an ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow at the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame at the School of Public Health. Her current research focuses on the drivers and deterrents of illicit tobacco use. Her other research interests include smoking cessation among disadvantaged populations, drug checking (pill testing), alcohol-fuelled violence, and substance use harm reduction.

Cheneal is also the Bachelor of Health Sciences Honours (HLTH6014) program director and course convenor, a core research team member for the Global Drug Survey, an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Drug Policy, a Deputy Editor for Drug and Alcohol Review, and a volunteer (and former Queensland Research Lead) for The Loop Australia. She is the co-chair of the School of Public Health's Early Career Researcher committee.

Cheneal was previously employed as the Research Operations Manager for the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (0.8FTE; 2021-2022) and as a Research Fellow (0.2FTE; 2018-2022) at the Centre for Health Services Research. In the latter role, she was the Program Manager for the Global Substance Use and Mental Health unit, where she conducted and managed a number of research projects related to substance use, including the Queensland evaluation of the Tackling Alcohol-Fuelled Violence Policy (QUANTEM), a NIH-funded project on the impacts of roadside breath testing, and several projects using data from the Global Drug Survey (on topics such as changes in alcohol and cannabis use following COVID-19 restrictions, perceptions of alcohol warning labels, cannabis use patterns, and patterns of methamphetamine "cooking").

In 2024, Cheneal was awarded the School of Public Health's award for the top-performing Level C in a research-focused position; in 2023 she was awarded the School of Public Health's Rising Star award, and in 2022, she was awarded the School's prize for the top performing Level B academic in a research-focused position. In 2020, she was awarded the Australasian Professional Society for Alcohol and Other Drugs (APSAD)'s Early Career Award. In 2019, she was awarded the Centre for Health Services Research's Outstanding Early Career Researcher award.

Cheneal completed her PhD in 2018 at Griffith Criminology Institute at Griffith University, with her thesis focusing on smoking cessation among people who have experienced incarceration. She completed an Honours degree in Psychology at the University of Cape Town in 2011, with her thesis focusing on screening and brief interventions for alcohol-related injuries at an emergency centre.

Cheneal is available to supervise honours, Masters and HDR students on a variety of topics; please get in touch to discuss.

Dr David Pullar's research interests are in: Geographical Information Science (Spatial analysis, Spatial modelling languages and frameworks, 3D visualisation, Environmental database applications) and Landscape Modelling (Catchment hydrology, Landuse change, Landscape dynamics).

David Pullar received his PhD from the University of Maine in 1994. His current research projects are in the fields of:

Incorporating Level Set Methods in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for Land-Surface Process ModellingUsing Spatial Simulation to Create a Process Classification of Provincial BioregionsEnvironmental Database Management and IntegrationHis collaborators include:Coastal CRCIntelligent Real-time Imaging and Sensing (IRIS)The Ecology CentreHigh Performance Computing, VisAC Lab

Breast and Endocrine Surgeon, Mater Hospitals South Brisbane.

Previous Fellowships at University of Nottingham(UK) and Mayo Clinic (USA)

Chairman, Foundation for Breast Cancer Care

Senior Surgeon Breast Screen Qld Metro south Brisbane

Dr Ruirui Qiao is a Group Leader and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland. She received her BSc (2005) and MSc (2007) in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Peking University and completed her PhD in Physical Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in 2014. Prior to joining UQ, she held academic appointments at CAS (Assistant Professor 2009–2015, Tenured Associate Professor 2016–2017) and served as a Project Co-Leader at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science and Technology (CBNS), Monash University.

At AIBN, Dr Qiao leads a multidisciplinary research program that integrates nanotechnology, polymer science, and advanced manufacturing to create functional nanohybrids, 3D/4D printed smart biomaterials, and bioinspired soft robotics for biomedical applications. A key area of her work involves microfluidic droplet-based platforms for the scalable fabrication of microgels, droplet-engineered organoids, and cell-laden constructs, enabling more physiologically relevant models for disease research and therapeutic testing. Her contributions have advanced the design of next-generation materials and devices with controllable architecture, responsiveness, and translational potential.

Dr Qiao has made substantial contributions across both materials science and biomedical engineering, particularly in the development of organic/inorganic nanocomosites for nanomedicine and 3D/4D printing soft materials. Her work also extends to impactful bioapplications, including molecular imaging and targeted drug delivery. She has published over 130 peer-reviewed articles in leading international journals such as Science, Nature Communications, ACS Nano, Chemistry of Materials, Advanced Materials, and Polymer Chemistry, accumulating more than 8,300 citations (H-index = 49).

Her current research focuses on the design and fabrication of advanced polymer/inorganic hybrid materials, leveraging state-of-the-art techniques including nanoparticle synthesis, polymer chemistry, PET-RAFT polymerisation, and 3D/4D printing technologies. Her group applies these materials in a wide range of biomedical applications, such as disease diagnosis, drug and gene delivery, tissue engineering, antibacterial coatings, and soft robotics. Dr Qiao's excellence has been recognised through prestigious awards, including an NHMRC Investigator Grant (2020) and the UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award (2021).

She is currently serving in Editorial Board and Associate Editor of Science Advances (AAAS), Journal of Nanobiotechnology (BMC, Part of Spring Nature), Topic Editor of ACS Polymer Science&Technology and Guest Editors of Biosensors and Frontier in Pharmacology.

Dr Qiao is looking for highly motivated Ph.D. students, and highly competitive full scholarship can be provided. The University of Queensland ranks in the top 50 as measured by the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities. The University also ranks 45 in the QS World University Rankings, 52 in the US News Best Global Universities Rankings, 60 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 55 in the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

My research focuses on data science methods, including theory and application for various real-world scenarios, such as recommender systems, social network, urban computing, engineering, law, health etc. I am particularly interested into graph neural networks, large language models (LLMs, MLLMs), etc.

I am actively looking for PhD students (multiple positions) starting in Year 2025.

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 and Metro North Health in Queensland, Australia.

His vision is to improve the quality of life of people with the most common and disabling types of joint pain by 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 management of joint pain due to osteoarthritis with education, exercise and weight loss. 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 an Honorary Senior Research Fellow position at Keele University, UK.

He has published over 40 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 1 ongoing Prof Doc student. 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 improving equity, diversity and belonging in Allied Health Professions 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.

-Chartered Society of Physiotherapy competition award- Leadership Development Programme MSc module funding 2021.

-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

-Invited osteoarthritis expert to UK Royal Pharmaceutical Society 2020

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

-Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Robert Williams Award for top 10 abstract at The World Confederation of Physical Therapy 2015

-OARSI Young Investigator Award 2014

John Quiggin is a Professor of Economics at the University of Queensland. He is prominent both as a research economist and as a commentator on Australian economic policy. He is a Fellow of the Econometric Society, the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and many other learned societies and institutions. He has produced over 1500 publications, including six books and over 200 refereed journal articles, in fields including decision theory, environmental economics, production economics, and the theory of economic growth. He has also written on policy topics including climate change, micro-economic reform, privatisation, employment policy and the management of the Murray-Darling river system. His latest book, Economics in Two Lessons: Why Markets Work so Well and Why they can Fail so Badly, was released in 2019 by Princeton University Press.

Currently working as a Senior Research Officer/Lab manager of the Geomechanics Engineering Centre lab at UQ. Currently in projects related to instrumentation and long term monitoring of drying and wetting cycles of large scale columns with tailings or soil. Over 5 years of experience testing mechanical, physical and chemical properties of soil and tailings. Specific experiences in consolidation, direct shear, triaxial, SWCC, sensor instrumentation and characterization tests.

PhD student at the school of Civil Engineering

Sreekar’s research focuses on using ecological theory to inform conservation decision making. He is interested in a broad range of topics, including spatial conservation planning, evidence-based conservation policy, community assembly rules, extinction synergies, and land-use management. A big question that drives his research is how to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. His current research is centred around studying the environmental risks associated with mining and mineral processing.

He serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Ecology and has spent the past 15 years at universities across Australia, China, Czechia, India and Singapore. Sreekar is an avid birder and enjoys this aspect of his work both professionally and recreationally.