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Simon Reid is a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Queensland. He is a keen advocate of One Health and the application of systems thinking approaches to understand and improve interventions for wicked zoonotic disease problems at the human-animal-ecosystem interface such as leptospirosis, brucellosis, human-bat interactions and antimicrobial resistance. His research focuses on understanding how to improve multisectoral governance, planning and implementation of responses to manage One Health problems. He delivers postgraduate courses in systems thinking, communicable disease control and One Health.

Dr Natasha Reid is an Epidemiologist and Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine. Natasha has a specific interest in increasing quality of life and healthy life expectancy, and works across epidemiological, intervention and dissemination projects identifying and addressing frailty in a number of settings.

Natasha conducted her PhD at the School of Public Health, examining the association of physical activity and sedentary behaviour with the physical functioning of older adults, utilising cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention studies. Since then, Natasha's work has focused primarily on frailty, investigating its development/aetiology, measurement, outcomes, and interventions strategies. Natasha currently coordinates or is involved in five ongoing research projects, including the feasibility and importance of measuring frailty in patients assessed for kidney transplantation, understanding epigenetic and other deep phenotyping changes in patients who have undergone a kidney transplant, and testing if comprehensive geriatric assessment is feasible and effective at improving frailty and attainment of patient goals in patients with (1) solid organ and haematological malignancies, (2) severe mental illness, and (2) vascular disease.

Natasha also has a significant role in researcher development, having supervised 7 undergraduate or post-graduate coursework research students, with a further 3 PhD students and 7 Geriatric Medicine Advanced Trainees currently under supervision. Natasha is chair of the CHSR EMCR committee, and represents EMCR interests as part of the organising committee of the Australia and New Zealand Society for Sarcopenia and Frailty Research annual general meeting, in Brisbane 2022.

Natasha is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Research Fellow at the Child Health Research Centre. Natasha leads the Perinatal and Early Life Exposures Research Group.

The Perinatal and Early Life Exposures Group is dedicated to uncovering the foundational influences on lifelong health and wellbeing. Their research focuses on the critical impact of environmental, nutritional, substance exposures, and psychosocial factors during the perinatal and early childhood periods on long-term health outcomes. By advancing our understanding of these early exposures, they aim to inform public health strategies, improve clinical practices, and ultimately enhance the health and well-being of future generations. Their work contributes to reducing the burden of chronic diseases and mental health disorders, promoting healthier developmental outcomes, intergenerational health benefits and fostering resilient communities.

Saphira is a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sustainable Finance at The University of Queensland, Australia, and has a PhD in Finance. She is a leading scholar in the field of corporate Paris Compliance measurement and is a leading academic involved in developing science-based emission reduction methodologies.

Saphira's research focuses on tools to measure and verify the efficacy of decarbonisation commitments by corporations and financial institutions, a cross-disciplinary research area of increasing global relevance. During her 4 month secondment at Princeton University in 2019 she co-developed the Rapid Switch Australia project, as part of the Princeton-led Rapid Switch initiative. She now leads the Are You Paris Compliant program, composed of academics from UQ, Oxford and Princeton, which evaluates the alignment of companies and investment portfolios with the Paris Agreement. Saphira is a member of the Technical Working Group of the Science Based Targets initiative for the oil and gas sector, where she continues to advise and develop appropriate methodologies for science-based targets, as well as the Scientific Advisory Group. She has also been a key contributor to the EU climate benchmarking regulation, which her contribution to quantifying the benchmark is still intact after several revisions and is one of the key outcomes of the new regulation. Saphira's research is cross-disciplinary and she has published in high impact journals such Nature Climate Change and Nature Communications, as well as several other highly ranked academic journals. Her 2022 article in Nature Communications has gained global attention and led to a collaborative project with Norges Bank Investment Management, which manages one of the largest funds globally, to evaluate the steel sector on their Paris Compliance. She has ongoing collaborations with numerous industry partners and is a CI on six successful grants (total $780,074.26).

Saphira has received several awards; most recently she received a prestigious Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) from the Australian Research Council of over $430,000 AUD for 2024-2027. She was awarded the UQ Business School Excellence in PRME award; she received the “Best Paper Award 2021” from the highly ranked journal Business & Society, and she received the “UQBS Excellence in Innovation” Award for co-leading Australia’s first Carbon Literacy course. She also won the UN Responsible Investment’s essay competition in 2018 (on the integration of responsible investment in financial education); the UQ Business School 2017 Teaching Award (Tutor) and she was a recipient of the prestigious International Post-graduate Research Scholarships for her PhD in 2014. Saphira is passionate about teaching; her teaching evaluations are consistently outstanding, she has participated in four Student-Staff Partnership projects, designed a core first year finance course, has publised two UQ pressbooks and has been actively supervising honours, Masters and PhD students, as well as post-doctorals and student industry projects. She is also a regular panellist at conferences and forums such as the European Commission Conference on Sustainable Finance and the Princeton E-ffiliates Retreat.

Saphira is also the selected UQ academic staff representative for Unisuper (188/211 votes) since 2020; she intensively coached a team of UQ students that won second place in the Global Business Challenge in 2019 ($15,000); she advocated for, and integrated, Environmental, Social and Governance factors in the Student Management Investment Fund and served as ESG advisor prior to co-leading the fund. She serves as a regular reviewer for the top-journals Nature Climate Change, Nature Sustainability and Nature Communications.

Marguerite Renouf BSc(Hons)/BA, PhD (Env Man) UQ is a Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering's Water-Energy-Carbon Research Group (www.chemeng.uq.edu.au/water-energy-carbon).

She has worked in environmental research at UQ for 20 years, with a particular interest in the environmental evaluation of production systems and urban systems using environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), urban metabolism evaluation and eco-efficiency analysis. She is interested how we can produce and consume with less drain on the environment.

Since completing a PhD in 2011, she has driven a stream of research that evaluates the environmental performance of agri-based product supply chains and products (bio-fuels, bio-materials, food, beverages) using LCA. She has collaborated with industries and researchers in Australia and overseas to develop LCA tools for industry to support the identification of more environmentally-friendly production practices and processes.

Prior to this, her research was concerned with eco-efficiency in manufacturing industries (food processing, metal industries, retail and tourism sectors) and was a long-term contributor to UQ’s Working Group for Cleaner Production (now operating as the Eco-Efficienc Group), and its Director for three years (2009-2012).

Currently, Marguerite is a lead researcher with the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, develop methods and metrics for quantifiying the water water-sensitive performance of Australian cities, using urban metabolism approaches. In this work she collaborates cloesely with urban planners, water manager and architects.

The School of Education is one of the most productive and high profile schools of education in Australia.

Professor Peter Renshaw's research has focussed on learning and teaching processes both at school and tertiary level. With a team of colleagues in the School of Education at UQ, he is currently investigating the quality of teaching and assessment practices in schools across Queensland. In two current ARC projects, with his co-researchers (Dr Ray Brown and Dr Elizabeth Hirst) he is investigating how teachers group and label students, and the effects of these practices on learning outcomes. These projects are framed by a sociocultural theory of education that foregrounds the social and cultural construction of knowledge and identity, and the responsibility of educators to create challenging, inclusive and supportive learning contexts for diverse groups of students. Professor Renshaw was President and Secretary of Australian Association for Research in Education and a member of the Executive for over a decade (1991-2002). He currently is on the International Advisory Board of CICERO Learning, an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He has active collaborations with European researchers in the Netherlands and Sweden, studying how teachers deal with student diversity and how they provide inclusive contexts for learning in multicultural classrooms.

I am a genetic epidemiologist specialising in the genetics of neurodegenerative diseases, with a particular focus on Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain, and other age-related conditions. I lead a dynamic team of scientists dedicated to understanding how genetic and environmental factors influence neurodegeneration, brain health, and related health outcomes. My research is interdisciplinary, integrating advanced statistical genetics, bioinformatics, and data science to unravel disease mechanisms, improve patient stratification, and identify potential therapeutic targets.

In 2020, I founded the Australian Parkinson’s Genetics Study (APGS), now the largest Parkinson’s cohort in Australia with over 10,000 participants. This landmark study has positioned Australia as a key contributor to global Parkinson’s genetics research. I am also actively involved in the Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2), where I contribute to large-scale data analysis and work within the underrepresented populations working group to enhance diversity in genetic research worldwide.

Committed to training the next generation of researchers, I have supervised over 16 students, including several PhD candidates who have gone on to successful careers in academia and industry. Two of my recent PhD graduates received the Outstanding Thesis Award, and another received the AIPS Florey Next Generation Award.

I have published consistently in prominent journals, including Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, BRAIN, Biological Psychiatry, and SLEEP. To date, I have authored over 100 academic articles, which have been widely cited, and I have secured competitive funding from NHMRC, MRFF, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Shake It Up Australia Foundation, the US National Institutes of Health, and the Alzheimer’s Association. My work has been recognised with several prestigious awards, including the 2023 Al & Val Rosenstrauss Fellowship from the Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation, the 2021 Enrico Greppi International Migraine Research Award, and the 2024 Adele Green Emerging Leader Award from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute. I am also a Global Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health, a program by the University of California San Francisco and Trinity College Dublin, which supports my commitment to promoting brain health equity worldwide.

April Reside is a lecturer in the School of the Environment and School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, affiliated with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science.

Dr Reside's research encompasses ecology, conservation, and policy; investigating refuges and refugia; and recovery actions and their costs for Australia’s threatened species. April also works on conservation of woodland bird communities, the impact of climate change on biodiversity, and strategies for climate change adaptation. This work has involved applying conservation planning frameworks to identify spatial priorities for climate change adaptation for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

April has a particular fascination of flying vertebrates, and has worked on bats on three continents and nine countries. She worked as a field ecologist for non-government organisations before her PhD on understanding potential impacts of climate change on Australian tropical savanna birds. She adapted species distribution modelling techniques to account for temporal and spatial variability in the distributions of highly vagile bird species. These dynamic species distribution models take into account species’ responses to fluctuations in weather and short-term climatic conditions rather than long-term climate averages. In her first postdoctoral position, Dr Reside modelled the distribution of c.1700 vertebrates across Australia at a fine resolution, and located the future location of suitable climate for all these species for each decade until 2085. From this, she identified hotspots across Australia where species were moving to in order to track their suitable climate, informing the IUCN SSC Guidelines for Assessing Species’ Vulnerability to Climate Change by the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

April has been involved in conservation of the Black-throated Finch for over 12 years, and is Chair of the Black-throated Finch Recovery Team. She has served on Birdlife Australia's Research and Conservation Committee and Threatened Species Committee; and the Science Committee for the Invasive Species Council.

Dr Retamal-Walter is Lecturer in Speech Pathology in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at The University of Queensland. Building on over 15 years of professional experience, Dr Retamal-Walter's interest in Information and Communication Technologies relies on the use of technology to provide person- and family-centred services directly into the home environment, which is a person's natural communication environment. His research interests also include the use of simulation, virtual/augmented reality, and other innovative approaches in the preparation and training of students from speech pathology, allied health, and other health and education disciplines.

University Profile: Dr Retamal-Walter is Lecturer in Speech Pathology in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences.

Teaching Themes: Communication and Feeding Difficulties in Paediatrics; Hearing Loss Across the Lifespan.

Research interests: Telepractice, Communication Difficulties, Hearing Impairment, Person- and Family-Centred Care, Early Intervention, Telehealth, Professional Education, Interprofessional Practice.

Publications: 4 peer-reviewed journal articles, 1 book chapter.

Peer-Reviewer: Exceptional Children (Sage), International Journal of Audiology (Taylor & Francis), International Journal of Developmental Disabilities (Taylor & Francis), IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering (EMBS), Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (BMC), Speech, Language and Hearing (Taylor & Francis), Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology (Taylor & Francis), Chilean Journal of Speech-Language and Hearing.

Dr Vicente Chua Reyes, Jr. is with the School of Education, University of Queensland, Australia. He is co-editor of the Policy and Leadership Studies Working Papers Series of the National Institute of Education (Singapore). He is a Fellow of the Centre for Chinese Studies of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the National Taiwan Normal University and the University of Macau (China). He is also a Visiting Academic at the Institute of Education, University of London. Vicente has experience in educational settings spanning Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, the UK and the US. Vicente used to be a Teaching/School Principal for an elementary and high school in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Vicente taught humanities in high school (Philippines and Singapore) and in elementary school levels (Philippines and Spain). Trained as a political scientist, his current research interests are in comparative education. Vicente also pursues inquiries into the application of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in education, educational leadership, research methodologies as well as investigating the phenomenon of corruption alongside governance in educational reform.

I am a postdoc at the Computational Imaging Group, led by Steffen Bollmann. I recently finished my Ph.D. in Computational Imaging at UQ. Specifically, my Ph.D. work involved predicting the functional organization of the human visual cortex from underlying anatomy using geometric deep learning. To tackle this and other research questions, I am leveraging my interdisciplinary background in Biophysics (Bachelor's degree; University of Sao Paulo, Brazil), Neuroscience (Master's degree; Federal University of ABC, Brazil), and now the intersection of AI and imaging. I am interested in (geometric) deep learning, vision, neuroscience, and explainable and fair AI research.

I am an early career neuroscientist investigating the capacity for neural progenitor cell behaviour to shape neural circuit formation, maintenance and function during development and throughout adulthood. More specifically, the role of oligodendrocyte progenitors and myelin in brain circuit formation and maintenance. My research examines the brain under health and pathological conditions by performing manipulations relevant to autism spectrum disorder, multiple sclerosis and schizophrenia. While under the supervision of Prof Helen Cooper at the Queensland Brain Institute – University of Queensland - I studied how the WRC-Cyfip1-FMRP protein network impaired apical radial glial progenitor function and neural migration, leading to cortical malformation and Autism-like traits in mice. During my PhD at University of Tasmania and under the supervision of Prof Kaylene Young, I studied the effect of neuronal activity on cells of the oligodendrocyte lineage. I found that voltage-gated calcium channels are critical for oligodendrocyte progenitor cell survival and characterised the impact of kainite receptor dysfunction on neuropathology and behaviour in mice. Currently under the supervision of Dr Carlie Cullen I am using transgenic mice strategies to determine how aberrant myelination can contribute to onset of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. I am also using mouse models of demyelination to investigate the effect of infectious diseases such as COVID19 and influenza on oligodendrocyte lineage cell function and the impact for myelin repair and multiple sclerosis disease progression. I have a long-standing interest in neuroscience research, that extends from understanding how brain function is regulated during development and in healthy ageing, and the dysregulated signalling pathways that enable neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.

Dr Veronique Richard earned her doctoral degree in Sport Science from the University of Montreal and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Sport Psychology at Florida State University. Specialising in performance psychology and creativity, she has extensive experience in both research and applied settings.

Currently a research fellow at the University of Queensland, Dr Richard conducts pioneering research that integrates creativity and movement sciences to enhance performance, health, and wellbeing. Her research interests stem from her dual engagements with high-performance sports and circus arts. In her previous roles as a mental performance consultant for Canadian national sports organisations and Cirque du Soleil, Dr Richard observed the complexities of balancing high-level performance with wellbeing among athletes and performers.

To address these challenges, she designs enriched movement activities aimed at fostering creativity-supportive environments and investigates their impact on cognitive, affective, and socio-cultural variables related to creativity. Her research aspires to promote holistic growth by creating spaces where individuals can use their physicality to experiment, discover, connect, and express themselves.

While sports organisations remain a significant area of her research, Dr Richard is expanding her focus to other high-performance domains such as the medical field, educational institutions, and health and wellbeing organisations. She is also exploring how creativity-supportive environments can enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion within organisations.

I am a Senior Lecturer who specialises in researching social-ecological systems. I have strong numerical modelling skills (participatory modelling, system dynamics, agent-based, Bayesian inference, Bayesian networks, generalised additive modelling) through a range of software (R, Stella Architect, Vensim, Berkeley Madonna, Netica, WinBUGS). Coding: I also have strong skills in object oriented (C#, Objective-C, Swift, Python, Javascript in P5), functional (R) and procedural (Basic) coding. I apply these modelling and coding skills to design, develop and apply decision support systems for addressing complex problems. I am especially motivated to apply these skills to create meaningful contributions in managing coastal systems that provide many ecosystem services that people benefit from.

Gamification: My unique skill set (modelling and coding of soical-ecological systems) enables me to uplift of my value decision support systems by incorporating gamification and serious game design principles, and deploying these uplifted systems via apps (e.g. https://uqcases.web.app/lobster/). I focus specifically on situating my models in the domain of the end-user, and away from the domain of the modeller, which lifts my decision support systems to beyond being 'just another model' (JAM) competing with other models (red ocean market). Rather, it elevates these models to where they provide a unique (blue ocean market), immersive and experiential environment for end-users to make decisions about managing complex (e.g. managing resources) and even wicked (e.g. climate change) problems in a motivating and enjoyable way.

Bernadette Richards, BA, LLB (Hons), PhD is the Associate Professor of Ethics and Professionalism and Director Higher Degree Research at the University of Queensland Medical School. Prior to that she was working on the Future Health Technologies Project at the Singapore ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore, exploring trustworthy data governance. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at the Queensland University of Technology Australian Centre for Health Law Research. She is recent past member of the NHMRC’s Australian Health Ethics Committee, the Embryo Research Licensing Committee and current member of the Dietary Guidelines Governance Committee. She was previously a member of the South Australian Voluntary Assisted Dying Taskforce and was also the Chair of the Mitochondrial Donation Expert Working Committee and was involved in the proposed amendment to the law. Bernadette was the President of the Australasian Association of Bioethics and Health Law (AABHL, 2014-2024) and is now the ‘Teaching Ethics’ Stream Lead and has been awarded Life-Time Membership. She is an active researcher, having completed major projects on organ donation, consent to treatment and legal issues around innovative surgery. She is a chief investigator on four current major grants, MRFF 2021 Genomic Health Futures Mission, “Ethical governance for clinical and genomic data”, NHMRC Partnership Grant, “Strategies for the inclusion of vulnerable populations in developing complex and sensitive public policy: A case study in Advance Care Planning”, NHMRC Ideas Grant, 'The algorithm will see you now: ethical, legal and social implications of adopting machine learning systems for diagnosis and screening' and ARC Discovery Grant, 'Support or Sales? Medical Device Representatives in Australian Hospitals'. Her co-authored book, ‘Technology, Innovation and Healthcare: An evolving relationship’ was published in February 2022 and she has over 100 other scholarly publications.

Professor Anthony J. Richardson uses mathematical, statistical, computational and spatial planning tools to investigate human impacts on our oceans - and to find solutions. Particular foci include:

• Marine spatial planning - Where best to locate marine protected areas to minimise impacts on people, maximise ecosystem benefits, ensure they are climate-smart and connected, and enable multiple-use zoning of the ocean.
• Developing models of marine ecosystems - How do lower trophic levels (plankton) regulate fisheries productivity and carbon sequestration, and how will these be impacted by climate change.
• Long-term change in lower trophic levels (plankton) in the ocean. This includes both field work around Australia and global analyses.

Anthony did an undergradulate degree in Mathematics and Biology at the University of Queensland, followed by an Honours degree there. He was awarded a PhD degree from the University of Cape Town in 1998, modelling the dynamics of marine ecosystems. Since 2005, Anthony has held a joint position between UQ (School of the Environment) and CSIRO Environment. He has previously held positions at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), and the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation of Ocean Science (UK).

Anthony runs a dynamic lab at the nexus between conservation science and mathematics. His focus is on using mathematical tools to better conserve biodiversity, predict impacts of climate change, and understand the functioning of marine ecosystems. If you have a background in marine ecology and are interested in applying mathematics/statistics/computational science and want to apply your skills to real-world problems, get in touch.