Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Centre for Health Services Research
Centre for Health Services Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
As a health information and digital health researcher, I am committed to leveraging technology to enhance healthcare delivery, optimize clinical workflows, and improve patient outcomes. My research explores the responsible, evidence-based, and impactful integration of digital health technologies into healthcare systems, focusing on electronic health records, health data analytics, and digital health interventions. With nearly 25 years of experience spanning academia, research, and senior leadership roles, I have contributed to advancing digital health through multidisciplinary collaborations and applied research. My research covers a wide range of topics within digital health such as health data, electronic health records, digital divide in health care, digital health, telehealth, electronic prescription systems, online search behaviour, technology acceptance models, E-health literacy, healthcare dashboard technologies, patient flow, access, and utilisation of health services. I have led and collaborated on multidisciplinary projects, contributing to the development of health data analytics frameworks and AI-driven solutions for healthcare systems. My expertise extends to evaluating digital health interventions and assessing their impact on clinical workflows, patient outcomes, and healthcare efficiency. As a Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC), I lead and contribute to research projects that evaluate digital health innovations, assess their impact on health services, and develop frameworks for sustainable technology adoption. My prior role as Director of Research Development and Evaluation at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences further strengthened my ability to lead large-scale health research initiatives and influence policy-driven healthcare transformation. I have successfully secured competitive research funding and published extensively in high-impact journals. I currently supervise PhD and higher-degree students and serve as a peer reviewer for academic journals in digital health and health services research.
Specialist Anatomical Pathologist, Managing Director, Aquesta Specialised Uropathology
Full Professor, University of Queensland Faculty of Medicine
Visiting Medical Officer, Greenslopes Private Hospital
Hemamali graduated with honours from the University of Sri Lanka, Colombo Medical School and completed Pathology specialty training in Queensland. She held a number of consultant posts in both hospital and private practice. In 2008 she established Aquesta Uropathology which now provides diagnostic uropathology services to the majority of urologists in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. In addition to this she maintains a large second opinion consultation practice with requests obtained from throughout Australia and from overseas.
She is active in Genitourinary Pathology research with collaborators in Australia, USA, Canada, Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Wellington School of Medicine in New Zealand. She held the position of Secretary of the International Society of Urological Pathology from 2015 to 2019.
She was a contributor to the 2004, 2015 and 2022 World Health Organization (WHO) books on Classification of Tumours: Pathology and Genetics of Tumours of the Urinary and Male Reproductive System. She participated in the 2015 revision of the WHO Tumour Classification in Zurich, Switzerland (4th edition) as member, Prostate Tumour Panel. She was a representative of the Expert Groups formulating structured reporting protocols for the Royal College Pathologists of Australasia on kidney, testis and prostate cancer and is currently chairperson of the structured reporting protocols for Genitourinary cancer. She is also currently the Convener for the RCPA Uropathology Quality Assurance Program.
2015 - Current: Visiting Medical Officer, Greenslopes Private Hospital
2003 - 2021: Visiting Medical Officer, Princess Alexandra Hospital
June 2001 - Oct 2008: Specialist Anatomical Pathologist, Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology, Brisbane
1993 - 1997: Specialist Anatomical Pathologist, Royal Brisbane Hospital
1998 - 2001: Senior Anatomical Pathologist, North Brisbane Hospitals Board
Research Interests
Granular tumour necrosis
Diagnosis of limited adenocarcinoma on prostate needle biopsy
Ductal adenocarcinoma of prostate
Mucinous adenocarcinoma of prostate
Radical prostatectomy handling and reporting
Micropapillary urothelial cancer
Mimics of bladder cancer
Awards and other Esteem Indicators
2017 Admitted to Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists, London (FRC Path) for sustained excellence in published works
2022 Awarded the Grawitz Medal of the International Society of Urological Pathology for distinguished service to the discipline of Urological Pathology
2023 Author of the publication Percentage grade 4 tumour predicts outcome for prostate adenocarcinoma in needle biopsies from patients with advanced disease: Ten year data from the TROG 03.04 RADAR Trial. Pathology 54: 49- 54, awarded the prize of
Article of the Year by the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.
2024 Distinguished Fellowship Award of the Royal College Pathologists of Australasia
For distinguished service to the discipline of Urological Pathology
Lisa Samarkovski is a Lecturer at the TC Beirne School of Law, and currently teaches taxation law to postgraduate students in the Master of Commerce program.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Dr Selwin Samuel is a dental academic and early-career researcher with a diverse background spanning clinical dentistry, forensic odontology, immunology, and translational biomedical science. He completed his PhD at The University of Queensland, focusing on bone immunology and infectious complications in spinal cord injury, and currently serves as a Course Coordinator and Lecturer at the UQ School of Dentistry.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Honorary Fellow
Queensland Brain Institute
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Rebecca completed her PhD at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute at the University of Wollongong in June 2018. Her PhD research investigated the role of the heat shock response and inflammation in neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on motor neuron disease (MND). During her PhD, Rebecca undertook an Endeavour Research Fellowship to conduct research at the Institute of Neurology, University College London under the supervision of Prof Linda Greensmith. She has since been recruited to the Neurodegeneration Pathobiology Lab at the Queensland Brain Institute by Dr Adam Walker as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Rebecca is a motivated and passionate MND researcher whose main objective is to find new therapeutics to treat or cure people living with MND.
Macarena holds a Master degree in Public Health and a PhD from the University of Queensland. Prior to her studies in Public health she worked as a physiotherapist in Chile for 4 years. She has particular interest in different mental health and health behaviours during pregnancy and their consequences in the child. Her other interests are related to social determinant of health, health policies and statistics.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
I am a Research Scientist. With over 15 years of experience, I have developed advanced skills in data analytics, machine learning, mathematical modeling, and research & development.
I am Research Fellow at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, specializing in applying data science and wearable devices to solve problems in health, biomechanics, and sports. In my role, I leverage wearables to study human movement and physiology, providing actionable insights that drive innovation and improve health outcomes. My work involves collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to integrate data-driven solutions that enhance performance and well-being.
Dr Lauren Sanders is a Senior Research Fellow with the TC Beirne School of Law, The University of Queensland in the Law and Future of War project. Lauren’s current research focus is on the application of export control, arms trade and sanctions regimes relevant to the export and brokering of trusted autonomous military systems and associated technology. Her broader research and teaching interests include international criminal law, international humanitarian law and domestic counter-terrorism law. She is the editor of UQ's Law and Future of War podcast where she interviews experts in the fields of law and emerging and disruptive technology, military strategy and military affairs.
She completed her initial law studies with The University of Queensland, along with a Bachelor of Arts in Peace and Conflict Studies. Her PhD studies were competed at the Australian National University focused on the practical application of universal jurisdiction. She holds an LLM in Legal Practice, Masters in Defence and Strategic Studies and numerous Graduate certificates in military law.
Before returning to The University of Queensland, Lauren spent twenty years as an Australian Army signals officer and legal officer, and has served in Iraq, Afghanistan and East Timor and on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, a legal advisor to ADF domestic counter-terrorism operations, and an assistant Inspector-General of the ADF. She is a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College, and was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross for her work as the Command Legal Officer within Special Operations Command.
She supports the training of military legal officers with the University of Adelaide's Legal Training Module Level Three (Masters Law Course); and is a reserve legal officer, where she is a member of the Principal Writing Team for the Australian Defence Force’s Law of Armed Conflict Manual, and teaches at the Indo-Pacific Centre for Military Law and the ADF's Military Law Centre.
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Stephen is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Bernhardt group at the University of Queensland. His current research is focused on the theory of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and molecular dynamics.
Stephen completed a double degree in electrical engineering and physics at James Cook University, followed by a PhD in physics, also at James Cook University, under the supervision of Prof. Ronald White and Dr Bronson Philippa, as well as the University of Queensland's Prof. Paul Burn and Prof. Alan Mark. His PhD focused on using kinetic Monte-Carlo simulations of charge and exciton dynamics, coupled with atomistic molecular dynamics deposition simulations to establish a better understanding of structure-property relationships in organic semiconductors, particularly organic light-emitting diodes.
Dr Flavia Santamaria is a biologist whose PhD focused on the impact of translocation on the health (chlamydial disease), tree species selection and movement of radio-tracked koalas relocated from French Island to three forests around Ballarat, Victoria.
She is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the School of Veterinary Science at The University of Queensland, a researcher with the Koala Research-CQ and Senior Lecturer at Central Queensland University.
Dr Santamaria has been collaborating with a team of Australian and international researchers in the field of metabolomics, adrenocortical activity and veterinary applications to successfully design the most suited assay kit for the detection of stress in koalas through fecal analyses as a non-invasive method.
Dr Santamaria's current and future research focus is on:
the impact of anthropogenic environmental changes on koalas, including the potential pressure caused by environmental stressors on their health
detection and prevention of disease in koalas
using the koala as a flagship species in educating communities for sustainability
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Viviene Santiago is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Natural Toxins group within the Centre for Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) and is based at the Health and Food Sciences Precinct (Coopers Plains). With a robust foundation in organic and analytical chemistry, her research primarily focuses on natural products chemistry from terrestrial, marine, and microbial sources.
Dr Santiago joined QAAFI as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2023. Her current research involves developing a delivery system for bioactive compounds aimed at reducing enteric methane emissions in cattle and exploring atypical sugars in novel foods such as stingless bee honey. Over the years, she has cultivated a keen interest in utilising liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and molecular networking techniques to investigate chemical diversity from different sources such as natural toxins in certain plants and atypical sugars in stingless bee honey.
Dr Santiago earned her Ph.D. from The University of Queensland, where her dissertation focused on applying advanced molecular networking techniques, such as the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS), to explore the chemical diversity of Australian microbes. Her academic journey also includes a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the University of the Philippines – Diliman. These academic experiences have equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of natural products chemistry, enabling her to make significant contributions to both academia and industry.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Damian Santomauro leads the Epidemiology and Burden of Disease Research Stream based at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR). He is also an affiliate assistant professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, for his work on the Global Burden of Disease Study where he is the head of the mental disorders team responsible for modelling the epidemiology and burden of mental disorders.
Dr. Yomani Sarathkumara’s research focuses on characterising humoral immune responses to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in EBV-associated diseases.
During her PhD at James Cook University, Australia, she identified novel antibody biomarkers for EBV-associated cancers, including natural killer/T-cell lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma, using well-characterised hospital-based case-control samples from the AsiaLymph study—a large, multicentre epidemiological investigation of lymphoma and related haematologic malignancies conducted across Asia in collaboration with the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI). She also identified antibody markers predictive of clinical responses in EBV-positive lymphoma patients treated with EBV-specific T-cell immunotherapy in Phase I clinical trials conducted by Baylor College of Medicine, USA.
Her Honours research at Northumbria University, UK, focused on identifying antibody responses to a fungal antigen associated with Pigeon Fancier's Lung disease. For her Master’s by Research (MPhil) from 2016–2018, conducted in collaboration with the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Hokkaido University, Japan, she demonstrated that hantavirus exposure is a major risk factor for developing chronic kidney disease of unknown aetiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka—a significant public health concern in agricultural communities.
Following her PhD, Dr. Sarathkumara joined the University of Queensland (UQ) as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow under the supervision of Professor Denise Doolan. Building on her doctoral work, she is currently investigating the potential role of EBV in triggering autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), aiming to identify diagnostic and predictive antibody biomarkers. This work is conducted in collaboration with the University of Texas and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, USA. In parallel, she is also examining antibody responses in individuals with acute EBV infection through a collaboration with UMass Chan Medical School, University of Massachusetts, USA.
Her research integrates high-throughput serological profiling, statistical modelling, and immunoassay development, and is supported by strong international collaborations.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
A/Prof Benn Sartorius is an established spatial and global health epidemiologist, with a particular interest in the burden of infectious disease and attributable determinants at sub-national, national and global scales as a tool to help inform and optimise policy at national and subnational scales. Dr Sartorius a principal research fellow in UQ's ODeSI team at University of Queensland, an affiliate professor in Department of Health Metric Sciences at University of Washington and a honorary visiting research fellow at University of Oxfored. Prior to join UQ, Dr Sartorius was the principal investigator for the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project based in the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health at University of Oxford.
Dr Sartorius' research has focused on better understanding the spatial-temporal burden and risk factors of multiple IDs, including mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria, sexually transmitted infections, neglected tropical diseases such as soil-transmitted helminths and onchocerciasis, vaccine preventable diseases, emerging infectious diseases and more recently focused on antimicrobial resistance. These and other examples highlight the utility of spatial epidemiology to identify higher risk areas that should be prioritised for more targeted, tailored and resource efficient intervention and control measures. However, often spatial risk estimates for IDs are often not produced in-country in settings such as the Pacific, where disease burden is high and local modelling expertise is limited, resulting in use of incomplete/biased data and resulting in inefficient and suboptimal decision-making. I’ve been a collaborator on the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project since 2014 and the Scientific Council for the GBD Project since 2015. Dr Sartorius is a member of the WHO Reference Group on Health Statistics (RGHS) and chair of the Age-Specific Mortality Estimation and Life Table Computation task force. Benn's vision, through ODeSI-HERA, is to expand his international profile and leadership in spatial-temporal epidemiology of priority infectious diseases in Australia and the Pacific. This will include spatial epidemiological innovation, and capacity building to improve health outcomes in high-risk and vulnerable sub-populations within the region, and will be co-created with stakeholders in the region to ensure that it aligns with their priorities, and support precision-based decision-making systems to help policy makers optimise resource allocation and guide targeted interventions.