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Dr Saphira Rekker is a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Sustainable Finance and an ARC DECRA Fellow at The University of Queensland Business School. She holds a PhD in Finance and is internationally recognised for her work on corporate climate performance measurement and the development of science-based emissions reduction methodologies.

Saphira’s research focuses on building robust tools to measure, verify, and benchmark the credibility of corporate decarbonisation actions and commitments. She is widely regarded for her expertise in carbon-budget-based assessment frameworks and corporate climate benchmarking. During her 2019 secondment at Princeton University, she co-developed the Rapid Switch Australia project within Princeton’s global Rapid Switch initiative. She now leads the Carbon Budget Tracker, a collaborative platform linking researchers from UQ, Oxford, Princeton, LSE, and Utrecht to assess corporate and portfolio alignment with the Paris Agreement.

Saphira contributes her expertise to major international standard-setting and policy processes. She serves as an Australian delegate to the ISO Net Zero standard and previously served on both the Scientific Advisory Group and the Technical Working Group of the Science Based Targets initiative (oil and gas), where she contributed to the development of methodologies underpinning credible, science-aligned targets. Although the SAG was dissolved in 2024/2025, she remains engaged in methodological guidance and advisory work for science-based target-setting. She also played a significant role in shaping the EU Climate Benchmarking Regulation, where her quantitative contribution remains a central component after multiple revisions. In addition, she advises on climate-related litigation, including work with the Environmental Defenders Office.

Her research is cross-disciplinary and published in leading academic journals including Nature Climate Change and Nature Communications. Her 2022 Nature Communications article attracted international attention and led to a collaboration with Norges Bank Investment Management, one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, to evaluate steel-sector Paris alignment. Her recent Nature Climate Change Comment proposes “structured pluralism with budget compliance” as a way to strengthen corporate climate benchmarking practices. She maintains active collaborations with Oxford, Princeton, LSE, and Utrecht, as well as industry partners such as Fidelity, Ernst & Young, and NBIM.

Saphira has received numerous awards and competitive funding, including the prestigious ARC DECRA (over $430,000, 2024–2027), the 2024 UQ BEL Commendation for Enhancing Employability and the UQ Business School Award for Excellence in Student Engagement (for SMIF), the Green Gown Awards Australasia 2022 and UQBS Excellence in Innovation Award 2021 for co-founding Australia’s first Carbon Literacy course, the Business & Society Best Paper Award (2021), the UQBS Excellence in PRME Award (2023), first place in the UN PRI Essay Competition (2018), and a UQ Teaching Award (2017).

She is deeply committed to embedding sustainability into finance education. Saphira co-led UQ’s Student Managed Investment Fund (A$260,000+) from 2021–2023, integrating climate-risk analysis into portfolio management and competition preparation. She co-founded Australia’s first Carbon Literacy course and co-authored two open-access UQ Press textbooks. Her teaching evaluations are consistently outstanding. She supervises Honours, Masters, and PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and industry-linked projects.

Saphira also serves as the elected UQ academic representative to UniSuper (188/211 votes) and coached the UQ team that placed second in the Global Business Challenge (2019, $15,000). She is a frequent speaker at conferences such as the UN PRI Annual Conference and the Princeton E-ffiliates Retreat, and is a regular reviewer for journals including 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.

April Reside is a senior 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 Felipe Retamal-Walter is a bilingual speech pathologist, audiologist, and early career academic at The University of Queensland. His research focuses on improving access, equity, and quality in communication and hearing healthcare across the lifespan. Drawing on over 15 years of experience across Chile and Australia, Felipe leads and contributes to international research projects funded nationally and internationally. He is a recipient of multiple academic recognitions, including top-cited article awards, international fellowships, and an invention patent for neonatal care technology.

Felipe uses mixed methods, implementation science, and participatory research approaches to co-design and evaluate practical, person-centred models of care. He works in partnership with families, students, clinicians, educators, and policymakers across many regions in Australia and the Pacific, North and South America, and Europe to develop tools, training, and systems that respond to the needs of underserved and diverse communities.

Felipe’s research themes include:

• Design, improvement, and evaluation of service delivery models to enhance access to timely and high-quality services. This is achieved by building honest, transparent, and long-lasting partnerships that consider all stakeholders as equal partners in care: clients, families, communities, healthcare professionals, and policymakers.
• Development and validation of implementation tools and measures to enhance person- and family-centred care, engagement, and shared decision-making in healthcare services. These tools promote equitable, community-based access for people across the lifespan in diverse regions and contexts.
• Implementation of culturally responsive education and training approaches to prepare health professions students for inclusive, digitally enabled, and person-centred practice in global and diverse contexts.

Felipe is an active member of the World Health Organization’s World Hearing Forum. He serves on The University of Queensland’s Cultural Inclusion Council and several research engagement themes. His work has informed national policy, clinical training programs, and service delivery innovations across Australia and other global settings. As an advocate for inclusion, Felipe also leads interdisciplinary initiatives that embed equity, diversity, and cultural responsiveness in healthcare and health education systems.

Mr Alireza Rezvani is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. With over a decade of experience in mining and academia, he specialises in mineral processing, ore characterisation, and metallurgical test management. His research focuses on optimising copper and gold flotation while integrating sustainable practices to enhance plant performance and reduce environmental impact.

Expertise in Mineral Processing As a member of UQ’s Minerals and Energy Resources Processing group, Mr Rezvani's research aims to improve comminution, flotation, and separation efficiency. His work delves into the complexities of solution chemistry, colloid and surface interactions, and electrochemistry, advancing the development of eco-friendly reagents to optimise mineral separation. By leveraging innovative approaches, he enhances process efficiency while minimising the environmental footprint of extractive operations.

Ore Characterisation and Process Mineralogy Mr Rezvani is an expert in advanced ore characterisation techniques, including QEMSCAN, EBSD, EMP, TEM, Synchrotron XRD, and optical microscopy. His work provides valuable mineralogical insights that drive process optimisation strategies for base and precious metal sulphides (copper, nickel, gold), rare earth elements, iron ore, and PGMs. By integrating these techniques with metallurgical testwork, he develops targeted solutions to address complex processing challenges.

Computational Modelling and Molecular-Level Investigations A key aspect of Mr Rezvani’s research is computational modelling and simulation. Using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and first-principles calculations via VASP, he investigates interfacial interactions of sulphide minerals at the atomic scale. These molecular-level insights help elucidate the fundamental mechanisms governing flotation and metallurgical processes, ultimately contributing to the development of more efficient and sustainable extraction technologies.

Process Optimisation and Metallurgical Accounting Beyond fundamental research, Mr Rezvani applies data-driven methodologies to process optimisation and metallurgical accounting. His expertise in process control and design enables the maximisation of recovery rates, operational efficiency, and sustainability in mineral processing plants. By integrating computational and experimental approaches, he continues to drive advancements in metallurgical performance and environmentally responsible mineral extraction.

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.

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.

Jules Richards is a Nurse Practitioner who has worked with young people experiencing persistent pain for over twenty years. She has a PhD in creative writing, in which she explored the lived experience of pain through a fictional narrative. Her work focuses on transdisciplinary approaches that build connections between the creative arts, education and health. She is currently undertaking a post-doctoral research fellowship through the University of Queensland.

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.

I am a Senior Lecturer who specialises in researchingthe dynamics of social-ecological systems. I have strong numerical modelling skills (participatory modelling, system dynamics, agent-based, Bayesian inference, Bayesian networks, generalised additive modelling) that I apply through a range of software (R, Stella Architect, Vensim, Berkeley Madonna, Netica, WinBUGS). Coding: I 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 'useful' decision support tools (DST) 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.

Gaming: My unique skill set (modelling and coding) and knowledge of social-ecological systems (especially coastal systems) means that I can supercharge my models by converting them into fit-for-purpose digital 'games'. The value-add is that this transfers these models from the domain of modellers to the domain of decision makers through thoughtful design principles. I can create these gamified versions of my models relatively quickly (e.g. <1 month) without the need for large resource requirements, a process that has recently been accelerated through using AI-assisted coding (Gemini + Unity3D) and vibe coding (Replit, Lovable, Claude etc). My approach here very much invokes the 'bedroom coder' ethos of the 1980s! whilst my design approach draws heavily upon learning objectives, pedagogical design principles, and constructs of motivation (for learning) and fun. Examples of my work can be seen at https://uqcases.web.app/

I am a Group Leader at Mater Research Institute, heading the Developmental Molecular Genetics Lab. My team investigates the dynamic interplay between mobile DNA sequences and mammalian genomes, with a primary focus on the retrotransposon Long Interspersed Element 1 (L1). L1 sequences are “selfish” genetic entities, which must insert new copies (retrotranspose) in the genomes of cells that will contribute to the next generation. This evolutionary drive sets up a perpetual conflict between L1 propagation and genome stability, which plays out in pluripotent embryonic cells as well as in cells of the developing germline. My ongoing research is focused on elucidating the developmental timing of heritable L1 retrotransposition, and understanding how L1 activity is controlled in these critical niches. I am interested in the capacity of L1 retrotransposition events to generate genetic diversity and drive genome evolution, as well as their contribution to somatic and germline genetic mosaicism and their potential to cause human genetic disease and reproductive dysfunction.

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.

Rickard is an NHMRC Leadership 2 Fellow and esteemed nurse researcher. She has completed over 50 randomised controlled trials and focuses on preventing healthcare associated infections and other complications for people with central, peripheral, venous and arterial catheters. As a Registered Nurse, she specialized in acute and critical care, and then coordinated pharmaceutical and investigator-initiated ICU research at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Her PhD (QUT, 2004) studied the impact of the duration of intravascular administration set use on bloodstream infection. Rickard has consistently won funding from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) since 2008. She is committed to mentoring and developing opportunities for nursing clinician researchers, with many going on to prestigious careers and externally funded fellowships. Her international projects include the largest ever vascular access study - The One Million Global peripheral intravenous catheter Study (OMG Study). Rickard established the Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR) in 2007 as a mentoring network which has evolved into a mature multi-institutional investigator network of >100 nursing and medical clinicians, scientists, consumers, statisticians and health economists who undertake large randomized controlled trials and related work in partnership with hospitals in Australia and overseas. AVATAR also has a significant educational focus, with workshops, a Masters level course and a focus on PhD and postdoctoral researcher development. Professor Rickard's awards include induction into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame in 2013, and election to the prestigious Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences in 2015. She has >300 publications in leading journals such as The Lancet.

Nicole is a Research Fellow at the RECOVER Injury Research Centre, working within the Improving Health Outcomes after Musculoskeletal Injury program. Her current research focuses on the design and implementation of single-case experimental design studies to evaluate multidisciplinary interventions for whiplash and other musculoskeletal injuries sustained in road traffic incidents. Nicole completed her PhD in Psychology at The University of Queensland, where she investigated the effectiveness and mechanisms of mind-body therapies for pain management in injured athletes. This work advanced understanding of psychological predictors of pain, injury perception, and recovery in sporting contexts. Nicole has published in leading journals including Journal of Sports Sciences and Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, and presented at national and international conferences such as the Australian Pain Society Annual Scientific Meeting. She holds a Master of Clinical Research from The University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) from UQ, and is committed to developing personalised, evidence-based approaches to injury rehabilitation.