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Dr. Helena Schuch is a senior research fellow at the School of Dentistry, University of Queensland.

She is a dentist and an oral epidemiologist with special interest in social epidemiology. Helena is also interested in methods to estimate causal inference and on applying machine learning techniques to predict oral health outcomes.

She completed her PhD in Oral Epidemiology at the University of Adelaide (2018) and is currently in the Editorial Board of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.

Qualifications: BDS, MScDent, PhD

Research Interests: Oral health inequalities. Life course epidemiology. Causal inference methods. Machine learning applied to oral health.

Dr Jessica Schults is a Queensland Government Clinical Research Fellow and incoming NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2026) based at the Herston Infectious Diseases Institute and The University of Queensland. A previous paediatric critical care nurse, Jessica has extensive clinical experience in critical care, with a particular passion for ventilator associated infections. Jessica’s research program aims to reduce the burden of healthcare-associated infections through better hospital surveillance, safer invasive device care, and rapid translation of evidence. She is a Chief Investigator on the IVCare adaptive platform trial, which evaluates strategies to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections, and leads the NHMRC-funded REBUILD project, which aims to strengthen national infection control systems using a learning health system approach. Jessica has a strong interest in the application of digital technologies, including AI-enabled risk prediction and clinical decision support tools. Jessica has strong, established partnerships with national and international healthcare consumers, organisations, and health services. She holds leadership roles with the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, is a board member for the ANZ Intensive Care Foundation and is a technical advisor to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Jessica is committed to growing the next generation of clinician-researchers, in-particular, in the underrepresented field of nursing.

Dr Tom Schultz is a molecular immunologist and early career researcher at the UQ Frazer Institute who studies the molecular and cellular biology of innate immune receptors. His research primarily focuses on molecular mechanisms of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling in the context of mycobacterial and Gram-negative bacterial infection of macrophages.

I graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering and Science in 2000 from The University of Queensland, after which I joined Proteome Systems, an Australian biotechnology company. In 2004 I moved to the ETH Zurich in Switzerland for my doctoral studies. I joined the School of Chemistry & Molecular Biosciences as a University of Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2008 and NHMRC Career Development Fellow in 2012. I am now Associate Professor in Biochemistry.

Martin Schweinberger uses big data and computational methods to explore the messy, fascinating reality of how people actually talk—including all the swear words, filler words, and informal expressions that traditional language education overlooks. As a Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the University of Queensland, he bridges the gap between computer science and linguistics to understand how language evolves in our digital age.

Uncovering Hidden Language Patterns

Much of Martin's research focuses on the language phenomena that schools don't teach but that permeate everyday conversation. He analyzes massive datasets to study vulgarity and swearing patterns, as well as discourse markers—those ubiquitous filler words like "like," "you know," "well," and "I mean" that pepper our speech. By applying statistical methods to real-world language use, he reveals how these supposedly "incorrect" forms of expression actually follow sophisticated social and linguistic rules.

His work also tracks how language changes over time and varies between different social settings, using computational tools to identify patterns that would be impossible to detect through traditional research methods alone.

Building Australia's Language Data Future

As Director of the Language Technology and Data Analysis Laboratory (LADAL)—a free upskilling platform for language data science with hundreds of thousands of users worldwide—and a key figure in one of Australia's major research infrastructure projects, the Language Data Commons of Australia (LDaCA), Martin is helping build the digital infrastructure that will support language research across the country. LDaCA has received substantial funding to create accessible tools and resources that allow researchers to analyze text and speech data more effectively.

Championing Research Transparency

Beyond his linguistic research, Martin advocates for reproducibility and transparency in humanities and social science research. He provides guidance on how language researchers can adopt more rigorous, open research practices—addressing a growing concern about the reliability of academic findings across disciplines.

Martin's international visibility is reflected in his leadership roles: he serves as Vice-President Professional of the International Society for the Linguistics of English (ISLE) and sits on the board of The International Computer Archive of Modern and Medieval English (ICAME), one of the oldest and most reputable societies for corpus linguistics. These positions demonstrate his commitment to advancing computational language research on a global scale.

Potential topics for supervision

I would be particularly interested in supervising theses on the following topics:

Sociolinguistics / Language Variation and Change / World Englishes

• General extenders
• Terms-of-address and salutations
• Discourse particles and markers
• Vulgarity
• Adjective amplification

Learner Language / Applied Linguistics / Corpus Phonetics / Learner Corpus Research

• Vowel production among L1 speakers and learners of English
• Voice-onset-times among L1 speakers and learners of English
• Fluency and pauses in learner and L1 speech.
• Accent and intelligibility / comprehension.

Text Analytics / Digital Humanities / Corpus Linguistics

• Applied word embedding applications in the language sciences.
• Comparison of different association / keyness measures

I graduated from The University of Queensland Gatton Campus in 1994, taking my first position within the School of Veterinary Science in October 1994. I am an experienced Veterinary Technical Officer, qualified Veterinary Nurse and Workplace Trainer and Assessor. I have a strong background in animal husbandry and welfare, behaviour, applied animal ethics, and sustainable wellbeing with more than 30 years’ experience in varied animal and veterinary research paradigms.

Following 18 years as Manager of the Clinical Studies Centre (CSC) within the School of Veterinary Science, I moved into a Level A academic position and was appointed Academic Program Coordinator for the Bachelor of Veterinary Technology degree at UQ (2013 - 2019). Concurrently, I held the position of Director of the CSC from 2013 – 2018. I teach primarily into the BVetTech and BVSc programs but also contribute to several other animal-related programs at the UQ Gatton Campus.

My passion for teaching, and commitment to instil a desire in all students to embrace life-long learning underpins my teaching and mentoring philosophy.

I gained my PhD in 2017 and have expanded my areas of speciality research to include the psychology of human – animal relationships, animal behaviour and animal-related occupational trauma and healing. I am a Compassion Fatigue Specialist Therapist, and recieved my Graduate Diploma in Psychological Sciences in 2022. Having lived experience of occupational trauma and compassion fatigue, I present extensively in these subject areas as well as in psychological wellbeing and emotional intelligence. Further to presentations, I also provide interactive, thought-provoking seminars and workshops within all sectors of animal-related industries and occupations.

Honorary Professor, Centre for the Government of Queensland, School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics.

Professional Activities:

Executive Director, T.J.Ryan Foundation (2013 onwards)

Project Director, "Queensland Speaks" Oral History web-site, (2009 onwards)

Board Member, Youth + Marlene Moore Flexi-learning Centre Network, Edmund Rice Education Australia (2013 onwards).

National Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (since 1990).

Former editor of The Public Interest (Brisbane).

Former co-editor of the Australian Journal of Public Administration.

Former Review Editor for Politics (now AJPS).

Member/chair of several Quality Assessment Panels of the Queensland Office of Higher Education and formerly member of similar bodies operating in several states during the CAE era.

Member of several Federal Government committees of enquiry into education, including management education (Ralph Committee), aboriginal education (Yunipingu Committee) and university management (Linke Committee).

Former panel member of the Commonwealth Government Review Tribunal on Non-state Schooling.

Former consultant to international aid organizations, providing advice on public sector reform - Uganda, Kazakstan and Nepal.

Background:

1962-1965 : Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford; fieldwork for thesis on the development of trade unions in Uganda completed while Rockefeller Teaching Fellow at the University of East Africa, Kampala.

1965-1977 : Lecturing at University of Sydney, the Queen's University of Belfast, and the Canberra College of Advanced Education (Principal Lecturer in Politics in the School of Administrative Studies).

1977-1987: J.D.Story Professor of Public Administration, University of Queensland. President of the Academic Board, 1986-1987.

1987-1990: Principal of the Canberra CAE, Foundation Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra.

1990-1994 : Director General of Education, State Government of Queensland.

1994 : Visiting Professor, Graduate School of Management, Griffith University.

1994 - 2000: Dean of Arts, Queensland University of Technology.

2000 - 2002: Professor of Public Management, Faculty of Business, QUT.

2003 - 2011: Professor Emeritus and Teaching Fellow, School of Political Science and International Studies.

Research Interests:

• The practice of public policy in Queensland.
• Political history of Queensland.

I am a postdoctoral research fellow in the Professor Daniel Waterson's laboratory, specialising in structure-guided design of vaccines and therapeutics for emerging viruses, with a specific focus on flaviviral diseases.

My research journey began with a Bachelor of Science, First Class Honours in Microbiology from the Unviersity of Queensland (2018). Then in my PhD (2019-2023) under Profesors Daniel Watterson, Keith Chappell and Paul Young I developed antibody discovery platforms for two viral vaccine techniologies, namely the Molecular Clamp and the ISVac chimeric viruses. I used these technologies to develop therapeutic candidates for treatment of dengue which were successfully used in animal models of dengue virus infection. During my candidature I also contributed to the development of the UQ COVID Vaccine which progressed to Phase I clinical trials and the continued development of next generation Molecular Clamp stabilised vaccines.

Since 2023, I have been a postdoctoral research with Professor Daniel Watterson and my work has focussed on structural characterisation of antibody and virus interactions and development of broad-spectrum therapies for flaviviruses. I use a combination of molecular virology, antibody discovery, and cryogenic electron microscopy to define key neutralising antibody epitopes on flavivirues, primarliy Japanese encpahlitis virus, and then use this information to rationally inform broad-spectrum vaccine and therapeutic design.

James leads the Child and Youth Research Group at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research and the Youth Mental Health Research Group at the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research. He also practices clinically as a Child and Youth Psychiatrist with the Metro North Mental Health Service, where he is the Director of the Early Psychosis Service. James is the recipient of a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Practitioner Fellowship (2016-2020), awarded for his research into prevention and intervention strategies to improve the mental health of adolescents.

James has established a programme of research developing preventative strategies and cost-effective real-world interventions for mental illness in children and youth. His research incorporates studies in epidemiology, clinical trials, bullying and psychiatric neuro-immunology. He is the elected chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists Section for Youth Mental Health and an editor of the Journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. In 2018, he was awarded the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists’ Senior Research Award, conferred on the “Fellow who has made the most significant contribution to psychiatric research in Australia and New Zealand over the preceding five years”.

Ian Scott is the Director of Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and a Professor with the Faculty of Medicine. He is a consultant general physician with clinical interests in in health services evaluation and improvement, clinical guidelines, clinical decision-making, evidence-based medicine, low value care, quality use of medicines, non-invasive cardiology, advance care planning, and older patient care. He chaired the Queensland Clinical Networks Executive 2022-2024, is the inaugural chair of the Australian Deprescribing Network (2014-2023), Metro South Clinical AI Working Group, and Queensland Health Sepsis AI Working Group (both ongoing) and is a founding member of the Australian and New Zealand Affiliate of the US Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (ANZA-SIDM). He was also a member of Queensland Health System Quality, Safety and Performance Management Committee (2022-2024) and the Quality and Safety Committee (2015-2020) and the Digital Health Advisory Group of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP - ongoing). He is a past President of the Internal Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand (2003-2005) and past member of the MBS Review Taskforce for Cardiac Services (2017-2019). He has led multi-site quality improvement collaboratives in acute cardiac care including both hospitals and Divisions of General Practice. He has been involved at senior level on various high-level committees in establishing policies for Queensland Health and/or RACP on electronic discharge summaries, clinical handover, clinical indicators, evaluation of physician performance, chronic disease management, perioperative medicine, medical assessment and planning units, and patient flow through emergency departments. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, presented to over 170 national and international meetings, and is a recipient of several NHMRC and government research grants.

Dr. Theresa Scott, Associate Professor and former NHMRC Dementia Research Development Fellow, specialises in researching functional outcomes for older people and people living, or caring for a person, with dementia in various settings. Her NHMRC fellowship focused on dementia-related driving issues, leading to the co-development of CarFreeMe, a driving cessation program delivering support to people with dementia, adapted for telehealth delivery through additional NHMRC funding.

Dr. Scott's recent NHMRC MRFF-funded project collaborates with stakeholders to create resources for driving safety assessment with persons with dementia in primary care settings, including an innovative video-based fitness to drive test. She is Chief Investigator (CIA Prof Barbara Masser) on an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant that is generating new knowledge in recruiting, retaining, and deferring older blood donors.

Her research spans qualitative and quantitative methods and emphasises participatory research, co-design, and the integration of lived experiences. Her mixed methods research aims to improve the mental health, emotional well-being, quality of life and quality of care of older Australians and people living with progressive brain diseases such as dementia and their family care partners, through innovative research and knowledge translation activities. Her work addresses ageism, dementia stigma, mental health outcomes of psychosocial interventions, for example the mental health benefits of nature connection, significantly impacting dementia care, and loneliness and isolation.

Research interests:

• Ageing
• Aged care
• Co-design
• Dementia and quality of life
• Driving cessation and driving safety assessment
• Mental health outcomes of psychosocial interventions

Research Projects:

• Video-based Medical Fitness to Drive assessment (MRFF) http://researchers.uq.edu.au/research-project/55955
• Driving cessation intervention for persons with dementia (NHMRC) http://researchers.uq.edu.au/research-project/32115
• Engaging the over 50s to ensure the sustainability of our blood supply (ARC) http://researchers.uq.edu.au/research-project/61705

Senior clinical pharmacist with 3 decades of experience in many facets of the pharmaceutical industry in both Australia and the UK- including work for Queensland Health as clinical pharmacist, clinical educator and team leader, National Prescribing Service academic detailer, Australian Pharmacy Council subject matter expert, Kidney Health Australia clinical advisory committee, CARI guideline working group member, Advanced Pharmacy Australia (AdPha) leadership group chair, and working as a community pharmacist and Home Medicines Review facilitator and provider.

Dr Ismail Sebina is a Research Fellow at the Frazer Institute-The University of Queensland, under the mentorship of Prof. Gabrielle Belz. He holds a PhD in immunology from The University of Queensland (awarded in 2017) and a Master’s degree in the Immunology of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM; UK). He has contributed to discovery and translational immunological research in several laboratories across the USA, the UK, Uganda, and Australia, implementing studies in both preclinical mouse models and humans. He completed six years of rigorous postdoctoral training in immunology at the University of Washington (USA) and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research institute (QIMR Berghofer; Australia). He has demonstrated a strong record of publications in high-impact journals such as Immunity, Science Immunology, JCI and PNAS. He has regularly presented his findings at national and international conferences (e.g. Keystone Symposium and ASI), furthering my engagement with the scientific community. Dr. Sebina's primary research focus revolves around uncovering the mechanisms that underpin natural and vaccine-induced immunity to infections. With a passion for improving maternal, newborn, and child health, he also explores novel immunological strategies that have the potential to revolutionize healthcare practices in this area.

Dr Lydia See is a specialist in Special Needs Dentistry, holding postgraduate degrees in Master of Science (Geriatric Dentistry) and Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (Special Needs Dentistry). She has extensive clinical experience in public, hospital, and private practice. She is also a research fellow at the University of Queensland with a focus on research in public health and the application of silver fluoride in adults with special needs.