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Dr Thomas B. Shaw is a neuroscientist and MRI researcher at The University of Queensland whose work focuses on developing advanced neuroimaging biomarkers for Motor Neuron Disease (MND) and related neurodegenerative disorders. He leads research at the intersection of ultra-high-field MRI, computational image analysis, and biomedical AI, aiming to identify early markers of disease progression and treatment response.

His research program integrates 7 Tesla and 3 Tesla MRI, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and quantitative imaging to map brain and spinal cord changes in people living with MND. Dr Shaw helped establish the Asia-Pacific MND Imaging Initiative (AMII), a collaborative network harmonising MRI protocols across major Australian centres including UQ.

He has been successful in competitive research funding, including NHMRC, FightMND, and MND Research Australia grants, and his work appears in e.g., Nature Methods, NeuroImage, and Brain Communications.

His broader interests include metabolic dysfunction, AI-driven diagnostics, and open-science neuroimaging pipelines that enhance reproducibility and collaboration across the neuroscience community.

Dr. Maram Shaweesh's is a qualitative researcher. Her interdisciplinary research spans several humanities and spatial disciplines, including architecture, housing adequacy, migration, multiculturalism, everyday encounters in the Australian suburb, urban design, and young people's experiences in urban spaces.

Maram has conducted various research projects focused on housing. For instance, she investigated everyday life in suburban housing as experienced by the Australian Lebanese community. This research utilised social qualitative research methods to explore the relationship between housing design and policy, and the social and cultural context in Australia, such as changing family ideals, household composition, children's wellbeing, parenting values, and social marginalisation. Additionally, Maram has experience working with remote Indigenous communities, having contributed to the "Gunana Futures" research project investigating housing adequacy in Mornington Island.

Maram was also involved in the team working on the Growing Up in Logan project as part of Growing Up in Cities. Collaborating with Logan City Council (CityStudio) and Beenleigh State High School, the project aims to understand adolescents' perceptions of urban space to better comprehend how local environments impact their everyday lives.

As part of her role at the UQ Institute for Social Science Research, Maram worked across several externally and internally funded projects, including Foundation Partner for a National Centre for Place-Based Collaboration (Nexus Centre for place-based collaboration); Targeted Review of Student Equity in Higher Education Programs and System Level Policy Levers; Social Isolation and Loneliness - Research, Analysis and Best Practice; SMBI Community Intiative - Learning by doing; Empowered Communities Partnership Lessons Learned Project; Place-based Approaches to Road Safety; and, Sharing with Friends (co-housing model for older women in Australia).

I am an Aboriginal woman from the Ngen'giwumirri language group (Daly River, Northern Territory), born in Brisbane and connected to Indigenous communities across South East Queensland. I currently hold the position of Associate Professor, Principal Research Fellow, and Deputy Head of School in the School of Education at The University of Queensland. My research program is nationally and internationally recognised, with a focus on Indigenous education, codesign in Indigenous education, Indigenous participation in STEM, youth studies, flexi schooling, and education policy. I lead an extensive externally funded research program, including Australian Research Council (ARC) grants and government tenders, and I actively contribute to policy development through advisory roles at both state and national levels. I am a Chief Investigator on the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures.

I am committed to advancing strengths-based approaches in Indigenous education. My scholarship includes over 100 publications, and I have co-edited two major texts in the field. The first, “Indigenous Education in Australia: Learning and Teaching for Deadly Futures” (Routledge, 2021), which received a national award at the Education Publishing Awards Australia. My most recent book, “Strengths-Based Approaches to Indigenous Education Research and Practice” (Routledge, 2025), co-edited with Professor Grace Sarra, further contributes to the growing body of work that centres Indigenous voices and leadership in education.

Throughout my career, I have received multiple awards in recognition of research excellence and leadership, including the UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award (2021), the UQ Award for Excellence in Graduate Research Leadership (2024), and the National ACEL Leadership Award (2020). As a qualified and experienced secondary teacher, I remain deeply committed to research translation and applied research that support advancing educational equity. I designed a specialised program aimed at growing the Indigenous Education research workforce, the SoE DEADLY Community, providing mentoring early career researchers and supervising Indigenous higher degree research students.

My work continues to be driven by a belief in the transformative power of education and the importance of Indigenous-led research and practice, underpinned by Indigenous-informed evidence, and a commitment to bridging research, policy and practice.

Dr. Shaygan is a soil scientist who works on multidisciplinary projects. She obtained both her BSc and MSc degrees in Agronomy from the University of Tehran, followed by a Master of Environmental Management from the University of Queensland. Dr. Shaygan completed her PhD in Soil Science at the University of Queensland. Prior to joining SMI in 2017, she worked with the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Dr. Shaygan's research focuses on the rehabilitation of degraded landscapes and mine sites, mine cover design, quantification and modelling of water flow, solute and nutrient transport in porous media, soil erosion, characterization of soil hydrological and mechanical properties, and soil salinity management. In addition, she investigates the integration of biofuel crops into mine closure strategies, with a particular focus on the use of Pongamia trees for land rehabilitation, carbon sequestration, and biofuel production.

Her research interests include but are not limited to: (i) salinity management, (ii) land rehabilitation, (iii) water flow and solute/nutrient transport in porous media, (iv) erosion processes, (v) Pongamia tree growth and responses to different environmental conditions, and (vi) soil hydrological modelling.

Since joining SMI, Dr. Shaygan has secured over $3.8 million in grant funding, including more than $1 million as Lead Chief Investigator (Lead CI). Her research projects have been supported by the mining industry (e.g., Stanmore Resources and Anglo American), the Queensland Government, and the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP).

Shekar is a Senior Intensive Care Specialist and the Director of Research in the Adult Intensive Care Service at the Prince Charles Hospital. He holds academic appointments as a Professor at the University of Queensland, Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology and Associate Professor at Bond University, Gold Coast. Shekar is the recipient of the Metro North Hospital and Health Service Clinician Research Fellowship and the Queeensland Health Research Fellowship. Shekar specialises in the design and conduct of both pre-clinical and clinical studies. His ongoing research programs, “The NO Tube Project” and “ The Budget ICU Project”, bring together clinicians, multidisciplinary allied health professionals, engineers, scientists, health economists, industry and policy experts to minimise the burden of invasive mechanical ventilation in intensive care units and to improve access to intensive care services around the world. His current body of research includes the pathophysiology of cardiorespiratory failure, sepsis and extracorporeal life support (ECLS). Shekar has significant experience in conducting mechanistic research in large animal models of lung injury, mechanical ventilation, sepsis and ECLS. His pioneering work in drug pharmacokinetics in adult patients on ECLS was recognised globally. He is the chief investigator of an ongoing international multi-centre clinical study that aims to develop drug dosing guidelines for ECLS patients. Shekar has secured over $20 million in grant funding, published over 300 peer-reviewed articles, 60 conference abstracts, 14 book chapters and has delivered over 100 national and international lectures. He regularly reviews articles for leading journals and competitive grant applications. He is routinely involved with bedside teaching and simulation exercises, as well as supervision of RHD students. Shekar has collaborated extensively both nationally and internationally. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the International ECMO Network. He is the global research lead for Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation (ELSO) Education Taskforce and is a member of the Asia-Pacific ELSO Steering and Education Committee. He is also the Chair of the global ELSO COVID-19 working group. Shekar contributes to the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society COVID-19 Guideline Committee and is the Co-Chair of the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce Hospital and Acute Care Panel. He has significant experience with Clinical Information Systems (CIS) and is the Chair of the CIS Special User Group in Queensland.

Dr Shekari completed her PhD with Queensland University of Technology in 2016, and her postdoctoral fellowship with Alertness CRC at Monash University and Austin Health in January 2019. Shamsi is currently a Research Fellow with the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR) at UQ. Her research interests are key socio-psychological issues such as drowsy / fatigued driving and risky driving behaviours. Shamsi is one of the investigators of the NHMRC project “Reducing crash risk for young drivers: A randomized control trial to improve sleep”.

Dr Sherlock is an anaesthetist and hyperbaric physician with an interst in research and the application of Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment in sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Brad Sherman is a UQ Laureate Fellow at The University of Queensland. Professor Sherman's previous academic positions include posts at Griffith University, the London School of Economics, and the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the intersection of intellectual property and science and technology studies, as well as the impact of intellectual property on food and agriculture. He is currently working on the role intellectual property played in the formation of the Californian citrus industry in the early twentieth century.

Dr Chase Sherwell is a Research Fellow at the UQ Learning Lab and the Principal Research Technician for the Compassionate Mind Research Group in the School of Psychology. His research combines neuroscientific, psychological, and educational perspectives to provide tools for enacting learning, well-being, and behavioural change in real-world contexts. With a focus on application, Dr Sherwell’s work aims to identify metrics of internal psychological mechanisms that can be easily interpreted and integrated by professionals and end-users to facilitate skill development and mental health in everyday life.

With a background in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and education research, Dr Sherwell leads projects that aim to explain learning, development, and mental health across disciplinary lines: from the level of neural networks through to everyday experience. Integrating multi-modal techniques including digital interaction, biometrics, and neurophysiology, Dr Sherwell develops tools, user experiences, and analytics that provide actionable metrics and insights for professionals and researchers.

Dr Sherwell is a Research Fellow in the UQ Learning Lab: a team of multi-disciplinary researchers, educators, and industry partners who collaborate to transform learning, teaching, and training in diverse school and post-school environments through the science of learning. In this role, Dr Sherwell lends his expertise in cognitive neuroscience and psychology to develop projects aimed at understanding and measuring the barriers, facilitators, and mechanisms of self-regulation in professional contexts. He leads projects designing digital tools providing educators with real-time feedback on learner states and skill development integrating smartphone apps and biometrics from wearable devices.

Dr Sherwell is also the Principal Research Technician for the Compassionate Mind Research Group – the leading research hub for Compassion Science in Australia, based at the UQ School of Psychology. In this role, he oversees research design and development across projects investigating the mechanisms of prosocial behaviour in everyday life, barriers to clinical interventions, and the efficacy of online interventions for mental health.

Associate Professor Carl Sherwood completed a Bachelor of Engineering - Civil (UQ, 1984) and practiced as a professional engineer for 15 years. After completing an MBA (UQ, 2001), he worked for the UQ Business School and began investigating how to equitably support the learning of diverse student cohorts in large classes. By 2007, he joined the UQ School of Economics as a Teaching Focussed Academic, completed a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (UQ, 2013), and has been the Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Economics (2019-2021). His research has involved developing and evaluating the impact of blending learning activities and face-to-face lectures for students in large introductory statistics and microeconomics courses. Most notably, with over a decade of pioneering research into the development of students’ own contextualised storytelling as a pedagogy for introductory statistics, his work has been recognised with a UQ Teaching Excellence Award (UQ, 2015), an Australian Award for Teaching Excellence (2017) and through his PhD (UQ, 2020).

Achievements and Awards

• Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2023)
• UQ Teaching Commendation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2018)
• Australian Awards for University Teaching Excellence (2017)
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2017)
• UQ Business, Economics & Law Faculty - Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning or Experience (2017)
• UQ Award for Teaching Excellence (2015)
• Invited member of UQ Open Course Program (2015).
• Invited member of the UQ College of Peer Observers Program (2015)
• Australian Awards for University Teaching - Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2013)
• UQ Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning (2011)
• UQ School of Economics Teaching Excellence Award winner (2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017)
• UQ School of Economics Distinguished Teaching Award winner (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)
• Nominee for UniJobs’ Lecturer of the Year Award (2010)

Funded Projects

• Sherwood, C.W, & Anand, P. (2023). “Students’ contextualised storytelling within contemporary assessment practices in higher education”, HERDSA Grant - $4,990
• Sherwood, C.W. (2021). “Development of an online test bank of questions to assess student learning in Introductory Statistics for Social Sciences (ECON1310)”, AAUT Grant - $25,000.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2021). “Expanding of an online test bank of questions to assess student learning in Introductory Microeconomics (ECON1010)”, UQ School of Economics Grant - $24,270.
• Lodge, J., Gowlett, C., McLay, K., McKimmie, B., Bevan, A., Knibbe, R., Langfield, T., Sherwood, C.W., & Hillock, P.W. (2019). “Maximising the pedagogical benefits of video for engagement and learning”, UQ Teaching Innovation Grant - $82,204.
• Baldock, T., Murzi, H., Callaghan, D., Cossu, R., Gibbes, B., & Sherwood, C.W. (2017). “The Cloud Room: Enhancing flexible learning pathways via a user-demand driven timetabling model and improved online learning resources”, Faculty of Engineering, Architecture & Information Technology (EAIT) Grant - $6,000.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2016). “Initiating research into how first year undergraduate university students’ own contextualised storytelling can help them make sense of statistics”, AAUT Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning - $10,000.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2012). “The Freaky Fish App”, UQ BEL Faculty/UniQuest Pty Ltd Pathfinder Proof-of-concept Grant - $15,000.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2010). “Development of online Scenario Based Learning (SBLi) interactive scenarios for teaching techniques to solve statistical problems in introductory economics courses”, New Staff Start-up Grant for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning - $11,749.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2009). “An interactive eLearning and Story Based Teaching method for Statistics Students – a pedagogical investigation”, UQ Strategic Grant for Teaching & Learning - $26,567.

Other outputs (in THE Campus - Times Higher Education)

• Sherwood, C.W., & Raiti, J. (2024). Connecting adult learning principles, assessment and academic integrity.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2024). An assessment design that promotes learning and academic integrity.
• Raiti, J., & Sherwood, C.W. (2023). Tips for adopting the right technology for blended learning.
• Sherwood, C.W., & Raiti, J. (2023).Tips for Teachers who are new to blended learning.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2022). Using storytelling to make introductory statistics less scary: a contextualised approach.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2022). How to use storytelling-based assessment to increase student confidence.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2022). Recruiting university tutors using an interactive group activity.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2022). Let’s get professional: advice for new university teachers.
• Sherwood, C.W. (2022). Tips for Teaching MBA students.

Dr Sowmya Shetty is a teaching focussed academic at The University of Queensland. Currently she is Senior Lecturer and serves as Discipline Lead - Oral Biosciences and as Director for Teaching & Learning at the School of Dentistry.

In her most recent role as Lecturer in Interprofessional Education at Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences, she coordinated a first year large cross faculty course called HLTH1000 (Professional, People and Healthcare) and led the HaBS faculty-based Interprofessional Education curriculum, embedded into approx. 40 undergraduate and postgraduate offerings,in 2024, within multiple programs at the faculty. This IPCP team recently won a HABS Teaching Award for Programs that Enhance Learning in 2024.

Sowmya led the Early Years Experiential Learning In Dentistry team that won a University Award for Programs that Enhance Learning (APEL) in 2023. Sowmya was part of the UQ Dental Clinical Simulation Team led by Dr Jessica Zachar which won a HABS Excellence in Clinical and Professional Skills Education (ECLiPSE) Award in 2022, for independantly designing and implementing a sustainable, novel dentally relevant emergency training module dental students at UQ. She also has a HABS Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (COCSL) for her teaching practice and the support of learning that influences, motivates and inspires students to learn, utilising authentic simulation and engagement strategies to foster critical thinking approaches and motivate dental students towards life-long learning.

She is currently focussed on student partnerships for improving course design, assessment and feedback, and is motivated to improve clinical and observational placement experiences for students especially in interprofessional education. She is currently working on creating open educational resources in collaboration with year 1-3 course coordinators with a view to co-design custom open access textbooks for UQ dentistry courses. These are being developed with student partner contribution and feedback, via Student Staff Partnership grants through UQ.

Her research interests stemming from her PhD primarily focussed on dental materials testing, especially methodology. She worked to understand dentine permeability and its relationship to both tooth sensitivity and dentine bonding effectiveness; virtual surface mapping in tooth wear; CAD/CAM, fatigue test design and evaluation; fracture surface analysis and failure forecasting. Dental Materials is a primary focus of her teaching portfolio in the early years of the dentistry curriculum.

Dr Lynda Shevellar joined The University of Queensland in 2009. Based in the School of Social Science, Lynda won an early career award for teaching excellence in 2011, a University of Queensland Award for Teaching Excellence in 2019 and an Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2019). She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the Principal Practitioner - Participation and Engagement (Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation), and is currently one of the Deputy Associate Deans (Academic) for the HASS Faculty. Lynda has previously held roles in government and the community sector and is influenced by over thirty years of experience in community development, the disability sector, mental health, education, and psychology.

Lynda's research explores three closely aligned agendas: understanding the experience of people who live with heightened vulnerability; developing the awareness, agency and capacity of communities to respond to social disadvantage and inequality; and aligning community development theory and education to inform practice in working alongside people who live with heightened vulnerability. Lynda has a particular interest in the development of inclusive learning communities, through creative teaching practices, participative research strategies, and engaged citizenship.

Lynda coordinates the courses SOSC2288: Community Development - Local and International Practice; and SOCY1070: Inequality, Society and the Self.

Heather attained her Bachelor of Technology degree in food engineering from Massey University. She then spent 10 years in gelatine manufacture in various roles including quality assurance, production management and process improvement engineering. In 2015 she completed her PhD study into the rheology of biopolymer soft particle suspensions, supervised by Professor Jason Stokes at the University of Queensland. She has since continued at UQ in postdoctoral roles investigating the relationship between rheological properties, food structure and sensory perception of real food products and model soft particle suspensions with a focus on dairy protein systems. The key outcomes from the project have allowed our industry partner to move towards the rational design of food products.

With a strong foundation in food science, fermentation, analytical chemistry, and sustainable food systems, Jiahua’s work focuses on microbial transformation of natural food into high-value functional food products using advanced fermentation technologies, including food grade fermentation and solid-state fermentation. Her research helps address critical industry challenges such as food waste reduction, upcycling of processing residues, development of novel food ingredients, and improvement of nutritional profiles in food and beverage products. Another key focus of Jiahua’s role is developing innovative food products and conducting shelf life testing. She transforms novel ideas into market-ready products by carefully balancing functionality, nutrition, sensory quality, and commercial feasibility.

Jiahua has led and contributed to numerous nationally and internationally funded research projects, collaborating with food industry partners, government agencies, and research institutions across Australia, China, Singapore, and Denmark. Her translational research supports industry needs in product innovation, ingredient development, and sustainable processing. Since 2015, Jiahua has attracted 6 research grants (>1.2 million) as chief investigator (lead CI and/or co-CI).

Jiahua recently secured a $5.6 million research project in May 2025 as the Lead Chief Investigator for “Premium Oat Innovations: Developing High-Value Oat-Based Food Products for Emerging Markets.” This project aims to create innovative, oat-based solutions tailored to evolving global consumer needs, with a strong focus on nutrition, sensory quality, and market differentiation.