Morgan Tear is a behavioural scientist with over a decade of experience translating behavioural insights into practical solutions for social policy challenges. He specialises in understanding human behaviour at multiple levels—individual, organisational, and systemic—to design interventions that are well-targeted and more likely to succeed.
Morgan’s expertise spans behavioural science, public policy, applied psychology, and systems thinking. As the inaugural manager of Queensland’s Behavioural Economics and Research Team (BERT), he led the development of the state’s first central agency behavioural insights unit, delivering research-based projects that shaped policy, program design, and reform initiatives.
Morgan collaborates with a diverse range of stakeholders, including policymakers, academics, practitioners, government departments, think tanks, and not-for-profits. He is passionate about advancing best-practice principles for behavioural science, scaling and implementing social innovations, and improving research translation practices to meet the demands of complex policy environments.
Morgan’s work at the Centre for Policy Futures focuses on Work Futures and Economic Security, where he continues to bridge the gap between evidence and implementation.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Protein trafficking in disease
The highly co-ordinated movement of the thousands of distinct membrane proteins between the cell surface and intracellular compartments is a critical factor in health and disease. This movement controls the organisation of cells in tissues and communication between cells and their environment. The success of this process depends on the regulated sorting and trafficking of proteins within the highly dynamic endosomal compartments of the cell in processes that are emerging as important drivers of neurodegenerative disease, cancer and metabolic pathologies. An understanding of how endosomal traffic is regulated, and how lysosomal traffic and degradation are modulated, is critical for providing insights into disease and devising new therapeutic approaches.
Major Undergraduate Teaching Activity
SBMS Honours Convenor (BBiomed, BAdvcSci (Cell Biology and Biomedical Science majors) & BSci (Cell Biology and Biomedical Science majors)
SBMS Honours Coordinator (BIOM6191 & BIOM6192)
BIOL2200 – Molecular Cell Biology I Lecturer and practical cooridinator
BIOL3006 – Molecular Cell Biology II Lecturer
Student Supervisor for Research Projects in Biomedical Sciences (SCIE3220/1 or Honours)
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Affiliate of Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation
Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Dr Tebyetekerwa is an ARC DECRA Fellow and Sub-Group Leader at UQ Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation and ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Electrochemical Transformation of Carbon Dioxide(GETCO2), working with Professor Xiwang Zhang. His current main research interests at UQ School of Chemical Engineering rotate around water and electrochemical systems such as electrochemical CO2 capture and conversion to valuable chemicals and electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide and/or hydrogen. He is deeply interested in designing scalable and industry-relevant chemical cells and generators. He completed his PhD from The Australian National University (ANU), where his research focused on optical spectroscopy and advanced characterization of semiconducting materials and their devices (Supervised by Prof Dan Macdonald, A/Prof. Dr. Hieu T. Nguyen and Prof. Yuerui (Larry) Lu). Dr Tebyetekerwa also holds a Master's in Materials Processing Engineering from Donghua University, Shanghai, where his research focused on fibrous materials for flexible energy storage (Supervised by Academician Meifang Zhu and A/Prof Shengyuan Yang). Mike supervises projects for undergraduate, master's, and PhD students on topics related to the following research interests;
Scalable electrochemical production of hydrogen peroxide and/or hydrogen from water*
Scalable electrochemical CO2 capture and reduction to valuable chemicals*
Reconstructed graphite for sodium-ion batteries
High surface area electrospun fibre materials for various applications
Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecules and their engineered applications
Light-matter understanding of 2D materials and other semiconductor materials for optoelectronics*
*Currently funded and active ongoing projects
Featured works
2022: His work on 2D materials (https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(21)00213-7) was selected in the Cell Reports Physical Science “Influential papers-2021” and "Editor's Choice-2021" collection.
2021: His works (https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2017/sc/c8ee02607f) and other co-authored works (https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.abb8687), ( https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2017.11.012 ) are listed as "Highly Cited Papers" and "Hot Papers" in Web of Science.
2020:His work on nanofibers has continuously been listed as one of the highly cited articles for Advanced Fiber Materials (https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-020-00049-5), since it was published to date.
2019:His work on nanofibers ( https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.7b00057 ) was listed as the most-read article for ACS Applied Energy Materials in 2018.
In addition to his research, Mike lectures Sustainable Energy Technologies and Supply Systems (ENGY7000) course as part of the Master of Sustainable Energy (MSE) program.
School of Political Science and International Studies
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Sarah Teitt is an Australian Research Council DECRA Senior Research Fellow and Deputy Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect in the School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland. The Asia Pacific Centre for R2P is a joint initiative of the University of Queensland and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to deepen knowledge and advance policy on R2P and mass atrocities prevention in the Asia Pacific region. Sarah’s research focusses on Chinese foreign policy in relation to international intervention, peacebuilding and humanitarian emergency response, and on the politics of genocide and mass atrocity prevention in the Asia Pacific region.
Sarah was a founding member of the APR2P Centre’s management team in 2008. From 2009-mid 2012 she served as the Centre’s Outreach Director, and was responsible for managing the Centre's regional partnerships, as well as developing and delivering training and education programs on mass atrocities prevention for government, civil society and academic institutions in the Asia Pacific region.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Parenting and Family Support Centre
Parenting and Family Support Centre
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Curriculum Development Leader
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Cassie Tellegen is the Curriculum Development Leader at the PFSC. She is responsible for updating and creating Triple P training materials. Cassie is a clinical psychologist and board approved clinical supervisor who completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology in 2013 at UQ. Her research and clinical work has focused on developmental disabilities with a special interest in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her research in clinical psychology and behavioural family intervention has been cited extensively. In particular, her comprehensive meta-analyses have received wide international recognition.
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
I was awarded my PhD in biomedical engineeering in January 2011; and since then I have been employed at the University of Queensland as a lecturer in Electrical & Biomedical Engineering a within the school of IT and Electrical Engineering. I am trained as a biomedical engineer, and my overarching interest is the development of novel medical diagnostic tools and therapies with the goal improving the health outcomes of people in Australia and globally. My current research is focussed on the application of electronic instrumentation, mathematical modelling and signal's processing to pediatric and adult respiratroy and sleep medicine medicine, and I regard my research strength to be the ability to bridge the gap between clinical physiology and biomedical engineering. In particular:
The development of novel instrumentation and mathematical modelling to better understand the physiology underlying disease; and
The application of engineering and mathematics to translate recent advances in the understanding of physiology to the clinical environment
My current research themes include:
Quantifying ("phenoyping") the contribution of ventilatory control "loop gain" to obstructive sleep apnoea in the clinical environment
Development of novel instrumentation to quantify head and torso posuture during sleep, and it's influence on obstructive sleep apnoea severity
Developing novel actigraphy systems (using high temporal resolution accelerometry) to quantify sleep disturbance in children
Quantifying cardio-respiratory stability in pre-term neonates
Since 2019, I am also the Deputy Associate Dean Academic (First Year) in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Wubshet is an accredited pharmacist, lecturer, and Mental Health First Aid Instructor at the University of Queensland’s Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences. He also holds an Affiliate Research Fellow position at the University of Sydney School of Pharmacy. Currently, he is a course coordinator for Pharmacy Practice and Medicines Management in the BPharm (Hons) program.
He completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania in 2019. Following that, he held postdoctoral researcher roles at the University of Canberra and University of Sydney, where he coordinated multiple government- and industry-funded clinical trials.
Wubshet's research primarily centres around understanding medication and patient outcomes in individuals with chronic diseases, with a special emphasis on kidney diseases. In collaboration with several researchers and stakeholders in Australia, Wubshet has attracted ~$2.1 million in grant funding. Currently, he is actively involved as an investigator in a large-scale cluster randomised trial (ACTRN12622000329763) funded by the Medical Research Future Fund and led by the University of Sydney. This trial is investigating the effectiveness of a community pharmacy-led point-of-care screening in improving the detection of chronic kidney disease and quality use of medicines.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Professor Susan Tett is a registered pharmacist with research interests in Quality Use of Medicines (improving how medicines are used) and clinical pharmacokinetics (optimising medicine doses)
Sue completed her PhD in 1988. Since this time she has been in research positions and in academia at Sydney University, St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney and at the University of Queensland. She has over 150 peer reviewed research publications and over 200 conference presentations and is on Editorial Board of Clinical Pharmacokinetics. Sue was Head of the School of Pharmacy, University of Queensland 1996-2004 and Deputy Executive Dean & Associate Dean Research for the Faculty of Health Sciences 2006-2010, including periods as Acting Executive Dean.
Susan Tett has been a member of many Australian national and State advisory committees, including Pharmaceutical Health and Rational use of Medicines Committee 1996-2004, Pharmaceutical Sub-Committee of the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee 1995-2004, Pharmaceutical Industry Working Group 2003-10 , Pharmaceutical Partnerships Program Committee of the Industry Research & Development Board 2003-09, and has participated in NHMRC Project Grant Review Panels and Fellowships Panels. She was also Councillor for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (Queensland Branch) and was the Australian Pharmacist of the Year in 1999, for her contributions to pharmacy education and research.
Sue’s research interests are directed towards optimising the clinical use of medications. General areas of research include quality use of medicines, clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Sue supervises a number of postgraduate students and is actively involved in innovation in the pharmacy profession, pushing the professional boundaries. She is committed to enhancing the role of the health care team in optimising consumer health outcomes.
Dr Phong Thai is an ARC Mid-Career Industry Fellow. Phong joined Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) in 2018 after his Vice Chancellor Senior Research Fellowship at the International Laboratory of Air Quality and Health at Queensland University of Technology. His research focus at QAEHS involves the expansion of wastewater-based epidemiological approach to estimate community consumption and exposure to a range of licit and illicit substances including tobacco and alcohol, pharmaceuticals and as well as the monitoring of community infection to Covid-19 during the last pandemic. He is a member of the team who manage the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program.
Phong is also working on projects monitoring occurence, fate and transport of environmental pollutants in different matrices. He has lso far ed or contributed to several exciting projects totalling > A$ 15 millions.
Affiliate of Centre for Communication and Social Change
Centre for Communication and Social Change
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Senior Lecturer in Communication
School of Communication and Arts
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
JT or JAGADISH THAKER (Ph.D., George Mason University) is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland. He is an affiliate researcher with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. His research examines ways to understand and enhance public, business, and policy engagement with climate change and public health.
Dr. Thaker is the Associate Editor of the 3 Volumes of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Climate Change Communication (2018), Oxford University Press, Co-Editor of International Trends in Environmental Communication (2021), Routledge, and Author of Corporate Communication on Climate Change: Villains, Victims, and White Knights (2025), Routledge.
Dr. JT Thaker has received over $1.01 million in funding as a PI or a Co-PI from the government (MBIE, National Science Challenges) and other private organisations.
His research was covered by over 1000 media outlets, including The Guardian, The New York Times, Reuters, CNN, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New Zealand Herald, and The Hindu. He has appeared several times on national TV and radio in New Zealand. His research was featured by the Royal Society of New Zealand.
He has won several awards, including the 2022 Golden Anniversary Monograph Award from the National Communication Association, the 2023 and 2022 Top Paper Awards in Environmental Communication from the International Communication Association, the 2021 Outstanding PhD Aulmus from the George Mason University’s Department of Communication, Massey Business School’s Excellence in Research award, and the Top 40 under 40 inspiring teachers award from The Indian Express, a leading newspaper in India. His co-edited book, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Climate Change Communication, was a finalist in the Association of American Publishers’ 2019 PROSE Award.
He has served as an expert reviewer or jury for the National Geographic Society, Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC), European Science Foundation, and Health Research Council New Zealand, among other funding agencies.
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Research Officer
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Nanotechnology revolutionizes the trends in biomedical applications. In particular, nanomaterial-based cancer treatment and immunotherapy are hot topics of interest. By paying attention to the molecular-level details of cancer as well as the changes in the tumor microenvironment, novel nanoparticles can be designed (for example: for in-situ capture of generated tumour associated antigens (TAA) and for the regulation of macrophage phenotypes) for treating cancer. Oral delivery of nanotherapeutics and nanovaccine is another topic of broad interest that can maximize patient comfort, reduce medical expenses and reduce complications in administration. In this regard, nanomaterials can be carefully designed to overcome the challenges in the oral delivery of drugs, adjuvants, and genetic materials. Cutting-edge nanotechnology and nanochemistry are combined to develop silica-based delivery systems for cancer vaccines or cancer treatment.
Shevanuja Theivendran finished her bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Mississippi, USA, with 3 years of research experience in synthesizing and characterizing Gold Nanomaterials. During her bachelor's degree, she got a wonderful opportunity to associate with a world-leading expert in the field of crystallization, Prof. Allan Myerson from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, USA, as a research intern. She was also awarded Taylor Medal in 2016, the university's highest academic award which is awarded as a recognition for her meritorious studies. Thereafter, she got admitted to the Ph.D. program at UQ with the prestigious RTP scholarship in 2018. Shevanuja did her Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Chengzhong Yu, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), focusing on the design of nanoparticles for the capture and delivery of in-situ generated tumour associated antigens (TAA) and the regulation of tumor microenvironment for cancer immunotherapy. She is currently working as a post-doctoral research fellow at AIBN, the University of Queensland. Her current research focuses on the development of nanomaterial-based oral DNA vaccine in collaboration with N4 Pharma and the development of novel nanoplatforms for the regulation of tumor microenvironment by targeting different components of cancer and its microenvironment for cancer treatment.