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My list of publications exhibits a multifaceted exploration of the law. Spanning across different topics, as stated above, my research sits at the intersection of society, public policy, and the law. Exploring the traditional boundaries of doctrinal law and its theoretical foundations in relation to emerging and new societal challenges, my research unites several strands of legal inquiry linked to social justice and equality.

Fitsum is an economist and social scientist focused on sustainable human development effects of economic activities including those related to extractive resources, infrastructure, and industrial development. He is internationally recognised for his work on the potential for resource-rich countries to utilise the inter-sectoral linkages with the extractive sector for economic transformation, and the role of policy makers and industry actors in achieving it. He is particularly passionate about harmonizing the interplay between state intervention and market dynamics, and optimizing the opportunities related to the interface between extractive minerals and the transition to clean energy for harnessing sustainable energy solutions.

Having started his career in economics and finance in government and banking sector, Fitsum applied his development economics and political science training in his role as researcher with the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at SMI between 2011 and 2016. In this role, he conducted applied research on fiscal and non-fiscal contribution of large-scale mining, impact of extractives on political settlements and conflict, mining and sub-regional development, engaging the private sector for inclusive extractive industries, artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) and formalisation efforts, extractive industries transparency and governance, social license in technology design, resettlement and livelihoods, and social aspects of mine closure. He has also delivered capacity building programs to practitioners, policy makers and key stakeholder groups from several countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Topics included connecting mining to human development outcomes, managing the social and environmental impacts of mining, community research methods, and resource governance.

Fitsum then took the role of Senior Researcher with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in London from 2016 to 2019. In this role, he led ASM action dialogue programmes, overseeing research to support the national dialogues in Tanzania, Ghana and Madagascar. He also led and conducted a series of research activities to inform decisions by more than 60 member countries of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (IGF).

More recently, Fitsum worked as an independent senior research consultant; and Senior Social Specialist for GHD in Australia. In addition to applied and academic research and capacity building experience, he has delivered presentations and guest speaking in numerous global conferences and workshops.

Associate Professor James Wells leads the Novel Cancer Therapeutics Group at Frazer Institute and is the Director of Immunology at the Dermatology Research Centre, University of Queensland. He is also the Vice President of the Molecular and Experimental Pathology Society of Australasia (MEPSA), and a mentee of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS). He received his PhD in cancer immunotherapy from King's College London, UK, and postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School, USA, where he received an award for research excellence and was promoted to Faculty as an Instructor. In 2011, he was awarded a prestigious 5-year Perpetual Trustees Fellowship and was appointed as a Group Leader at the University of Queensland’s Frazer Institute.

Associate Professor Wells is passionate about delivering effective new treatments to combat cancer through the translation of his research. To achieve this, he collaborates with medicinal chemists, imaging specialists, clinical research teams and industry partners to identify and target pathways and mechanisms that allow cancer cells to grow within the body.

In collaboration with the Queensland Emory Drug Discovery Initiative, he has recently developed and patented a drug (Q2361) designed to prevent and treat skin cancer in immune-suppressed solid organ transplant recipients. Q2361 is a first-in-class drug candidate capable of reactivating anti-tumour CD8 T cells in the skin of organ transplant recipients on the immunosuppressive drugs Tacrolimus (FK506), Sirolimus (rapamycin), and Everolimus. He is currently striving to bring Q2361 across the ‘valley of death’ and into clinical trials.

James would like to thank the granting bodies and philanthropic partnerships that make his goal of delivering new and effective cancer drugs possible.

Dr Timothy Wells joined the Frazer Institute in 2016 as a Senior Research Fellow. His research aims to find novel methods of treating multi-drug resistant bacteria, by examing the interactions between the host immune system and Gram negative bacteria. His research largely focuses on Pseudomonas aeruginosa acute and chronic infections, espeically in people living with cystic fibrosis. Dr Wells is passionate about making his research as clinically relevant as possible, with his work previously having led to novel treatment of critically ill patients. His research uses a mixture of molecular microbiology, immunology and genomic approaches.

Dr Han Weng is an emerging global leader in soil carbon research. His track record of interdisciplinary, innovative and high-quality research is outstanding for his early career stage. Dr Weng has 20 peer-reviewed papers (eight published since joining UQ in 2020) featuring in the highest impact journals of his research field, particularly those focused on environmental sciences and soil science. His first-author publications feature in Nature Climate Change (IF 25.3), Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology (IF 12.6), Science of the Total Environment (IF 8.0), and Soil Biology and Biochemistry (IF 7.6). To date, he has been cited over 530 times, and has an h-index of 10, and has a Field-Weighted Citation Impact factor of 2.82 (SciVal). This indicates that his papers are being cited 2.82 times more than the world average for publications of the same age and discipline. His achievement also includes one Highly Cited Paper as the first author in Nature Climate Change, which ranks in the top 1% in the field of environmental sciences, and the most downloaded article in 2021 (10,419 times) in Global Change Biology Bioenergy (IF 4.8).

Dr Weng has challenged the existing body of research on soil carbon. His research fills an important gap for maintaining agricultural productivity and mitigating climate change in the absence of a clear national strategy for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Dr Weng’s outstanding contribution to the food and agriculture sector has been recognised through cross-disciplinary awards and competitive prizes, including 2014 Soil Science Australia Best oral presentation under 35 years of age and 2016 New Initiative Grant Research Fellow, Charles Sturt University.

I hold a joint position with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as the Lead of the Water Pollution Program ( wcs.org/water-pollution) and with UQ as a Senior Research Fellow within the School of the Environment and the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (https://cbcs.centre.uq.edu.au/). My role at WCS involves co-developing strategic approaches to pollution assessment, monitoring, and management that integrate scientific insights to guide country programs effectively. My research at UQ identifies and critically assesses management gaps and conservation solutions to address water pollution and deliver co-benefits for nature and people. Paramount to all of my research is an interdisciplinary approach that emphasises the ecological and social connectivity of systems and the need for cross-sector collaboration.

Educated at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and the Australian National University, Canberra. Career at the Université de Lausanne, Switzerland, and the Universität Marburg, Germany. Professor and Chair of Organic Chemistry and Head of the Organic Chemistry Section, The University of Queensland from 1985. Emeritus professor from 2008. Chair of the National Committee for Chemistry of the Australian Academy of Science 2009-2014. Editor-in-Chief, Australian Journal of Chemistry 2008-15. Editor, Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis (Elsevier, IF 3.65) 2016-. Visiting Professor Université de Pau, France, 2011-19; Visiting Professor University of Kuwait 2014-18; Visiting Professor / Special Appointed Professor Hiroshima University 2014-18. Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. Centenary Medal of the Australian Commonwealth 2003 for research in organic and physical chemistry. David Craig Medal of the Academy of Science 2014 for research in chemistry. JSPS Fellowship (Japan) 2014. Honorary doctorate, University of Pau, France, 2014. A.J. Birch Medal of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) for ecellence in research in organic chemistry, 2014. Leighton Medal of the RACI 2018.

Research on Unusual Molecules and Reactive Intermediates: Synthesis and Reaction Mechanism. Heterocyclic chemistry. Pyrolysis reactions. Photochemistry

Research in the Wentrup group is concerned with the discovery of novel types of molecules with new and unusual bonding patterns. Such molecules are mostly highly reactive, and special methods are required both for their generation and for their detection. The group has developed these methods over many years and acquired world-class equipment for these purposes, including flash vacuum thermolysis apparatus, cryostats for matrix isolation of reaction products at cryogenic temperatures (down to 7 K), matrix and solution photochemistry equipment, infrared, UV and mass spectrometers, as well as modern computational facilities.

This research has resulted in the synthesis and characterization of many novel compounds, including extended cumulenes of the types RN=C=C=C=X, which themselves are used in the synthesis of many novel types of molecules, some of them of potential pharmaceutical interest (quinolone antibiotics; diazepines).

The research group has a world reputation in the field of carbene and nitrene chemistry, involving reactive intermediates with sextet carbon or nitrogen. These species are also very useful in synthesis, for example in the preparation of diazepines and diazepinones, a family of pharmaceutically interesting compounds. Numerous mechanistic studies and synthetic applications of ketenes have been carried out in our group.

Active collaborations are ongoing with scientists in Australia (UQ and CSIRO), China (Suzhou), France (Pau), Germany (Oldenburg), Japan (Hiroshima), Spain (Donostia - San Sebastian), and Portugal (Coimbra).

Professor Roger Wepf is the Director of the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM) and leads the UQ node of Microscopy Australia. His career spans decades at the forefront of high-resolution imaging in electron microscopy, structural biology, and advanced analytical workflows of material science, with previous leadership roles at ETH Zurich and in the EMBL Heidelberg Physical Instrumentation R&D group. At UQ, he has driven the development of multimodal and correlative microscopy approaches, integrating light microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray fluorescence microscopy, imaging mass spectrometry and advanced data management. Professor Wepf has been instrumental in developing cryo sample preparation tools and correlative workflows that are now used globally and marketed by well-known suppliers in the electron microscopy field. He also established with NewSpec/Hitachi the Inspire outreach program in QLD, delivering a desktop SEM to local schools to train the next generation of curious scientific minds. He has played a key role in building NRICH’s capabilities for large-scale mineral, biological, and materials characterisation, combining state-of-the-art instrumentation with innovative workflows and data integration pipelines that adhere to FAIR/FAIR-CARE principles.

Professor Wepf’s research bridges academic and industry needs, from localisation of biomolecules at the nanoscale to the characterisation of beam- and environment-sensitive materials critical for quantum technologies, catalysis, and battery development. His leadership has fostered partnerships with global instrumentation companies and industry collaborators to co-develop new imaging hardware, detectors, and workflows. He is a founding member of two scientific journals, most recently Methods in Microscopy with De Gruyter, a community-focused open access journal advancing method development and dissemination in the microscopy field. He has also initiated strategic programs such as the Pitschi data repository and multimodal segmentation projects, enabling the Australian research community to manage, share, and analyse large datasets at scale. Professor Wepf’s commitment to mentoring and training ensures that the next generation of scientists are skilled in applying advanced microscopy to solve problems in energy, health, minerals, and materials science. He also established with NewSpec/ Hitachi the Inpsire outreach program in QLD delivering a desktop SEM to local schools to train next generation of curious scientific minds

Maiden name: Ellen Maree Leslie

Dr Ellen Wessel is a Research Fellow in the School of Public Health, with backgrounds in both public health and criminology. Her research interests include women's health, alcohol and other drug use, and policing.

Associate Professor West is a molecular microbiologist, expert in bacterial pathogenesis. He is Head of “Tuberculosis Research” in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, University of Queensland. Nick has a particular interest in drug development for TB. His research utilises modern molecular technologies to identify the genetic requirements for Mycobacterium tuberculosis to cause Tuberculosis (TB) with these genetic discoveries translated into novel antibiotic therapies. Research within his group falls largely into one of the following four themes: Essential Gene Identification in M. tuberculosis, Understanding TB Latency, Targeted TB Drug Development and Improving TB Vaccination.

Nick conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London. Returning to Australia in 2004, he spent several years at Sydney’s Centenary Institute as an Associate Faculty member before relocating to University of Queensland in 2012. In addition to drug development, Nick’s research portfolio includes programmes of vaccine and diagnostic development and testing.

Dr. Zoe West, a Research Fellow at the Queensland Centre for Gynaecological Cancer within UQ's Centre for Clinical Research, specialising in vulvar cancer. Her primary objective is to minimise surgical interventions and enhance patient outcomes. Dr. West employs state-of-the-art three-dimensional imaging in her research to gain deeper insights into the intricacies of vulvar cancer.

Rani is a Biripi woman from the mid-north coast of NSW and a Research Fellow with the University of Queensland, Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. She is currently working for the ATLAS Indigenous Primary Care Surveillance Network, developed in partnership with Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations to better explain the longstanding disparity in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses (BBVs) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Rani holds a PhD from Bond University in complex research methodologies and advanced human biomechanics, specifically in high-performance swimming. She has collaborated as a PhD Scholar with the Queensland Academy of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport to deliver research outcomes that inform training practice and performance in elite programs across Australia. As an early career researcher, Rani possesses an evolving research profile and is passionate about data transparency, Indigenous data sovereignty and governance, and meaningful real-world application. Through her work, Rani is committed to fostering culturally sensitive collaborations, inclusive health solutions, and advancing health equity within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

I am an Australian Research Council Future Fellow working in the field of bioarchaeology in Australia and New Guinea.