Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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From 2020 Andrew has led research development at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre (Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital). Topics including clinical outcome measures, service evaluation and strategic planning, clinical trials employing pain education, opioid management, quantitative sensory testing and medical procedures. Current and recent projects include:
Initiating the Pelvic Exenteration Pain Management Research Collaboration in 2024: A multidisciplinary community of clinicians and researchers at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre, the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and the STARS Hospital, to study how the quality of life can be improved for people who have pelvic organs and tissues removed to manage cancer.
Collaboration with the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health, to embed multidisciplinary research and quality improvement in the co-design and implementation of collaborative care between the TCPRC- IUIH, at the Moreton Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service in Caboolture through 2023-2024.
Contributing to the non-surgical pain management stream for the NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant, for a multicentre RCT on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of lumbar fusion surgery for patients with persistent, severe low back pain: Short: FusiOn veRsus bEst coNServatIve Care (the FORENSIC trial)
The LIDOPAIN RCT in 2023: Lidocaine Infusion Dose Optimisation for Pain After Injury to Nerves, was a double-blind placebo-controlled pilot feasibility study for lidocaine infusions, with comprehensive pre-post evaluation of patient questionnaires and sensory testing profiles, to identify which patients do and to not respond to this infusion. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=382966&isReview=true
Advisor for Phoebe Ng, oral thesis defense 2024: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: Insights into health profile and paraspinal muscle activation.
Advisor for Fraser Labrom, thesis awarded 2023: Three dimensional analysis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis during growth.
Collaboration with UQ RECOVER Injury Research Centre have
Currently completing a project funded by the RBWH Foundation, to examine small nerve fibre expression acutely and subacutely after motor vehicle accident, as a marker associated with the transition from acute to chronic pain.
Developed a chatbot for providing pain education for children and for adults,
Investigated the validity of phone apps for measuring the 6-minute walk test in people with persistent pain.
Locally at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre I co-lead annual projects for
quality improvement: UQ PHRM4071 student placement and Pain Medicine Trainee projects.
audit: ePPOC annual data reporting.
systematic reviews: UQ HRSS7801 group physiotherapy student project.
From 2004-2019 Andrew's PhD and postgraduate supervision as a lecturer in physiotherapy, focussed on how the brain controls posture and movement. This included studies of sitting, standing, stepping, squatting, pushing and postural control with low back pain and with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Extending understanding of postural control continues with colleagues at QUT Biomechanics and Spine Research Group (Prof Peter Pivonka, Maree Izatt and Assoc Prof Paige Little), the UQ Schools of ITEE (Dr Pauline Pounds) and SBMS Motor Control and Pain laboratory (Assoc Prof Kylie Tucker), and with Curtin University / UWA Raine cohort study (Prof Leon Straker).
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Geoffrey Cleghorn is Deputy Head of the School of Medicine, Director International of the School of Medicine and Professor of Paeditrics
Professor Cleghorn is a graduate of the University of Queensland Medical School and undertook postgraduate training in paediatric gastroenterology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto Canada. Following his training he entered academic practice within University of Queensland at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane.
Professor Cleghorn has published more than 90 manuscripts and book chapters and is a seasoned lecturer and public speaker on a number of infant related issues including perinatal and paediatric nutrition. His research interests include the use of energy expenditure and body composition analysis in a number of disease states including chronic liver disease, cystic fibrosis, and general nutritional rehabilitation. He has been the recipient of a number of research grants from national and international granting bodies including the Australian Research Council, the National Health & Medical Research Council from Australia and the National Institutes of Health from the USA.
Professor Cleghorn has developed an extensive network of associations throughout Asia and hence has a very high profile within this region. He is a frequent, invited visitor to countries throughout Asia and has spoken on a number of nutritional and gastrointestinal topics during these visits. This profile has enabled Professor Cleghorn to be formally appointed to the Academic Teaching Staff of the Department of Child Health, University of Indonesia as a visiting Professor, to become involved in several multinational trials in S.E. Asia, and has seen a number of trainees travel to Brisbane to further their paediatric gastrointestinal and nutritional studies with him and his colleagues.
Professor Cleghorn has been a member of the well respected, Queensland Liver Transplant Service from its inception in 1985 until the present day. He has been involved in many of the historical and seminal advances in paediatric liver transplantation including the world’s first successful living related donor liver transplant and the development of the liver cut down technique now universally known as the “Brisbane Technique”. Research from the QLTS has highlighted the importance of nutrition in these patients and again is now acknowledged internationally.
Professor Cleghorn has had extensive collaborative experience with all levels of industry from the conduct of commissioned trials for regulatory approval to board room advice. He has been on the medical advisory boards of the peak meat industry body in Australia and Gerber Australasia. He has had extensive experience within the broader Asian region providing advice to the regional medical office for Mead Johnson Nutritionals.
His memberships include the Queensland Paediatric Society, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, the North American Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition. In addition, he also holds the following positions:
President – The Asian and Pacific Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition
President - The Federation of International Societies of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Executive Councilor, The International Pediatric Transplantation Association
Editorial Board, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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David is a Consultant Paediatrician, Metabolic Physician, Clinical Geneticist and clinician researcher. His area of expertise is the diagnosis and management of children with rare diseases. David is involved in multiple ongoing research projects aimed at novel disease discovery, improved diagnostic testing and treatments for children with inherited genetic disorders. He is director of a national clinic for Ataxia Telangiectasia brashat.org.au and has recently been awarded a $2.5 million NHMRC research grant for a phase 2/3 trial for treatment of this disorder.
Affiliate of Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHeR)
Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor - CBEH
Centre for the Business and Economics of Health
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
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Luke Connelly is Professor of Health Economics at the Centre for the Business and Economics of Health. He also holds a Professorial appointment (part-time) at The University of Bologna, to which he was appointed in 2017 via the Italian “Direct Call” (link) process. In 2019 he was appointed as Honorary Professor at The University of Sydney. His main interests are in health economics and insurance economics and the effects of institutions (including legal constructs) on incentives and behaviour. He has also worked in other fields of applied microeconomics, including education economics and transport economics. His publications include papers in Review of Income and Wealth, Health Economics, Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Risk and Insurance, Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance, Accident Analysis and Prevention, Journal of Law and Medicine, Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, European Journal of Health Economics, International Journal of Health Economics and Finance, Social Science and Medicine, Economic Papers, Economic Analysis and Policy, Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, Labour Economics, Economics and Human Biology as well as in a range of clinical journals, including Lancet.
Luke has served on a number of public committees including the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC), which advises the Australian Minister for Health on the safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of new and extant listings on Australia's Medicare Benefits Schedule. He has extensive service on other public committees and taskforces as well as extensive teaching and consulting engagements with industry. Over his career he has been a chief investigator on research grants and contracts totalling more than $67m. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of European Journal of Health Economics and the International Journal on Environmental Research and Public Health. He is a member of the International Health Economics Association's Arrow Awards Committee, which awards an annual prize in honour of Nobel Laureate Kenneth Arrow for the best paper in the field. He is currently Guest Editor (with Christophe Courbage) on a Special Issue of the Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance on Insurance and Emerging Health Risks.
His current research interests include health service innovations to improve the health of people with chronic kidney disease(CKD). Ongoing interests include the economics of disability and insurance, compensable injury compensation schemes, and the determinants of health. Luke enjoys and has considerable experience teaching economics and health economics at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. In 2014 he was awarded the School of Economics Distinguished Teaching Award for his teaching on UQ's Master of Health Economics Program. In July 2016 and July 2019 he also taught summer schools in Health Economics and the Economics of Insurance at The University of Lucerne, Switzerland.
Over the past 10 years he has been a chief investigator on grants totalling more than $70m.
Centre Director of National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research
National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research
National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research
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
Director, NCYSUR
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Jason Connor is a Professor of Clinical and Health Psychology in the Discipline of Psychiatry and Founding Director of the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research (2008 - 2014, 2017+) at The University of Queensland.
Professor Connor is a clinical psychologist by training and a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (APS). He has specialist membership in the APS Health and Clinical Colleges. Jason commenced his academic career after being awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council (NH&MRC) doctoral scholarship (PhD, 2002) for research into substance use disorders.
Since moving from full-time clinical practice to academia, he has successfully combined teaching responsibilities with research.
Professor Connor has won an Australian award for excellence in university teaching.
He has published over 290 peer reviewed journal papers, books and book chapters. Professor Connor has received $23 million in research funding as Chief Investigator and currently leads $2.3 million in Catergor 1 external research grants.
Professor Connor's main research focus is substance use disorders. Research areas include substance use assessment and treatment, genetic markers of alcohol and nicotine dependence, measurement of alcohol craving, novel psychological models of problem drinking and the prevention of youth substance abuse. He is a consultant for the World Health Organisation (substance use) and member of the Federal Government’s Alcohol & Drug Centres of Excellence Strategic Reference Group, which is tasked with guiding the evidenced based policy for substance use in Australia.
Professor Connor has received awards for his research (NH&MRC Career Development Fellow; Australian Psychological Society Early Career Research Award) and service to the profession of psychology (Australian Psychological Society Health College Award of Distinction).
In addition to his academic roles, he has an appointment with Queensland Health and continues to offer clinical services.
Examples of recent publications:
Connor, J.P., Stjepanović, D., Le Foll, B., Hoch, E., Budney A., Hall, W.D. (2021) Cannabis use and cannabis use disorders. NATURE REVIEWS: DISEASE PRIMERS, 25;7(1) 16.
Ahmed, F., Boogaerts, T., Bowes, D.A., van Nuijs, A.L.N., Covaci, A., Hall, W., Connor, J.P., Thomas, K.V. (2024). Enhanced estimation of the prevalence of treated mental health disorders by wastewater-based epidemiology, NATURE MENTAL HEALTH 2, 345–347.
Connor, J.P., Stjepanović, D., Budney A., Le Foll, B., Hall, W.D. (2022) Clinical Management of Cannabis Withdrawal. ADDICTION,117(7):2075-2095.
Symons, M., Feeney, G.F.X., Gallagher, M.R., Young, R.M., Connor, J.P. (2020). Predicting alcohol dependence treatment outcomes: a prospective comparative study of clinical psychologists versus 'trained' machine learning models. ADDICTION, 115(11) 2164-2175
Connor, J.P., Hall, W.D. (2018). Thresholds for safer alcohol use might need lowering. LANCET, 391(10129), 1460-1461.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Available for supervision
Louise Conwell, MBBS(HonsI) PGCert MEd (Dundee) FRACP PhD, is a Senior Staff Specialist (Eminent) in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at the Queensland Children’s Hospital, Children’s Health Queensland. Louise’s work as a Paediatric Endocrinologist involves working in a multi-disciplinary team to care for neonates, children and adolescents with a wide spectrum of endocrinologist disorders.
Louise commenced as Head of the Children's Health Queensland Clinical Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Queensland in June 2018. She is also the Acting Head of the Mayne Academy of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland.
Louise is a graduate of the University of Queensland and trained in paediatrics at the Mater Children’s Hospital, Brisbane. She then trained in paediatric endocrinology and diabetes at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane while completing a PhD at the University of Queensland. Louise undertook a post-specialty Clinical Fellowship at the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The Hospital for Sick Children, Uinversity of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Louise has a particular interest in Congenital Hyperinsulinism and other beta-cell disorders including Type 1 and Monogenic Diabetes. Her other clinical interest areas include Disorders of Sexual Differentiation and endocrine oncology. Louise currently works in the endocrine oncology clinic connected with the After Cancer Therapy Service at the Queensland Children's Hospital, Brisbane.
Louise's PhD was in the field of insulin resistance and cardiovascular risk in obese children and adolescents. Louise remains active in clinical research with grant attainment, particularly in the field of beta-cell disorders.
Louise is a member of national and international professional bodies. She is the current President (past Secretary) of the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group, serving on Council since November 2017. She also has past or present committee memberships including the Scientific Organising Committee, Clinical Fellows School Committee, Diabetes Committee, the Disorders of Sexual Differentiation Committee, Registry Committee, Research Grant Committee, Thyroid Working Group and the Cancer Survivorship Working Group).
Louise also has engagement with stakeholder groups, particularly Congenital Hyperinsulinism International. She is co-chair of the Congenital Hyperinsulinism International Collaborative Research Network - Care Guidelines and Centres of Excellence.
Louise represents the Australasian Paediatric Endocrine Group on the International Consortium of Pediatric Endocrinology (ICPE) and is co-chair of ICPE's subcommittee, the Intersociety Clinical Guidelines Committee (ICGC).
Louise has an interest in Evidence-Based Medicine, with authorship in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. She is co-Chair of the International Clinical Guidelines Committee of the International Consortium of Paediatric Endocrinology.
A further interest area includes medical ecucation, completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education (University of Dundee, Scotland) in 2017. She has facilitated and contributed to a wide range of educational activities for a variety of student, professional and community stakeholder groups in a range of contexts. Louise is a supervisor of basic and advanced paediatric trainees of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. Other roles include Supervisor, Reader and Examiner for Postgraduate Higher Degree Research students of the University of Queensland and other academic institutions in Australia.
Affiliate of Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health
Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Jeff Coombes is a Professor in the School of Human Movement Studies. He completed undergraduate degrees in applied science and education and a research Masters at the University of Tasmania before gaining a PhD from the University of Florida. After completing his PhD he returned to Australia to spend two years in an academic position at the University of Tasmania before moving to the University of Queensland in 2000.
Jeff's research interests focus on determining the optimal exercise prescription for improving health. With theoretical backgrounds in biochemistry and physiology he conducts human studies and basic science projects. His findings have emphasised the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness for health benefits and many of his current projects are using high intensity interval to improve fitness and investigate outcomes. The basic science projects are identifying the mechanisms that explain the health benefits of exercise and include work in the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems at cellular and molecular levels. He is also a passionate advocate on the importance of fitness for health and delivers many presentations to impact on public health. His research group comprises doctors, postdoctoral fellows and PhD students and uses the extensive resources of the exercise physiology and exercise biochemistry laboratories in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences.
Current research projects of the group include;
High intensity interval training in patients with chronic kidney disease
High intensity interval training in patients with metabolic syndrome
High intensity interval training in overweight and obese children and adolescents
Cardiorespiratory fitness and outcome in patients receiving a liver transplant
Multi-disciplinary lifestyle intervention in patients with chronic kidney disease
Exercise training in patients with diabetic cardiac autonomic neuropathy
Oxidative stress and antioxidant biomarkers to predict the cardiorespiratory fitness response to exercise
Molecular mechanisms of exercise cardioprotection: relations with oxidative stress
Activation of NRF2 by nutritional supplementation in patients with type 2 diabetes
Exercise-training and skeletal muscle O-glycnacylation
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Centre Director of Queensland Aphasia Research Centre (QARC)
Queensland Aphasia Research Centre
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Available for supervision
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Professor David Copland is a Speech Pathologist conducting research in the areas of aphasia, language neuroscience, psycholinguistics, and neuroimaging of normal and disordered language. He is Director of the Queensland Aphasia Research Centre (https://shrs.uq.edu.au/qarc), Co-Director of the STARS Education Research Alliance (https://metronorth.health.qld.gov.au/stars/education-research-alliance), Co-Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation and Recovery (https://www.latrobe.edu.au/research/centres/health/aphasia) and Deputy Chair of the Research and Postgraduate Studies Committee of the UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
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Dr Gary Cowin is the Facility Fellow for the Queensland Node of the National Imaging Facility (NIF) as part of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (NCRIS), based at the Centre for Advanced Imaging, The University of Queensland.
Dr Cowin's research projects are:
Ultrahigh field magnetic resonance microimaging
Simultaneous dynamic MRI and PET imaging
Multimodal MRI/PET/CT imaging
Development of magnetic resonance techniques for non-invasive determination of liver steatosis and fibrosis
Monitoring changing fat distribution in diabetes and exercise trials
Spinal cord imaging research
Prostate research
Application of ultrahigh field MRI microimaging for tissue analysis
Molecular imaging of novel contrast agents by MRI and PET
MRI zebrafish brain atlas
Lung imaging with hyperpolarized Helium in humans and animals
Investigation of the effect of gradient non-linearity on image quality
Affiliate of The Centre for Chemistry and Drug Discovery
Centre for Chemistry and Drug Discovery
Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Affiliate of Centre for Marine Science
Centre for Marine Science
Faculty of Science
Centre Director of ARC COE for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science
ARC COE for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science
Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Affiliate Professor of School of Biomedical Sciences
School of Biomedical Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
UQ Laureate Fellow - GL
Institute for Molecular Bioscience
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David Craik (AO, FRS, FAA) is in the Centre for Chemistry and Drug Discovery at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Australia. He discovered the cyclotide family of circular proteins and has characterized the structures of many animal toxins including conotoxins from cone snail venoms. He heads a research team of 35 researchers whose current work focuses on applications of circular proteins, drugs in plants, toxins and NMR in drug design.
He is author of over 810 scientific papers, including 14 in Nature publications (Nature/Nature Communications/Nature Neuoroscience/Nature Structural Biology/Nature Chemical Biology/Nature Chemistry/Scientific Reports/Nature Protocols, 1 in Science, 12 in PNAS, 9 in JACS, 3 in Chemical Reviews, and 16 in Angewandte Chemie. He has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, appointed as an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia and has received numerous awards for his research, including the Ralph F. Hirschmann Award from the American Chemical Society (2011), Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2014), GlaxoSmithKline Award for Research Excellence (2014), the Vincent du Vigneaud Award from the American Peptide Society (2015),the FAOBMB Award for Research Excellence (2015) and the Cathay Award from the Chinese Peptide Society (2018). He received the Australian Academy of Science David Craig Medal in 2023. He is an Honorary Professor of Jinan University, Guangzhou and has an Honorary Doctorate from Kalmar University in Sweden.
Biography
David Craik obtained his PhD in organic chemistry from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and undertook postdoctoral studies at Florida State and Syracuse Universities before taking up a lectureship at the Victorian College of Pharmacy in 1983. He was appointed Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Head of School in 1988. He moved to University of Queensland in 1995 to set up a new biomolecular NMR, held an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow (2015-2020) and is currently a NHMRC Fellow, as well as Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Peptide and Protein Science.
Key Discoveries
David Craik has made discoveries of new classes of proteins, generated new knowledge on their structure and function, and used this information to design and chemically re-engineer new classes of protein-based drug leads and agricultural pest control agents. In particular, his major achievements are:
the discovery of cyclotides, the largest known family of circular proteins. As well as a circular backbone, cyclotides contain a knotted arrangement of cross-linking disulfide bonds, making them remarkably stable. His discovery of these proteins was sparked in part from anecdotal reports of medicinal practices in Africa where women make a tea from the plant Oldenlandia affinis by boiling it in water and sipping it during labour to accelerate child birth. He determined the structure of the bioactive component of this medicinal tea and found that it had an unprecedented head-to-tail cyclic peptide backbone combined with a cystine knot.
the first structural and functional characterizations of prototypic circular proteins in higher organisms - Professor Craik was one of the first to recognize that other families of ribosomally synthesized cyclic peptides exist. As examples from bacteria and animals emerged, Professor Craik was at the forefront of their structural characterization, reporting the first structures of theta-defensins from animals and the threaded lasso peptide microcin J25 from bacteria, as well as new examples of cyclic peptides from plants.
the development of artificially cyclized peptide toxins as drug leads – he developed an orally active peptide that is 100 times more potent than the leading clinically used drug for neuropathic pain.
Research Training
Professor Craik has trained more than 70 PhD students. He was awarded UQ’s Research Supervision Excellence Award in 2007 on the basis of his mentoring and innovations in postgraduate training, including his “writing retreats” to mentor students and postdocs on science writing skills. He received the Institute for Molecular Bioscience Individual Leadership Award in 2019. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from Kalmar University, Sweden for his contributions to international student exchange programs, and is an Honorary Professor of Jinan University, Guangzhou.
Professional Activities
Professor Craik founded and chaired the 1st, 2nd and 3rd International Conferences on Circular Proteins (2009, 2012 and 2015) and was on the Scientific Program Committee for ISMAR 2021. He is on the Boards of six international journals, including Angewandte Chemie, ACS Chemical Biology, Chemical Biology and Drug Design, and ChemBioChem. He was on the Council of the American Peptide Society (2015-2021). He was the director two Brisbane-based biotech companies. He is on the Scientific Advisory Boards of James Cook University’s Centre for Biodiscovery and Molecular Development of Therapeutics (BMDT), the University of Wollongong’s Illawara Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI) and Enzytag. He conceived and supports two publicly accessible databases - Cybase on circular proteins (www.cybase.org.au), and conotoxins (www.conoserver.org).
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Higher Degree by Research Scholar
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Not available for supervision
Peter Csurhes is an immunologist with a strong research track record in multiple sclerosis (MS) research within UQ that has spanned 30 years.
Together with Emeritus Professor Michael Pender, Peter’s work in a number of preclinical research studies into the role that immunity to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) plays in MS disease pathogenesis has translated to clinical trials testing of potentially ground-breaking new T cell immunotherapeutic treatments for progressive MS. Collaborative links between QIMR Berghofer, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and commercial partners have been established and clinical trials are ongoing.
After the retirement of Professor Pender, Peter has taken on a chief investigator role, and in 2023 gained successful NHMRC MRFF funding to continue research into the biology of the Epstein-Barr virus and the role it plays in the multiple sclerosis disease process.
Peter has also been involved in studying the role of reactivity to autoantigens in MS and in diseases of the peripheral nervous system including Guillain-Barre syndrome and CIDP.
For several years he worked on the immunology of potential malaria vaccine candidates and also worked part-time for 18 months on research into EBV-related cancers within the QIMR-Berghofer Medical Research Institute.
Affiliate of Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Senior Lecturer
School of Biomedical Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Available for supervision
Dr Cuffe is a systems physiologist focused on understanding the complex changes to maternal physiology that occur during pregnancy and the impact of pregnancy dysfunction of programmed cardiovascular, metabolic and renal disease in offspring. Dr Cuffe has a particular focus on understanding the role of the placenta and its hormones in mediating both maternal and offspring disease. He is most recognised for his research investigating how maternal stress, thyroid dysfunction, hypoxia or altered nutrition affect placental development and program disease in the mother after pregnancy as well as her offspring. Dr Cuffe has an exceptional track record and is excited to take new honours and PhD students into his research laboratory.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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Available for supervision
Louise Cullen is a Pre-Eminent Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine, a clinical trialist and outcomes researcher in acute diseases. She is enthusiastically involved in the translation of research by clinical redesign and innovation.
As an accomplished acute disease researcher, Prof Cullen has focused on the diagnosis and management of patients presenting with possible Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) in the Emergency Department (ED). She has been engaged in many international collaborations (including ASPECT and ADAPT studies) She has authored over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals including The Lancet, focussed on strategies to improve efficiency, whilst maintaining safety for patients with possible ACS, syncope, heart failure, shortness of breath and atrial fibrillation.
More recently Prof Cullen has focussed on Health Services research and investigating methods to use medications and other resources in the ED wisely. She led the CREDIT trail, aimed at reducing unnecessary peripheral intravenous cannulation in the ED.
Professor Cullen’s mantra is that “you do not do research for research sake” and as such, clinical redesign and translational research is a key part of her endeavours.
Pre-Eminent Staff Specialist, Department of Emergency Medicine
Dr Cuskelly is the Director of the long running Down Syndrome Research Program based at The University of Queensland. In addition to her interests in the development of individuals with Down syndrome she has research interests in the psycho-social functioning of individuals with intellectual disability, family functioning in families with a child with a disability, and self-regulation and mastery motivation in vulnerable groups.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Dr Andrew Dalley is a Postdoctoral Research Scientist within Dr Peter Simpson’s stream of the Molecular Pathology Research Programme at UQCCR. He is currently contributing to a clinician-lead research project that aims to validate diagnostic techniques for mediastinal lymph node dissemination of lung cancer.
Andrew is a practical molecular cell biologist with a strong focus towards clinically translatable research within the hospital setting. His academic experience spans adult and children’s burns research and adult cancer research. He has researched aberrant pharmacokinetics in burnt patients, post-burn hypertrophic scar development, cancer stem cell involvement in Head and Neck cancer development, and diagnostic techniques to define surgical borders for intra-oral cancer excision.
Andrew’s range of practical techniques includes: small molecule tissue sampling and analysis using microdialysis, HPLC and LC/MS; tissue imaging by fluorescence and confocal microscopy; cellular analysis by flow cytometry, live cell imaging, histology and real-time PCR; and patient sample molecular analysis by microarray and Next Generation Sequencing.
Andrew was recently Scientific Support Coordinator for the Cancer Programme at the Diamantina Institute, and prior to this he was Laboratory Studies Coordinator for Professor Camile Farah’s Oral Cancer Research Programme at UQCCR where he investigated the potential involvement of epithelial stem cells in pre-malignant oral dysplasia. Before this Andrew was part of the Burns Trauma & Critical Care Research Centre (BTCCRC) where he evaluated antibiotic distribution in extensively burned patients during surgery.
Formerly based in the UK, Andrew studied BSc Pharmacology and completed his PhD at The University of Sheffield under supervision from Professor Sheila MacNeil. Andrew’s PhD used 3-dimensional cultures to investigate regulation of normal and scar derived fibroblasts by dermal matrix and epithelial cells. Subsequently, he used in-vitro techniques to monitor the uptake of drugs across the gut mucosa and skin.
Andrew’s research interests include clinical diagnostic techniques, phenotypic and genotypic changes in pre-malignant dysplasia, extracellular matrix biology and its involvement in the pathophysiology of burn wound healing, epithelial / mesenchymal interaction across the basement membrane during the healing of cutaneous wounds, and drug distribution in critical patients.