Affiliate of Centre for the Business and Economics of Health
Centre for the Business and Economics of Health
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
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
School of Business
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
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. He has been 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 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
Availability:
Available for supervision
Jason Connor is a Professor of Clinical and Health Psychology in the School of Psychology and Founding Director of the National Centre for Youth Substance Use Research (2008 - 2014, 2017+) at The University of Queensland.
Professor Connor is ranked in the Top 1% of researchers in the field of Psychiatry/Psychology [1].
He 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. Since moving from full-time clinical practice to academia, he has successfully combined teaching responsibilities with research.
He has published over 350 peer-reviewed journal papers, books and book chapters. Professor Connor has received $25 million in research funding as Chief Investigator and currently leads $4.6 million in Category 1 external research grants.
Professor Connor's main area of research is Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). SUDs are the number #1 risk factor for death in young people. In Australia, collectively, they represent 15% of the total disease burden.
Professor Connor's research program commenced because there were few effective approaches to prevent and treat substance use. His research program has resulted in global, transformational impacts by changing how assessment, treatment and prevention occurs.
A unique aspect of Professor Connor's research is the integration of disciplines including neurobiology, genetics, psychology, psychometrics, pharmacotherapy, epidemiology and advanced statistics. This interdisciplinary approach is essential in addressing the complexity of addiction as a multifaceted disease.
Over half of his program of research directly solves real-world problems and contributes to global prosperity, as determined by the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, applied in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings [2].
The impact of his work can be reflected in 52 international and national clinical guidelines and policies that have used Professor Connor's work to develop new international standards in the management and prevention of SUDs [1].
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).
Professor Connor has also won an Australian award for excellence in university teaching.
In addition to his academic roles, he has an appointment with Queensland Health and continues to offer clinical services.
1 Altmetric, Scopus, ESI 2025
2. SciVal 2025
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
Availability:
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.
Associate Member of Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing
Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
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
Affiliate of Centre for Living Experience Research
Centre for Living Experience Research
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
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
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
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
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
UQ Laureate Fellow - GL
Institute for Molecular Bioscience
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
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
Availability:
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
Availability:
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
Availability:
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
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.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Research Fellow
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Jonathan Davies is a chronic pain researcher working to improve how pain is understood, assessed and treated. His research focuses on pain phenotyping, precision pain care, and the psychological, physiological and contextual factors that shape pain and treatment response.
At UQ’s Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research, he contributes to DISCERN, an NHMRC Synergy-funded multidisciplinary research program developing and validating new approaches to pain assessment. A major focus of his work is DECIPHER PAIN, a standardised, multimodal tool designed to characterise the relative contributions of nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic pain and support more personalised care.
His research integrates clinical assessment, quantitative sensory testing, experimental pain methods, psychophysiology, digital health and population data. He is particularly interested in how physiological signals, behaviour, language, psychosocial context and real-world health data can be combined to better understand individual differences in pain and treatment outcomes.
His broader expertise includes placebo and nocebo effects, mindfulness, mental health, quality of life, health outcome measurement and population health. His work aims to support more precise, scalable and patient-centred approaches to pain research and care.
Director, Higher Degree Research of School of Psychology
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
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
Associate Professor
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
I am an endorsed Clinical and Health Psychologist, and my main area of research interest is in optimising non-pharmacological treatment options for chronic pain. My program of research is primarily focused on implementing randomised controlled trials designed to evaluate the efficacy and mechanisms of cognitive-behavioural and mindfulness-based interventions for heterogeneous chronic pain conditions. My concurrent line of research aims to further our understanding of the experience of chronic pain via converging methodologies (including experimental pain paradigms and electroencephalogram), as well as advance our capacity to accurately assess its multidimensional nature. I have led the development, application, and evaluation of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for chronic pain, and I disseminated this treatment approach for research and clinical use via my sole-authored book, published by Wiley in 2017. My US-based collaborators and I have a number of on-going NIH and foundation funded treatment trials underway at the University of Washington, Seattle. I am also an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Associate Professor Judith Dean, a Registered Nurse/Midwife with over 25-years clinical and research experience in sexual and reproductive health (SRH), HIV and other BBV, is a Principal Research Fellow at the UQ Poche Centre for Indigenous Health. The overall aim of her program of research is to address inequities of access to sexual and reproductive health and rights education and services through innovative models of care and workforce development using mixed methods and longitudinal qualitative community-based participatory approaches.
She is currently working on research evaluating 'Birthing in our Community' models of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their families, developing a program of preventative SRHR research including exploring access to culturally safe and responsive pregnancy options and abortion care and is working with community to develop a culturally safe and responsive 'Black and Proud' model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQAI+ Sister Girls and Brother Boys. She is also the Higher Degree Research Program Advisor for UQ Poche.
Before joining UQ Poche Centre in 2023, she was a research fellow at the School of Public Health (2015-2022) and was leading projects exploring innovative models of HIV Self-testing dissemination, access to peer-led Molecular point-of-care STI testing, transgender care, syphilis in pregnancy and access to pregnancy options, abortion and contraception. From 2016 to 2019, she was the co-ordinating investigator on the Queensland PrEP Demonstration Monitoring and Evaluation study. Her other projects and areas of interest include exploring the experiences of newly diagnosed PLHIV including implementation of a Peer Navigation program, access to SRH care for gender and sexually diverse young people and the sexual health literacy of CALD youth in Queensland. She has a strong background working in partnership with refugee and migrant / culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, sex worker organisations, gender and sexually diverse young people, and the LGBTQAI+ community.
During her time at UQSPH, she also taught into the Bachelor of Health Science (PUBH3002 Health Policy in Practice, PUBH3010 Global Health and Infectious Diseases) and the Master of Public Health (PUBH7101 Communicable Diseases Management and Control).
From 2002 to 2013 Judith held a joint appointment between Griffith University School of Nursing and Midwifery where she held the title of Griffith Graduate Sexual Health Program Convenor and Queensland Health where in her role as State Nurse Educator for Queensland Sexual Health and HIV Services she was responsible for state-wide coordination and development of clinical practice standards, policy and professional development programs for specialist advanced practice nurses working in SRH and HIV. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy in 2014 titled Sexual health knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of Queensland Sudanese communities.
Judith has extensive educational and clinical expertise in SRH, HIV, women’s health and midwifery in a diverse range of national and international settings. Before moving into SRH and HIV education and research, she worked clinically as a midwife and SRH Nurse in a range of locations in Australia and overseas. This includes over 5 years working in the Northern Territory as a Midwife and remote area nurse along with two years with International Committee of Red Cross in settings such as South Sudan and Afghanistan developing midwifery training programs and models of care for women and their families experiencing conflict and displacement.
I am available to supervise PhD/MPhil students, Honours and Master of Public Health projects.
Affiliate of Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
Research Centre in Creative Arts and Human Flourishing
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Affiliate of Centre for Health Outcomes, Innovation and Clinical Education (CHOICE)
Centre for Health Outcomes, Innovation and Clinical Education
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor
School of Psychology
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Professor in Clinical Psychology at UQ and affiliate Professor at Nottingham Trent University (UK). Her research focuses on social (non-medical) interventions for mental health such as music, arts and nature based programs.
Course Convenor:
PSYC7291 Cognitive Behaviour Therapies for Adults
PSYC3102 Psychopathology
Journals:
Associate Editor, Psychology of Music
Professional Roles:
Cuture and the Arts on Prescription lead, Australian Social Prescribing Institute for Research and Education (ASPIRE)