Find an expert

Dr François-René Bertin (DVM, MS, PhD, dipl.ACVIM (LAIM)) is an equine internist with expertise in clinical endocrinology.

François-René completed a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (University of Nantes, France), an American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) residency in equine internal medicine (Purdue University, USA) and a PhD in physiology (McGill University, Canada). He moved to the School of Veterinary Science at UQ in 2016.

François-René’s research interests lie in the pathophysiology of hyperinsulinaemia-associated laminitis and the disorders of the equine hypothalamo-pituitary adrenocortical axis. Some of his current projects examine the regulators of pancreatic b-cell activity and the mechanisms of pituitary gland senescence. François-René has received awards from the School of Veterinary Science and the Faculty of Science for his contribution to Research and HDR student supervision.

François-René teaches equine internal medicine into the veterinary science and veterinary technology programs and coordinates the Equine Clinical Studies course. He has received Teaching and Learning Faculty Awards.

Dr. Bialasiewicz worked at the Royal Children's Hospital and the Children's Health Queensland HHS for over 18 years conducting translational research and clinical support centering on infectious disease (primarily viral and bacterial) molecular diagnostics, general microbiology and molecular epidemiology. In 2019, he became a group leader at The University of Queensland's Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, expanding on a growing interest in the microbial ecology of the human body, it's role in health and disease, and ways to manipulated to achieve desirable outcomes. One Health microbial ecology, where human health is interconnected with the health of animals (both livestock and wildlife), and the broader environment is also an area of active interest. His background in virology has influenced the work he does, meaning a key focus of his microbial ecology works centres around the interactions between all types of microorgansims (bacteria, archaea, viruses, fungi, and micro-eukaryotes).

Ongoing work includes:

- Leveraging of emerging technologies to explore the hidden microbial diversity and their interactions in the human body.

- Using the technology to develop microbial (e.g. phage)-based treatments or preventatives to complex diseases (e.g. Otitis Media, Chronic Rhinosinusitis, GvHD).

- Understanding the genetics of antibiotic resistance spread.

Tamara is a trained respiratory scientist and has 7 years' experience in measuring the lung function of children aged 3-18 years. She has recently completed her PhD whereby she validated the use of normal healthy reference values for two lung function tests (spirometry and fractional exhaled nitric oxide) for children who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander. She has a particular interest in childhood respiratory illnesses such as cystic fibrosis and asthma, emerging clinical measurement techniques, as well as Australian First Nations respiratory health. Her current research aims to better understand the mechanisms of early CF lung disease and to improve current clinical outcome measures to aid in appropriate CF management.

Stefan is a Staff Specialist in Neurology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) and the Mater Centre for Neuroscience. He finished his training as neurologist in 2012.

He runs dedicated multiple sclerosis (MS) and Neuroimmunology clinics at the PAH, leading in modern MS therapies. Moreover, he has been at the forefront of advancing the field of neuroimmunology in Queensland, with establishment of dedicated neuroimmunology outpatient clinics at the RBWH and PAH, combining expertise from neurologists and immunologists in the care of this very complex group of disorders.

In addition to his busy, full-time clinical workload, Stefan has been involved as PI or CI in a range of clinical trials in the fields of MS, botulinum toxin, CIDP and Pompe’s disease. Additionally, he has performed and is involved in ongoing research projects of neuroimmunological disorders such as neuromyelitis optica, myasthenia gravis and autoimmune limbic encephalitis. He has been a member of the New Horizons study to assess prevalence of anti-neuronal antibodies in patients with new onset psychosis.

Prior to this, Stefan finished a PhD in the field of ‘Immunogenetics of Guillain-Barre Syndrome and Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy’ at the University of Queensland in 2014. He also completed a doctoral thesis at the University of Heidelberg, Germany in 2002 in the field of T cell immunology. During this time, he has developed solid skills in bench-side immunological research.

Currently, he is neurological lead in a diverse group of clinicians and scientists investigating the role of antineuronal antibodies in neurological and psychiatric disease. He supervises 3 PhD students in the field of advanced imaging in autoimmune encephalitis and multiple sclerosis. He is currently building up a laboratory to test antineuronal antibodies using live cell assays.

Professor Antje Blumenthal combines her expertise in immunology and microbiology to lead research on molecular mechanisms that control immune responses to infection, alongside more recently developed research on new antimicrobials. The overall goal of her research is to improve our ability to treat severe bacterial infections as part of the global efforts to overcome the threat posed by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Prof Blumenthal graduated with a major in Microbiology from the Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel, Germany, pursued PhD research in Immunology at the Leibniz Research Center for Medicine and Biosciences Borstel, Germany, and undertook postdoctoral training at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, USA. She joined The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute in 2010 where she leads the Infection & Inflammation Group, fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations with immunologists, microbiologists, chemists, clinical research teams and industry partners. Her research is enabled by major funding from international and national agencies, and has been recognised internationally and nationally by prestigious awards, speaking invitations at eminent conferences and institutions, invitations to peer-review for esteemed journals and funding agencies. Prof Blumenthal is an enthusiastic undergraduate teacher and research student advisor. She is proactive in advancing the careers of junior scientists, leads the development and implementation of initiatives that promote equity, diversity and inclusion in science, and a positive workplace culture. Through leadership roles within the University and professional societies as well as editorial roles for international journals, Prof Blumenthal actively contributes to the scientific community.

Dr Liviu-Gabriel Bodea is a brain immune cell biologist specialising in the functional interplay between microglia, the brain’s primary resident immune cells, and surrounding cell types, both in health and disease. He is a Research Fellow at the School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and is affiliated with the Clem Jones Centre in Ageing Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute.

Liviu was awarded his Dr.rer.nat. (PhD) title from the University of Bonn, Germany (2014), working in the group of Prof. Harald Neumann on projects related to microglia physiology. He then relocated to Australia as the Peter Hilton Early Career Fellow in Ageing Dementia Research (2014-2019) to continue his work with Prof. Jürgen Götz on the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Frontotemporal dementia. He secured major extramural funding for his research (NHMRC Project Grant, NHMRC Ideas Grant, Dementia Australia Research Foundation Mid-Career Fellowship), and since July 2024, he has led the Microglia Metabolic Reprogramming and Proteostasis Research Team within the laboratory of Assoc. Prof. Karin Borges.

Liviu has significant experience in generating and analysing both in vivo and in vitro models (from stable cell lines and primary cultures to genetically modified mice). His work combines various biochemical and molecular techniques, ranging from high-resolution microscopy to omics (transcriptomics, proteomics) and bioorthogonal labelling to analyse newly synthesised proteins.

Liviu has extensive experience in guiding both undergraduate and postgraduate students into the wonders of scientific research :)

Complete List of Published Work: PubMed Bibliography

Funding and Awards

2024-2027 NHMRC Ideas Grant #2030460 (sole CI, ~AU$ 800,000)

2022-2024 Dementia Australia Research Foundation Mid-Carrier Research Fellowship (AU$ 375,000)

2022 The University of Queensland Research Stimulus Fellowship (AU$ 150,000)

2019 Emergency Services Queensland Philanthropic Support (AU$ 25,000)

2018-2021 NHMRC Project Grant #1147569 (CIB, ~AU$ 460,000)

2014-2019 Peter Hilton Early Career Research Fellowship in Ageing Dement (AU$ 500,000)

Research Impact, Leadership and Professional Activities

Dr. Bodea attracted >3,500 citations (h-index 15 @Google Scholar), including 6 articles with >100 citations (Google Scholar) and Web of Science 2x Highly Cited Papers. In 2021, Expertscape recognised Dr. Bodea as one of the top-rated researchers in the field of tauopathy, placing him in the top 0.8% of >142,000 published authors worldwide on tauopathies between 2012 and 2021. Further proving its impact, his work was cited in 22 patents.

Dr. Bodea's study on the microglial TYROBP in late-onset AD (Cell 2013, co-first author, former Highly Cited Publication @Web of Science) represents a milestone in the field, with >1700 citations (Google Scholar). He also revealed the complement-induced neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons following peripheral immune stimulation (JNeurosci 2014, first author). More recently, he coordinated studies that centred on the effect of Tau protein (molecule relevant for Alzheimer's disease) on protein synthesis (EMBO J 2019 and Acta Neuropathologica Communications 2021), the use of artificial amino acids and de novo proteome analysis for the investigation of memory (eLife 2020) and microglial physiology (STARProtocols 2023), and the role of neuronal PTEN enzyme in synaptic engulfment by microglia (Acta Neuropathologica 2020). He published authoritative reviews in the Journal of Neurochemistry (2017), Nature Reviews Neurology (2018), Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2018), and Brain Research Bulletin (2021).

Dr. Bodea has been a grant reviewer for Alzheimer’s Australia/Dementia Research Foundation (since 2016), MS Research Australia (since 2019), and NHMRC (since 2021). He was Lead Guest Editor for a Special Research Topic in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (2023), is a member of the Reviewer Board for Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience and was a member of the Reviewer Board for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Mental Health section. He is an ad-hoc reviewer for various top-tier publications, ranging from Science to Trends in Cell Biology.

Dr. Bodea has mentored and supervised the daily activity of PhD students (2 completed, 1 current), Honours students (4 completed, all awarded First Class distinctions), 2 research assistants, and >15 other students on smaller projects. His PhD students received awards (e.g., the Alistair Rushworth Fellowship, Merck-QBI Best Student Publication Award, Best Oral Presentation). Both his completed PhD students continue with academic careers: Dr. Joey Benetatos, following a successful post-doctoral training in the Fraenkel Lab (MIT, USA), is currently pursuing his second post-doctoral position in the Prof. Loren Looger group (UCSD, USA), and Dr. Harrison T Evans is holding an Alzheimer's Association Postdoctoral Fellowship and is the Leon Levy Fellow in the Prof. Eric Klann lab (NYU, USA).

Dr. Gabriela Bodea received her PhD in 2014 with highest honours (Summa cum laude) from the University of Bonn, Germany. Subsequently, Dr Bodea joined the Genome Plasticity and Disease group at the Mater Research Institute in Australia. Here, Dr. Bodea began investigating the role of LINE-1 retrotransposons, a class of mobile DNA elements colloquially referred to as "jumping genes", in creating genetic variability within neurons. In 2017, Dr. Bodea joined the Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, where she is currently a Research Fellow in the Computational and Molecular Biology lab. Dr. Bodea's research aims to understand how the dynamic regulation of retrotransposons shapes neuronal identity in the mammalian brain and why certain neuronal subtypes are more susceptible to neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr Bodea's work has been supported by prestigious fellowships awarded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development. Dr. Bodea has published in top journals such as Nature Neuroscience, Cell Reports, Genome Research, and Development. Dr Bodea has also been involved in the training and mentorship of MSc and PhD students and participated in course coordination and lecturing activities.

Dr Steffen Bollmann joined UQ’s School of Electrical Imaging and Computer Science in 2020 where he leads the Computational Imaging Group. The Group is developing computational methods to extract clinical and biological insights from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. The aim is to make cutting-edge algorithms and tools available to a wide range of clinicians and researchers. This will enable better images, faster reconstruction times and the efficient extraction of clinical information to ensure a better understanding of a range of diseases. Dr Bollmann was appointed Artificial Intelligence (AI) lead for imaging at UQ’s Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC) in 2023.

His research expertise is in quantitative susceptibility mapping, image segmentation and software applications to help researchers and clinicians access data and algorithms.

Dr Bollmann completed his PhD on multimodal imaging at the University Children’s Hospital and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland.

In 2014 he joined the Centre for Advanced Imaging at UQ as a National Imaging Facility Fellow, where he pioneered the application of deep learning methods for quantitative imaging techniques, in particular Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping.

In 2019 he joined the Siemens Healthineers collaborations team at the MGH Martinos Center in Boston on a one-year industry exchange where he worked on the translation of fast imaging techniques into clinical applications.

Associate Professor Robert Boots is a member of the clinical team at the Burns, Trauma and Critical Care Research Centre.

Rob currently is a senior Thoracic and Sleep Physician in the Department of Thoracic Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital and continues to practice intensive care medicine in Bundaberg. His current research interests relate to biologic circadian rhythm dysfunction particularly as it relates to recovery from critical illness in addition to applications of virtual reality distraction therapy to improve patient outcomes from complex illness. Previously Rob served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Intensive Care Medicineat RBWH for 20 years and has qualifications in both respiratory medicine and intensive care. He has a strong background in clinical epidemiology and research previslu researching the management of burns and prevention of ventilator associated pneumonia. He has served as Deputy Director of Clinical Training and Chairman of the Medical Emergency Response Training Program at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Rob received training in clinical education from the Harvard Macy Program for Physician Educators in Boston USA and the Bulstrode and Hunt program of the Royal College of Surgeons (Edin). He was a key stakeholder in the development of the business case and the despite of the Queensland Health Clinical Skills Development Centre whoch opened in 2004. After serving for 6 years as the Chairman of the Queensland Regional Committee of the Joint Faculty of Intensive Care he was electived to the Board of the College of Intensive Care Medicine in 2010, serving as the Censor, Education Officer and Research Officer during the transition of the Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine to the existing CICM. He previously served as the Deputy Chair of the Patholgy Primary Exmaination Committee of the RACS and is currently a senior member of the National Examiation Panel of the RACP. Rob is involved with many projects as a main investigator and supervises postgraduate students attached to the research unit.

Dr Samudragupta Bora is the Founding Director of the Health Services Research Center at University Hospitals Health System, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the United States, and Honorary Associate Professor at The University of Queensland. He previously served as Director of Early Childhood Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital and Group Leader of Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up and Outcomes at Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland. He is the immediate past Chair of the Long-Term Outcomes of High-Risk Babies Subcommittee of the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand.

His research aims to improve the quality of life for high-risk neonates, particularly those born preterm, and their families. Research studies span two core themes: 1) develop a better understanding of the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of high-risk neonates, and 2) discover the independent and interdependent roles of neurological and social factors underlying these outcomes. Furthermore, there is a growing emphasis on developing innovative care models to improve the delivery and accessibility of neurodevelopmental follow-up in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to research, he is committed to mentoring the next generation of clinician-scientists and scientists. He has extensive experience promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic medicine.

Dr. Borg is a translational scientist with a career spanning both Germany and Australia. She has amassed extensive expertise in cellular biology in regenerative therapies, as well as molecular biology, biochemical, and preclinical methodology in diabetes research. Her leadership in coordinating the newest Queensland longitudinal birth cohort has honed her skills in multidisciplinary teamwork, scientific communication, databank governance and epidemiological study design.

Passionate about innovation, Dr. Borg excels in leveraging communication, engagement, and partnerships to address persistent challenges in clinical research. As a Principal Research Fellow in the Women-Newborn-Children's Services at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, she is dedicated to workforce capacity building and integrating clinical expertise with academic knowledge. Her efforts are focused on enhancing research implementation and improving health service evaluation within cross-disciplinary teams, to prioritise healthcare improvement.

At the age of 15 I thought that I would like to develop new treatments for diseases where there is a need. After studying Biology in Germany and while working as a post-doctoral fellow with Professor Raymond Dingledine at Emory University, I became passionate about epilepsy. When starting my own laboratory at Texas Tech University, I began to investigate impairments in energy metabolism in epilepsy and potential new treatments to address energetic deficiencies. In 2011, I moved to UQ and have since enjoyed the many opportunities working with many talented students and professionals and within the globally highly respected Australin epilepsy community.

Recent research:

Among many other projects, my lab has characterized several metabolic alterations and impairments in energy metabolism in epilepsy (1, 2) and Motor Neuron Disease (1). In brain areas that can generate seizures, cytosolic and mitochondrial metabolism of glucose is impaired (1), which can lead to energy deficits and may trigger seizures. From a biochemical standpoint, auxiliary fuels such as ketone bodies and medium chain fatty acids derived from medium chain triglyceride (MCTs) are well suited to improve energy levels. We have also shown that different MCTs, including triheptanoin, when added to normal diets can prevent seizure generation in seizure models (reviewed here 1, 2) and prevent motor neuron death in an MND model (1).

Our latest research aims to increase glucose transport into brain cells for glucose transporter 1 deficiency and epilepsy.

Professor Bowen is Director of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Quantum Biotechnology, and leads the Quantum Optics Laboratory at UQ. He is recognised both nationally and internationally for research at the interface of quantum science and nanotechnology; including bioimaging, biotechnology, nanophotonics, nanomechanics, quantum optomechanics and photonic/quantum sensing. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics.

Professor Bowen's research spans from the very fundamental, e.g. how does quantum physics transition into our everyday world at large scales?, to applied, e.g. developing next generation sensors for medical diagnostics and navigation. To pursue this research, his lab works in close partnership with industry and uses state-of-the-art facilities for nanofabrication, nanoanalysis, precision optical measurement and deep cryogenic refrigeration available in-house or on campus at UQ.

Professor Bowen has supervised more than thirty postgraduate students, who have been recognised with prizes such as Fulbright Scholarships, an Australian Youth Science Ambassadorship, a Springer PhD theses prize, the Queensland nomination for the Australian Institute of Physics Bragg Medal, the Australian Optical Society Postgraduate Student Prize and UQ Graduate of the Year. He regularly has projects available, both for postgraduate students and for postdoctoral researchers. Please check his website, above, or contact him directly for details (w.bowen@uq.edu.au).

Professor Roslyn Boyd is Scientific Director of the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre (QCPRRC) an internationally recognised research group at the University of Queensland in the School of Medicine. The centre includes a multidisciplinary team of 38 researchers and in addition provides clinical research leadership to 60 clinicians from multiple disciplines in the state-wide Queensland Paediatric Rehabilitation Service based at the Lady Cilento Childrens Hospital. After primary training and experience in Australia and London as a physiotherapist she completed her PhD in neuroscience at La Trobe University, the Brain Research Institute and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne for which she was awarded the Premier’s Commendation by the Victorian Government. Prof. Boyd arrived at the University of Queensland in 2007 as a recipient of a Smart State Fellowship and more recently has led an EBrain program grant funded by the Qld Government Department of innovation. Her research team focuses on research on the early natural history of motor and brain development for preschool aged children with CP, the efficacy of novel rehabilitation for children with Hemiplegia and very early detection and early intervention for infants at high risk of CP (all funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia). This research program is underpinned by advanced brain imaging including functional imaging of the motor and sensory motor cortex, Diffusion Imaging and Functional Connectivity to assess the impact of training on neuroplasticity (NHMRC, ARC). Prof. Boyd has been awarded the prestigious international Gayle Arnold Award on 3 occasions at the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. Prof Boyd has published over 340 manuscripts in peer-reviewed international journals and has achieved over $40M in research funding.

Dr Clare Bradley is a Senior Research Fellow with the UQ Poche Centre and the Program Manager for the ATLAS Indigenous Primary Care Surveillance Network. She has a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Adelaide and has been working in the health surveillance and health services research sectors for nearly two decades.

Before joining Professor Ward’s team in 2017 as the Study Coordinator for the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Aboriginal Sexual Health and Blood-Borne Viruses (which established the ATLAS network), Clare spent 14 years at Flinders University; first with the Research Centre for Injury Studies (2003–2014) where she led the AIHW National Injury Surveillance Unit’s falls and older people’s injury research program, and then with the NHMRC Cognitive Decline Partnership Centre as the Senior Research Fellow for the Understanding long-term care services for older people with cognitive decline in Australia project. Clare has extensive project coordination, health surveillance and data linkage skills and wide-ranging research interests, now focused on Indigenous health.

Clare is the Chief Investigator for the recently awarded Improving surveillance infrastructure for Indigenous primary health care project, receiving $1.99m through the Medical Research Future Fund (PHRDI000054). She is also a CI on two current NHMRC Ideas grants: Leaving no-one behind: Informing Indigenous aged care policy with big data (GNT2004089, CI-C), and Implementing a precision public health approach to eliminate STIs and control HIV in regional Australia (GNT1185073, CI-D). Through these and her ongoing involvement in the maintenance and development of the ATLAS network and research infrastructure, Clare is committed to excellence and innovation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services research and passionate about strengthening research capacity and supporting Indigenous Data Sovereignty in all aspects her research activity.

Clare has successfully co-supervised one PhD and two honours students to completion and is available for collaboration or supervision across a range of topics, including Indigenous primary care and infectious disease surveillance; health services research; dementia and aged care services research; falls injury; suicide and self-harm; use of linked administrative datasets; development of disease classification structures; and descriptive epidemiology for public health purposes.

Research to improve balance and gait in older adults and those with Neurological Disorders.

Impaired postural control, or poor balance, can have devastating effects on the lives of individuals, resulting in falls, dependence, and reduced quality of life. Prof Brauer leads a number of studies to better understand the underlying motor control mechanisms contributing to altered postural control, particularly in populations with neurological disorders or advanced age, and use this information to better develop physiotherapy assessment techniques and rehabilitation strategies. This research has subsequently developed to encompass prevention strategies and the investigation of the cost-effectiveness of intervention, to better facilitate the translation of research evidence into clinical practice.

Current research themes include:

Improving physical activity after stroke

Training dual tasking when walking in people with Parkinson’s Disease.

Community mobility in older adults, particularly in people with Parkinson’s Disease and stroke.

Retraining reaching following stroke, using the SMART Arm device.

The prevention of falls, particularly in hospitals.

Research in the Bredy laboratory is aimed at elucidating how the genome is connected to the environment through epigenetic modifications, and how this relationship shapes brain and behaviour throughout life. The group is particularly interested in how epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications. the activity of non-coding RNAs, and RNA modification regulate the formation and maintenance of associative fear-related memory.