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Dr Woodruff is a Professor of Pharmacology who leads a research team aiming to find new therapeutic treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Current therapies for these diseases are vastly inadequate, and so new research is needed to identify novel targets to slow or halt their progression. Prof Woodruff’s specific research revolves around the innate immune system in the brain, and the role of neuroinflammation in propagating disease. A key focus of his current work is testing new drugs developed at the University of Queensland in models of motor neuron disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson's disease, as well as maintaining an active interest in acute inflammatory disorders including sepsis and ischemia-reperfusion injuries. Using a series of potent and orally active complement C5a and NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitors developed at UQ, Prof Woodruff's team has demonstrated the therapeutic potential of targeting innate immune-mediated neuroinflammation to reduce neuronal cell death in animal models of these neurodegenerative diseases. His team has recently shown that in addition to their roles in neurodegeneration, innate immune factors also play essential roles in stem and neuronal cell development during embryogenesis, revealing the widespread physiological and pathological roles of this evolutionarily ancient immune system.

Dr Lee Woods is a clinician researcher at the Queensland Digital Health Centre at The University of Queensland, Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health and practicing primary care registered nurse. Her research program focuses on safe, effective, and equitable digital transformation in healthcare. Dr Woods’ Digital Health CRC funded postdoctoral work involved the first Australian state-wide, academic-led digital maturity assessment across Queensland, spanning all 16 healthcare systems. Findings from the Queensland Health digital maturity assessments have been used by regional health services executives for local IT infrastructure business cases, have informed the refresh of Queensland Health’s Digital Health Strategy 2022 and the lessons learned have been translated internationally. Dr Woods has a national profile for her work on building the digital health capabilities of the Australian health workforce. Dr Woods is often invited to speak at national forums, teaches digital health into the clinical degrees at The University of Queensland and is engaged in academic consulting. Her previous roles in government, education sector and healthcare organisations across three states and in private, public and primary health services positions her well for clinical translation and policy reform. Her work has informed federal digital health strategy through project management of two foundational workforce and education documents at the Australian Digital Health Agency. Dr Woods was on the Project Leadership Team to develop Australia’s first national Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program, a partnership between academia and two national peak bodies. 

Sandy is a social researcher and communication management specialist. Her research interests are centred on subnational governance of industrial development – mining, oil and gas extraction, power generation (including renewables) and ancillary infrastructure such as pipelines and transmission lines. She is interested in the interface between governance actors (Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, proponents and governments) at local, regional and state/provincial levels and how they seek to enhance the benefits from industrial development and avoid or mitigate its adverse impacts.

Much of her research has been focused on the social risks associated with mine project development, mine closure and the transition of mining regions to post-mining alternatives.

Sandy has extensive experience working across the mineral resources sector – on site, in a corporate environment, in government, consulting, not-for-profit and research. She brings practical industry knowledge to her applied research projects and enjoys working in interdisciplinary teams.

Sandy joined CSRM in 2019 after completing her PhD at the centre. Her doctoral research examined how coal mining project teams in Australia construct and assess social risk.

Mechanisms of drug-induced liver damage.

Liver disease has long been associated with the abuse and clinical use of drugs. My research interests focus on ethanol, perhaps the most commonly abused drug, and the widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Both NSAIDS and ethanol are widely tolerated but induce liver disease in a small number of individuals.

Research projects listed below investigate immunological and genetic phenomena associated with drug-induced liver disease.

• Does ethanol alter hepatic gene expression to cause liver damage?
• Does ethanol alter hepatocyte sensitivity to cytokines leading to cell death?
• Is protein modification by ethanol metabolites involved in the aetiology of alcoholic liver disease?
• Do keratin 8 or 18 mutants sensitise the liver to toxins?
• Is an aberrant immune response involved in NSAID adverse reactions?
• What is the mechanism of toxicity of the Bracken fern toxin ptaquiloside?

I am an interaction designer.

I have an interest in design research and methods and their application to the design of technology. I believe that co-design/participatory design and human-centered design are critical approaches to ensuring that technology will truly serve the people who will be using or impacted by that technology.

A significant proportion of my work involves working with people living with dementia and post-stroke aphasia. Much of this work focuses on accessibility, usability and acceptability with the aim of creating technological solutions that are not only functional but also recognise and respond to people's intrinsic needs and experiences. A key aspect of my recent work is exploring acceptability and its ties to the Social Self-Determination model of people's needs. Through this I am looking at User Experience through a different lens, seeking to develop an understanding of how this model of people's needs can support a meaningful and impactful experience.

My interests extend across design theory and practice, human-computer interaction and user experience, and the application of the theory of these domains into practical and novel contexts. When designing technology that is to be used in everyday or applied contexts, I believe it is important to think beyond the technology itself. Therefore, in my research so far, I have worked in multidisciplinary teams crossing speech pathology, occupational therapy, computer science, and psychology. I am also committed to ensuring that technology and the process of designing technology is ethical.

Helen has over 30 years’ experience as a clinician (orthoptist) and an innovative educator. She was the Academic Lead Assessment in the Academy for Medical Education from mid 2017 to March 2024. Helen’s expertise has been built on a career spanning clinical practice in rural and urban settings fuelling a passion for learning from her early mentor, the late Prof Fred Hollows. Her career in higher education has spanned several roles including lecturing and reforming the orthoptics curriculum, leading elearning projects across five health facilities at the University of Sydney before moving to lead academic development at Charles Darwin University. She has worked in three medical schools (University of Sydney, Flinders University and the University of Queensland) inspiring educators to enhance clinical skills teaching, developing clinical supervisors in Northern Australia and most recently leading assessment design for the new Doctor of Medicine program at University of Queensland. She has received multiple teaching and learning awards at University of Sydney (2003, 2004), Flinders University (2016) and the Australian Awards for University Teaching: Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2017).

Naomi Wray is the Michael Davys Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. She holds an appointment at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) within the University of Queensland. She joined UQ Queensland Brain Institute in 2011 moving to the IMB in 2015. She was Head of the Centre for Population & Disease Genomics within IMB 2018-2023. Her Oxford appointment started in 2023.

Her research focuses on development and application of quantitative genetics and genomics methodologies across complex diseases, disorders and traits, but particularly psychiatric-related traits.

She is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science. In 2020 she was awarded the NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Award for Leadership in Basic Science and the 2021 International Society of Psychiatric Genetics Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a Clarivate Highly Cited researcher.

She was Director of the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG) funded as an NHMRC Program Grant 2017-2022. She plays a key role in the International Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and established the sporadic ALS Australia systems genomics consortium (SALSA) funded by the MND Research Australia IceBucket Challenge and FightMND. She is a co-investigator on the Australian Genetics of Depression Study (AGDS) and is currently launching the AGDS-Cello project focussed on establishing a cell line resource from participants with a detailed history of anti-depressant use and response measures. She is part of an NHMRC Synergy (2023-2027) "Rhythms and blues: Personalising care for body clock dysfunction in mood disorders".

She is secretary of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, and is on the editorial advisory boards of JAMA Psychiatry, Neuron, Royal Society Open and Research Directions: Depression.

Olivia is a Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics at the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, The University of Queensland and a Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences (CNAFS), The Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI). Olivia has a strong track record in leading multidisciplinary research. Her main research streams include clinical trials examining the bioavailability of nutrients and the impact on clinical outcomes and/or gene expression; the uptake and maintenance of healthy and sustainable dietary patterns; innovative models of service delivery to prevent nutritional decline and improve quality of life for older people; service co-design, delivery, and evaluation across various areas of dietetics practice. Olivia also collaborates with industry partners to trial novel foods and ingredients.

Olivia is a highly supportive postgraduate advisor, mentoring 13 PhD students (5 to completion, 3 as primary; 8 continuing). She regularly supervises Master of Dietetics Studies coursework research students (around 22 projects 2009-2022) and supervised 2 honours students (2011).

Olivia is an Associate Editor for the international journal, Nutrition Journal, (BMC, Springer Nature). In 2010, she received Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian status, as recognition of her professional leadership and expertise and in 2011 won the Women in Technology "Rising Star" Award. She has received significant research funding, including support from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council, Queensland Health and Horticulture Innovation Australia.

Dr Cara Wrigley is currently Professor of Design within the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology at The University of Queensland. Prior to this appointment she was the Jericho Chair of Design Innovation at The University of Sydney, leading an interdisciplinary research group sponsored by the Royal Australian Air Force. This multi-million-dollar engagement brought together the Australian Defence Force and world-leading researchers to investigate the role that design plays in the creation of disruptive technologies for military capability.

During her time at the University of Sydney Professor Wrigley established the Defence by Design Group, where she ran applied research projects in the military domain. This collaboration contributed to the theoretical development of ‘military design thinking’ that has been taught and applied widely throughout the Australian Defence Force. In 2018, she also established and directed the Design Innovation Research Group, leading a research team that focused on design-led exploratory research, conducting applied and theoretical research into people, emotions, strategy and business.

Professor Wrigley holds extensive experience in curriculum development and delivery, during her time at the University of Sydney she developed and delivered a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on Design Innovation (2018), rolled out a university wide Design Major (2018) and launched the Master of Design Innovation and Strategic Design (2019) program. This new degree has been reported on in the Book ‘Design Thinking Pedagogy: Facilitating Innovation and Impact in Tertiary Education’ by Routledge published in 2022.

Professor Wrigley has secured over $60M in competitive industry and government grants and is currently Chief Investigator on ARC Discovery and Linkage projects as well as a Medical Research Future Fund. Her research projects have received funding from industry partners such as the Brisbane Airport Corporation, Suncorp Insurance Australia, TAFE NSW, WaterCo Ltd, Bank of Queensland, BiVACOR and the Royal Australian Airforce. She is a reviewer for the Australian Research Council (ARC) and provides advice to organisations and their executives from diverse industries. For this work she has received Australian Good Design Awards.

Professor Wrigley has published extensively on the application and adoption of design disseminated through seven (7) books. Including the Research Handbook on Design Thinking (2023), Design Innovation and Integration (2021), Design Innovation for Health and Medicine (2020) and Affected: Emotionally Engaging Customers in the Digital Age (2018). She has more than 100 refereed research papers in outlets such Design Issues, Journal of Cleaner Production, Energy Policy, California Management Review, ASAIO Journal, and Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the leading design research journal Design Studies published by Elsevier.

Professor Wrigley has delivered invited keynotes at prestigious global academic conferences in the medical field including the European Mechanical Circulatory Support Summit (EUMS) Conference (2019, Vienna), the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) 65th Annual Conference (San Francisco (2019) and the Asia-Pacific Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation (APELSO) Conference (2018). Furthermore, she is a regular invited speaker at the Australian Defence College and the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra for her work in Defence.

She is passionate about providing positive student and supervisor experiences and has presented at a number of universities on the topic of academic development and PhD supervision. She has advised a number of colleagues and high degree students on how to develop efficient and successful ways of collaboration, building professional networks and working with industry partners.