Find an expert

• Medical doctor with specialist registration in both Rural Generalist Medicine and Medical Administration.
• Significant experience in First Nations Health, Primary Care, Anaesthesia, Retrieval Medicine.
• Medical Educator with specific interest in Simulation, Debriefing and Assessment.

Ben has been working with food production animals his entire career in both a clinical and research capacity. Initially, a mixed animal practitioner in northern NSW and the UK, he went on to complete a PhD in beef cattle genetics at UNE (Armidale). He then moved to Canada to work in research and development with Hendrix Genetics in poultry genetics. While in Canada he was an adjunct with the Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock (CGIL) at the University of Guelph and continues in that position supervising HDR candidates. He has been a registered veterinarian the UK, Canada and Australia and has experience across Europe and the Americas.

Research interests have included production animal disease diagnosis and control, economic modelling, breeding program design, phenotype optimisation and the application of genomics.

Dr. Ian Wood’s research interests are in classification, bioinformatics, stochastic optimisation, machine learning and mixture models.

He received his PhD from the University of Queensland in 2004.

Carolyn is a theoretical physicist studying quantum information and quantum foundations. She grew up in central Queensland and holds bachelor’s degrees in physics (UQ) and applied linguistics (Griffith University). She completed her PhD in physics at the University of Queensland.

Her research is focused on physics at the interface between quantum mechanics, general relativity and thermodynamics, quantum machine learning, and the applications of both to quantum information theory and quantum computing. She is also broadly interested in artificial intelligence, and cross-disciplinary research combining physics and linguistics.

Carolyn was awarded a Deborah Jin Research Fellowship by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS) in 2022.

​Dr James Wood's research focuses primarily on the design and synthesis of organic ligands to complex inorganic radioisotopes for radiopharmaceutical applications. His work spans across the design and synthesis of these ligands, through to radiolabelling of these compounds and assessing them within animal models. He is particularly interested in applications of these ligands that grant greater flexability or utility to diagnostic and therapeutic platforms.

James works within the ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacture of Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals at the Centre for Advanced Imaging, working with industry partners to excelerate the production of novel radiopharmaceuticals.

James Woodforde is a lecturer in the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences at The University of Queensland. His research centres on physical activity in children and young people, with a specific focus on the school setting. James’s PhD research examined physical activity in the before-school segment, drawing on a variety of data sources and engaging with school stakeholders to develop a comprehensive understanding of physical activity patterns and influences during this time of day.

Will is a University of Queensland teaching and research academic and recent ARC DECRA holder (DE190101182). His research aims to bridge scales for remotely sensing dynamic vegetation productivity and health. Will was the Principal Investigator of the CSIRO/TERN-OzFlux Tumbarumba tall forest research site from 2016-2025. Now in its 25th year it is one of Australia’s longest continuously running flux tower sites and rated equal second globally for verification of environmental satellite products [1]. Previously Will held the position of Research Scientist at CSIRO, after commencing as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2015.

Will has experience with a range of passive and active remote sensing technologies including combining LiDAR, optical- and thermal-imagery for estimating vegetation structure and function. His current research focuses on scaling observations of sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) from leaf to canopy scales at flux tower sites. He is based in the Earth Observation Research Centre at UQ.

Please also feel free to get in touch with Will to discuss potential collaborations.

[1] Camacho, F., Román, M.O., Nickeson, J., Göttsche, F.-M., Ducanson, L., Sanchez-Azofeifa, G.A., Woodgate, W., Karan, M., Descalzo, L.d.l.M., & Monzo, C.D. (2018). Proposition of CEOS LPV Super Sites for Validation of Biophysical Satellite Products. Paper presented at the ESA LPVE - Land Product Validation and Evolution 2018, ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10375.50087

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.

Associate Professor Carl Woods is a theoretical skill acquisition scientist, studying human-environment interactions at the intersection of sport science, ecological psychology and social anthropology. In addition to his appointment at the University of Queensland, he is the Learning Design Lead at the Queensland Academy of Sport, and Learning Design National Discipline Lead for Australian Athletics.

Carl has a unique blend of theoretical and applied experiences, having held research leadership positions within the Institute for Health and Sport at Victoria University, while coordinating coaching science, skill acquisition, and innovation within the Australian Football League.

Given these diverse experiences, his research spans three major themes: 1) theoretical advancements to the field of sport science; 2) exploring ways of fostering human-environment interactions through the promotion of ecologically literate behaviour; 3) addressing practical challenges in sport related to performance preparation, practice task design, and coach education.

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?
• Is protein modification by ethanol metabolites involved in the aetiology of alcoholic tissue injury?
• Are proteins modified by reactive molecules formed during ethanol metabolism viable biomarkers of ethanol intake?

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).