Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Hons K. Wyn joined the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Queensland in mid-2016 as an Occupational Trainee in the Fire Safety Research Group. He commenced his PhD mid-2017 on smouldering combustion and its potential as a renewable energy production process by generating value-added productions alongside the treatment of organic wastes. Upon the completion of the PhD, Hons continued as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Fire Safety Research Group in mid-2023. Hons currently supports consultancy projects, lab-related activities, teaching, and supervision.
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
I received my B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Central South University (China) in July 2012 and July 2015, respectively. In December 2019, I completed my Ph.D. in Materials Engineering, specialising in Energy Materials, at the University of Wollongong (Australia). Since July 2020, I have been conducting postdoctoral research at The University of Queensland.
I have extensive research experience in the development of battery electrode materials, electrolyte materials, and reaction characterisation for lithium-ion, sodium-ion, and solid-state lithium/sodium metal batteries. My expertise encompasses materials design, synthesis, characterisation, and electrochemical analysis.
My current research focuses on: (1) developing low-cost and functional electrode materials for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries; (2) employing in situ and operando techniques to investigate electrode and electrode/electrolyte interface reactions in batteries; (3) designing and optimising solid polymer electrolytes; and (4) advancing solid-state metal battery technologies.
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Synthetic Biology and Strain Engineering (FaBA)
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Yuwei Xiang holds a Bachelor's degree in Food Science and Technology (2019) from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (USST), China, and a PhD in Food Microbiology (2024) from The University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Following her PhD, she continued her academic career as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Mark Turner at UQ.
Her research focuses on food microbiology, microbial biotechnology, and synthetic biology, with particular expertise in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and microbial strain engineering. During her PhD, she investigated the genetic mechanisms underlying osmoresistance in LAB, particularly the role of c-di-AMP-associated pathways in regulating cellular responses to osmotic stress. This work aimed to improve the robustness and performance of LAB under industrial fermentation conditions.
Her current research has expanded to the discovery and application of microorganisms for food fermentation and innovative ingredient production, as well as the development of engineered microbial cell factories. She is currently working on Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) strain engineering, including CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, synthetic biology tool development, gene expression engineering, and recombinant protein production.
Research Areas
Microbial Strain Engineering and Synthetic Biology: Developing genetic engineering strategies and molecular tools for microbial cell factories, particularly K. phaffii, including CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, targeted gene integration and knockout, and engineering of gene expression.
Precision Fermentation and Innovative Food Ingredients: Applying microbial biotechnology and engineered microorganisms to the production of proteins, functional ingredients, and other value-added compounds for food applications.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
My research has centred on elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying complex sensorimotor functions and motor learning through an interdisciplinary blend of cutting‐edge neuroscience and advanced computational methods. Early in my career, I pioneered the use of intraoperative microelectrode recording and stimulation to map the basal ganglia and thalamus, enabling precise modulation of motor functions via deep brain stimulation. Driven by my research interests, I embarked on a PhD journey in Prof. Tim Murphy’s lab at the University of British Columbia (UBC) where I was honoured with the Scholarships from the International Alliance of Translational Neuroscience. Prof Tim Murphy’s lab develops cutting-edge neurophysiological techniques to probe the complex information flow in the brain during sensorimotor processing. I co-led the development of intact skull chronic windows for mesoscopic wide‐field imaging in awake mice, a now widely adopted technique described in Silasi, Xiao et al., 2016 (co-first author, 241 citations). I also pioneered methodologies for mapping functional connectivity between cortical mesoscopic networks and subcortical single spiking neurons (Xiao et al., 2017. 151 citations). My research integrates artificial intelligence and computer vision to automate the exploratory analysis of the rich neural and behavioural video datasets. I have combined chronic, simultaneous wide‐field imaging, multi‐site electrophysiology using the Mesotrode (Xiao et al., 2023), and advanced machine learning tools (e.g., MesoNet, Xiao et al., 2021, Nat. Commun.) to capture and quantify large‐scale neuronal spatiotemporal patterns associated with a specific motor act, such as self-initiated running, reaching and orofacial movements. I also co-developed a 3D virtual mouse model that translates 2D behavioural videos into a 3D model space, enabling more detailed analysis of mouse behaviours, and established a standardised behavioural framework to disentangle movement dynamics from unrelated factors. This work was featured on the cover of Nature Methods (Bolaños, Xiao et al., 2021. co-first author). I contributed to the development of real-time systems for selectively tracking mouse body movements. This work paves the way for advanced "closed loop" brain-computer interfaces, facilitating understanding of the neural basis of behavioural control (Forys, Xiao et al., 2018, 2020. co-first author). My recent work in the Balbi lab at the University of Queensland on continuous auditory feedback demonstrates that real-time, movement-coded auditory cues can significantly accelerate fine motor skill learning in mice (Xiao and Balbi, eNeuro), exemplifying how augmented sensory input can promote motor performance. Similarly, my contributions to real-time EEG-based asynchronous error prediction in human–robot interaction using machine learning (Xiao et al., under revision) and the development of MesoGAN—a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) framework that generates realistic behavioural videos from neural decoding of wide-field cortical calcium dynamics (Xiao et al., under revision)— highlighting my commitment to bridging neuroscience with adaptive robotics and AI.
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Dr Zixi Xie is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering and leads a subgroup within the Functional Materials Engineering (FME) Lab. She earned her PhD in Chemistry from the University of Sydney, where she focused on metal-organic frameworks and stimuli-responsive materials, investigating properties of magnetism, negative thermal expansion, and negative linear compressibility.
Her current research explores a wide range of advanced materials, including amorphous and glassy functional membrane materials, light-emitting materials, and piezoelectric materials. These materials are being developed for diverse applications such as gas separation, energy storage, next-generation light-emitting devices, and sensors. Her work aims to combine fundamental material design with application-driven innovation. She was awarded the AINSE Early Career Researcher Grant in recognition of her promising research contributions.
Dr Xie is also actively engaged in research translation and commercialisation. Her innovative work on flexible thin-film lighting devices has received Pathfinder funding from UniQuest to support R&D, raise technology readiness levels (TRL), and advance the commercialisation of next-generation LED technologies. She participated in CSIRO’s ON Prime program to build industry connections and explore market pathways.
