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Cassandra is a Senior Research Fellow at QAEHS, joining the group in 2019. She completed her PhD at the University of Birmingham in 2014 where her research focussed on determining how humans are exposed to flame retardants from their indoor environments. Following her PhD she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Environment and Climate Change Canada where she was the principal researcher for the Global Atmospheric Passive Sampling (GAPS) Network, researching chemicals of concern in the atmosphere. Following her Postdoctoral Fellowship she worked for the Oil Sands Monitoring Program in Canada, assisting with facilitating a multi-stakeholder funding program for assessing environmental impact of Oil Sands operations, before returning to Australia in 2019.

At QAEHS she is the project lead investigating human exposure to microplastics and developing new methods for detecting micro and nanoplastics in human matrices. Her other research interests include the impact of tyre road wear particles and the chemical additives they contain on urban water ways, and developing novel biomonitoring methods for assessing human exposure to chemicals of concern (e.g. silicone wristbands and breast implants).

Marguerite Renouf BSc(Hons)/BA, PhD (Env Man) UQ is a Research Fellow at the School of Chemical Engineering's Water-Energy-Carbon Research Group (www.chemeng.uq.edu.au/water-energy-carbon).

She has worked in environmental research at UQ for 20 years, with a particular interest in the environmental evaluation of production systems and urban systems using environmental life cycle assessment (LCA), urban metabolism evaluation and eco-efficiency analysis. She is interested how we can produce and consume with less drain on the environment.

Since completing a PhD in 2011, she has driven a stream of research that evaluates the environmental performance of agri-based product supply chains and products (bio-fuels, bio-materials, food, beverages) using LCA. She has collaborated with industries and researchers in Australia and overseas to develop LCA tools for industry to support the identification of more environmentally-friendly production practices and processes.

Prior to this, her research was concerned with eco-efficiency in manufacturing industries (food processing, metal industries, retail and tourism sectors) and was a long-term contributor to UQ’s Working Group for Cleaner Production (now operating as the Eco-Efficienc Group), and its Director for three years (2009-2012).

Currently, Marguerite is a lead researcher with the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities, develop methods and metrics for quantifiying the water water-sensitive performance of Australian cities, using urban metabolism approaches. In this work she collaborates cloesely with urban planners, water manager and architects.

April Reside is a lecturer in the School of the Environment and School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, affiliated with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science.

Dr Reside's research encompasses ecology, conservation, and policy; investigating refuges and refugia; and recovery actions and their costs for Australia’s threatened species. April also works on conservation of woodland bird communities, the impact of climate change on biodiversity, and strategies for climate change adaptation. This work has involved applying conservation planning frameworks to identify spatial priorities for climate change adaptation for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.

April has a particular fascination of flying vertebrates, and has worked on bats on three continents and nine countries. She worked as a field ecologist for non-government organisations before her PhD on understanding potential impacts of climate change on Australian tropical savanna birds. She adapted species distribution modelling techniques to account for temporal and spatial variability in the distributions of highly vagile bird species. These dynamic species distribution models take into account species’ responses to fluctuations in weather and short-term climatic conditions rather than long-term climate averages. In her first postdoctoral position, Dr Reside modelled the distribution of c.1700 vertebrates across Australia at a fine resolution, and located the future location of suitable climate for all these species for each decade until 2085. From this, she identified hotspots across Australia where species were moving to in order to track their suitable climate, informing the IUCN SSC Guidelines for Assessing Species’ Vulnerability to Climate Change by the IUCN Species Survival Commission.

April has been involved in conservation of the Black-throated Finch for over 12 years, and is Chair of the Black-throated Finch Recovery Team. She has served on Birdlife Australia's Research and Conservation Committee and Threatened Species Committee; and the Science Committee for the Invasive Species Council.

Professor Anthony J. Richardson uses mathematical, statistical, computational and spatial planning tools to investigate human impacts on our oceans - and to find solutions. Particular foci include:

• Marine spatial planning - Where best to locate marine protected areas to minimise impacts on people, maximise ecosystem benefits, ensure they are climate-smart and connected, and enable multiple-use zoning of the ocean.
• Developing models of marine ecosystems - How do lower trophic levels (plankton) regulate fisheries productivity and carbon sequestration, and how will these be impacted by climate change.
• Long-term change in lower trophic levels (plankton) in the ocean. This includes both field work around Australia and global analyses.

Anthony did an undergradulate degree in Mathematics and Biology at the University of Queensland, followed by an Honours degree there. He was awarded a PhD degree from the University of Cape Town in 1998, modelling the dynamics of marine ecosystems. Since 2005, Anthony has held a joint position between UQ (School of the Environment) and CSIRO Environment. He has previously held positions at the University of Cape Town (South Africa), the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), and the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation of Ocean Science (UK).

Anthony runs a dynamic lab at the nexus between conservation science and mathematics. His focus is on using mathematical tools to better conserve biodiversity, predict impacts of climate change, and understand the functioning of marine ecosystems. If you have a background in marine ecology and are interested in applying mathematics/statistics/computational science and want to apply your skills to real-world problems, get in touch.

Ecological and evolutionary genomics

My research group uses genetic markers as tools for understanding dispersal and gene flow, often with conservation implications and most frequently focusing on highly dispersive marine animals such as fishes, mussels, and corals. We also study how gene flow and natural selection affect genomic variation and limit gene exchange across genomes, populations, and species.

Dr Vivian Rincon is a microbiologist from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia . She joined the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2008 as RA to work in projects related to plant-pathogen interactions and soil microbiology. She obtained a scholarship from the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) to start her PhD on the effect of tillage on soil microbial communities in wheat fields. Following her studies, she joined Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) at UQ to work on different aspects of disease management in broadacre crops. Currently, she is a research fellow at the Centre for Horticulturals Science (CHS) working on an integrated disease management approach for the Macadamia industry.

Conjoint Professor Paul Robinson is the Deputy Director of the Children’s Health Environment Program within the Child Health Research Centre (CHRC), and Senior Staff Specialist in Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Queensland Children’s Hospital. His research program performs translational research outlining the role of peripheral airway function tests in early lung disease detection and ongoing monitoring of established disease.

He has led the development and standardisation of novel measures of lung function across the entire age range from infancy onwards, facilitating the development of commercial equipment available for widespread use. His research focuses on defining the clinical utility of two specific peripheral airway function tests (Multiple breath washout, MBW, and oscillometry) in important obstructive lung diseases (e.g., asthma, cystic fibrosis, and post bone marrow transplant pulmonary graft vs host disease) and in understanding the impacts of environmental exposures. Structure-function relationships have been explored using state-of-the-art imaging techniques, with the aim of also developing new strategies to reduce any radiation exposure associated with these to advance incorporation into clinical care (e.g., ultra-low dose CT).

These novel lung function tools not only in the hospital setting but also in the school and home setting, enabling the successful development of a parent-supervised remote monitoring strategy for asthma which has been shown to reflect clinically meaningful outcomes missed by conventional approaches. In collaboration with industry, this strategy is now being employed in a series of research projects.

Involvement in longitudinal birth cohorts has outlined the early lung function trajectories in health, and the identification of risk factors affecting normal lung development and contributing to the early development of asthma. Studies investigating environmental health have highlighted the adverse effects of ultrafine particle air pollution.

Professor Robinson’s standing as an international expert, both in terms of clinical and research experience, has led to broader leadership roles across national and international levels.

Research interest: Monitoring ecosystem health of coral reefs and seagrass habitats, integrating field and remote sensing image datasets, and the developing applied cost-effective mapping and monitoring approaches. Developed approaches have been adopted as standard practice globally, making a difference in conservation of these valuable habitats. The long term monitoring studies at Heron and Moreton Bay formed the basis for the development of mapping and monitoring over time and space at local to global scale. See here major research impact

Major projects:

• Long term monitoring of benthic composition at Heron Reef (2002-ongoing).
• Long term monitoring of seagrass composition and abundance in Moreton bay Marine Park (2000-ongoing).
• Smart Sat CRC Hyperspectral Remote Sensing of Seagrass and Coral Reefs 2023-2027.
• Developement of Underwater Field Spectrometry and Benthic Photo Collection and Analysis
• 3D GBR Habitat Mapping Project 2015 - ongoing:
• Global habitat mapping project 2019-2023 Allen Coral Atlas .

Current position: Associate Professior in Marine Remote Sensing leading the Marine Ecosystem Monitoring Lab. . Academic Director Heron Island Research Station and affiliated researchers with Centre for Marine Science and Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science

Capacity Building and Citizen Science: Capacity: under/post graduate courses; Msc/PhD supervision, workshops/courses; Remote Sensing Educational Toolkit, and online courses (e.g. TNC).Strong supporter of citizen science based projects, as trainer, organiser and advisor for Reef Check Australia, CoralWatch, Great Reef Census and UniDive.

Dr Narottam Saha is specialized in the area of environmental analytical chemistry and geochemistry, with Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Applied Chemistry and Chemical Technology, a second Masters Degree (Distinction) in Environmental Sciences ( University of East Anglia, UEA, UK), and PhD in geochemistry (The University of Queensland). In his Masters study, Saha received a commonwealth scholarship, one of the most prestigious international scholarship schemes, for Master Degree in Environmental Sciences, with special emphasis on Clumped Isotope geochemistry and climate science. In 2014, Saha received Australia’s federal government scholarship (IPRS) for undertaking his PhD degree. Saha’s research achievements were well recognised with awards of Stanley Gray Fellowship from Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST, UK) for coral reef research and National Science and Information & Communication Technology (NSICT) Fellowship (2010) from Government of Bangladesh for heavy metal pollution research.

His multidisciplinary research experiences include biogeochemistry of heavy metals, assessment of carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks for the population exposed to heavy metals, clumped isotopes geochemistry in recovering palaeo-climate history and developing trace element proxies in coral carbonate skeleton to trace historical gradients of inshore coastal water quality. His PhD research highlights the potential of self-referencing rare earth elements over traditional trace elemental proxies for reconstructing marine water quality, degradation of which is considered as one of the major threats in declining the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) coral community. He has been the first to have discovered a noble V/Ca proxy, which is decoupled from other commonly used runoff proxies, for monitoring historical catchment clearing and firing in coastal areas. His discovery has direct relevance to environmental protection for reefs in the GBR through promoting better land management with improved water quality.

Katerina is a geologist with a specialization in hyperspectral data analysis as applied to mineral identification and interpretation, with big data integration. She has 15 years of hands-on experience working on both ground-breaking research and commercial activities for greenfield, brownfield and mining projects of various scales around the world. While with Corescan, she pioneered innovation in hyperspectral data acquisition, interpretation, and presentation. She developed and interpreted the results of complex algorithms associated with various mineral hyperspectral signatures. As part of her work, she contributed to geochemical and geotechnical research as applied to hydrothermal mineral alteration patterns associated with several world-class deposits, deposit delineation initiatives, new exploration projects, as well as geoenvironmental studies of acid-rock drainage and mining waste characterization. In her earlier roles, as an exploration geologist, she worked on uranium deposits in Canada, the USA, and Australia, with a focus on the system controls and definition of hydrothermal alteration mineral zonation and spatial patterns. Currently, Katerina is collaborating on several long-term projects with different challenges related to geological and mining industries at the W.H. Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre, SMI including critical minerals research, mineral and textural characterization as applied to mine waste and tailings, as well as development of educational material and short-course delivery. Specific areas of research and interest include:

• Hydrothermal alteration mineralogy and its characterization using high-resolution hyperspectral data in combination with other micro-analytical techniques
• Remote sensing techniques and data interpretation
• Detailed investigation of a variety of geological environments and mineral deposit settings including epithermal, unconformity-associated uranium, orogenic gold, porphyry, skarn, as well as IOCG
• Minerals and mineral groups, their chemical composition and variations, recognizing hydrothermal alteration patterns and identifying vectors to mineralization
• Establishment of new mineralogical and hyperspectral reflectance tools for drill core characterization for various mining applications

Broad remote sensing skills across terrestrial and aquatic environments. Working to democratise spatial data access and use. Happiest when producing and delivering automated, operational and validated national and global scale products that can be used by scientists, policy and the public.

Susanne leads a vibrant team researching natural ecosystems and agroecosystems focussed on plants, microbes and soil. This aims to advance the circular nutrient economy, the restoration of degraded soils and landscapes, and the sustainable use of Australia's flora in research that is led by Indigenous experts and communities.

Funded PhD and MPhil positions are available in the (i) Bushfood project and the (ii) Next-generation fertilisers project and soil ameliorants project. Honours and Masters projects are available in all active projects. Please register your interest emailing Susanne.Schmidt@uq.edu.au

Active projects:

• Climate smart agriculture: quantifying the benefits of cultural burning in QLD grazing lands (led by Firesticks Alliance, funded by the AustDAF)
• A Deadly Solution: Traditional Knowledge and Western Science for an Indigenous-led Bushfood Industry (ARC Discovery-Indigenous)
• Realising Smart Compost Formulations (End Food Waste CRC)
• Next-generation fertilisers and soil ameliorants (ARC Industry Transformation Training Centre 'Transforming Biosolids')

Completed recent projects

• Environmentally responsive bio-composite fertilisers
• Ecofriendly fertilisers for sustainable farming
• Effective microbial biostimulants in horticulture
• New technologies and management: transforming nitrogen use efficiency in cane production
• Recycled phosphorus from waste streams as efficient sources for agriculture
• License to farm - nitrogen use efficiency in sugarcane production
• Developing sugarcane-legume companion cropping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Spinifex desert grass - ecophysiology and nano-cellulose production for novel biomaterials
• The role of soil microbes to restore soil carbon in tropical reforestation
• Soil carbon sequestration in the Cooloola biosphere chronosequence
• Advancing Livestock Waste as Low Emission-High Efficiency Fertilizers
• Ecogenomic profiling of Queensland sugarcane soils

Dr Qi Shao is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC), where his primary research focus is on modelling mineral separation processes using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. His recent work has applied CFD to a range of mineral separation equipment, including the Teeter Bed Separator, CrossFlow, HydroFloat, conventional mechanical flotation cells, and the Jameson Cell. By examining hydrodynamics and performance across varying operating conditions and equipment designs, his research aims to enhance separation efficiency, reduce energy consumption, and boost productivity.

Dr Shao earned his PhD in Environmental Engineering from The University of Queensland, where he developed numerical models using Cellular Automata to simulate hydrological processes in mining landforms. Following his PhD, he continued at UQ as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, investigating fluid-particle interactions in hydraulic erosion of granular structures through coupled CFD and Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations.

Prior to his current role, Dr Shao conducted research at the University of Melbourne, focusing on numerical simulations of solute transport and multiphase flows in heterogeneous porous media. His work addressed critical environmental and engineering challenges, including contaminant transport, geological CO₂ sequestration, and groundwater flow dynamics.

Dr Shao’s expertise spans a wide array of numerical methods, including Finite Element Method (FEM), Finite Volume Method (FVM), DEM, Cellular Automata, and Discrete Event Simulation, which he applies to solve complex problems across environmental and mineral engineering domains.

Dr Shapter's background was originally in Agricultural Science and higher education which evolved to the completion of her PhD in molecular genetics in 2008. Prior to her current appointments she was the senior researcher on ARC linkage, Australian Flora Foundation and RIRDC research grants looking at the genetic foundations of domestication and adaptation in Australian native grasses. She supervised two HDR students and has a strong publication record in this field. Her research interests centre on identifying and developing practical applications for gene sequencing. Fran is passionate about teaching and has worked as a facilitator commercially and trained early career researchers and PhD candidates in Project Management, IP and commercialisation and Leadership. She was a participant in the 2020 summit and was appointed to the federal advisory Rural R&D Council in 2009. Dr Shapter was also a sitting member of the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator's Ethics and Community Consultative Committee, 2016-2020.

Fran began tutoring at the UQ School of Veterinary Science in 2011, in large animal production, parasitology and microbiology. Since then she has held a variety of teaching, research and professional roles based around project management, curriculum design and blended learning design. She was the project manager for a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) grant which developed 40 vertically and horizontally integrated, online, adaptive tutorials for veterinary science students and was co-author on the manual developed by this project. She assisted with the development of a new flexible delivery laboratory animal science course in 2015 and delivers 5 weeks of online learning units into this course currently. She has been part of the SoTL research and evaluation associated with both these projects and has reported outcomes at University showcases annually since 2016.

In 2017 Fran became the new Student Clinical Skills Hub Coordinator, a purpose-built, state-of-the-art self-directed learning facility for students of veterinary science. Whilst undertaking this role student usage, resource availability and online support for the Hub has increased more than tenfold. Fran's aim is to provide a safe, authentic, self-directed learning environment where students can practice their clinical skills in accordance with individual competences, beyond the scheduled contact hours of their programs and further enhance their capacity for self-directed, lifelong learning whilst acknowledging the vast array of qualifications, previous training, life experience and cultural backgrounds each student brings with them to the Hub.In 2020 Fran recieved a UQ Teaching Excellence Award due to the demonstarted impact of the SVS Student Clinical Skills Hub.

In 2019 Fran was appointed as a Lecturer in Veterinary Science, while continuing her role as the Hub's coordinator. She continues to maintain her teaching roles into the veterinary program in animal handling, animal production, reproduction, microbiology, parasitology and plant identification. Fran has an additional role in the School with regard to asissting with the design, development and integration of blended learning resources, after working with the Science faculties blended learning design team in 2018. However her SoTL portfolio is best showcased by the development of the online learning community and training resources she has developed for the Student Clinical Skills Hub. As of June 2021, Fran has also taken on the role of the School of Veterinary Science Honours Program Coordinator.

Dr. Shaygan is a soil scientist who works on multidisciplinary projects. She obtained both her BSc and MSc degrees in Agronomy from the University of Tehran, followed by a Master of Environmental Management from the University of Queensland. Dr. Shaygan completed her PhD in Soil Science at the University of Queensland. Prior to joining SMI in 2017, she worked with the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Dr. Shaygan's research focuses on the rehabilitation of degraded landscapes and mine sites, mine cover design, quantification and modelling of water flow, solute and nutrient transport in porous media, soil erosion, characterization of soil hydrological and mechanical properties, and soil salinity management. In addition, she investigates the integration of biofuel crops into mine closure strategies, with a particular focus on the use of Pongamia trees for land rehabilitation, carbon sequestration, and biofuel production.

Her research interests include but are not limited to: (i) salinity management, (ii) land rehabilitation, (iii) water flow and solute/nutrient transport in porous media, (iv) erosion processes, (v) Pongamia tree growth and responses to different environmental conditions, and (vi) soil hydrological modelling.

Since joining SMI, Dr. Shaygan has secured over $3.8 million in grant funding, including more than $1 million as Lead Chief Investigator (Lead CI). Her research projects have been supported by the mining industry (e.g., Stanmore Resources and Anglo American), the Queensland Government, and the Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP).

Nicki is a marine conservation scientist in the Centre for Policy Futures and an Adjunt in the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, where she focuses on how conservation and biodiversity outcomes can be improved by interfacing science with policy using novel approaches and decision-support tools. Her expertise is in coastal and marine restoration planning and policy, conservation and impact mitigation at the land-sea interface, and marine biodiversity offsets and net gain policy. She is currently the Regulatory Lead for the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), a partnership between the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), funded by the Commonwealth Reef Trust. She co-leads a National Environmental Science Program (NESP) on de-risking nature repair in Australia. She previously co-led another National Environmental Science Program (NESP) project on identifying and overcoming the legal barriers to marine and coastal restoration.

Professor Peter Sly is the Director, Children's Health and Environment Program. Professor Sly is a NHMRC Leadership Fellow (L3) and an emeritus paediatric respiratory physician with extensive research experience in respiratory physiology, developmental immunology and children's environmental health. Professor Sly’s research aims to understand the mechanisms underlying chronic childhood lung diseases in order to improve clinical management and to delay or prevent their onset, with consequent reductions in adult lung diseases. A combination of basic science, longitudinal cohort studies and translation of research findings into clinical practice, including clinical trials, are included in three main areas: asthma, cystic fibrosis and children’s environmental health

Professor Sly is an advisor to the World Health Organisation Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Disease and currently serves on International Advisory Boards and committees, including: WHO network of Collaborating Centres in Children’s Environmental Health; Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) Study, Canada; the Infant Lung Health Study, Paarl, South Africa; and A SHARED Future: Achieving Strength, Health, and Autonomy, through Renewable Energy Development for the Future.