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Rosie is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Queensland Business School. Her research focuses on institutional disruption and the governance of disaster recovery, with particular attention to how policies and programs shape community resilience.

She completed her PhD in Strategy at The University of Queensland, examining how communities in New South Wales responded to institutional disruption during the 2019–2020 bushfires and 2022 Northern Rivers floods. Her research demonstrated how institutional failure contributed to sensemaking breakdown, leaving residents uncertain, unsupported, and forced to improvise their own responses. These community-led efforts were shaped by strong attachments to place and the mobilisation of local resources. The study developed a process model of improvised place custodianship, offering new insight into how people navigate governance breakdowns during extreme weather events.

Rosie has taught at UQ since 2018 across a range of management, strategy, and marketing courses. She is currently involved in evaluating large-scale disaster recovery programs, analysing how resilience and reconstruction strategies are implemented on the ground. Her work explores how responsibility for resilience is shared across governments, communities, and industries as extreme weather events become more frequent and severe.

Guided by a research ethos grounded in care and engaged scholarship, Rosie is committed to bridging research and practice to support more accountable, equitable, and locally informed disaster recovery efforts.

Marcus Gallagher is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. His research interests are in the foundations of artificial intelligence, including optimisation and machine learning algorithms. He is particularly interested in understanding the relationship between algorithm performance and problem structure via benchmarking. His research includes cross-disciplinary collaborations and real-world applications of AI techniques in areas such as healthcare and computer networks.

Dr Gallagher received his BCompSc and GradDipSc from the University of New England, Australia in 1994 and 1995 respectively, and his PhD in 2000 from the University of Queensland, Australia. He also completed a GradCert (Higher Education) in 2010.

Victor is a Postdoctoral researcher at The University of Queensland, with a clinical and academic background in rehabilitation medicine, public health, and digital health equity. His research focuses on enhancing healthcare access for culturally and linguistically diverse communities, particularly through the development of telehealth innovations and inclusive service design. He has experience teaching public health and epidemiology to medical students and mentoring postgraduate researchers. Victor has co-authored peer-reviewed publications, contributed to national surveys, and helped develop validated tools, including the Digital Health Acceptability Questionnaire.

He completed his Medical Doctor degree in Peru, followed by a specialisation in Rehabilitation Medicine, and later earned a Master of Public Health and a PhD from UQ. His doctoral research explored equity in telehealth access and was supported by multiple competitive scholarships and grants. Victor has also held leadership roles in Peru’s national health system and sports medicine programs, including the PanAmerican Games Lima 2019. His work has been recognised through awards for research excellence, equity, and inclusion.

I am a veterinarian and reproductive biologist specialising in assisted reproductive technologies (ART), with a focus on IVF, ICSI, cloning, and embryo technologies for animal production and wildlife conservation. My work aims to improve our understanding of reproductive biology and develop innovative reproductive biotechnologies across livestock, equine, and wildlife species, with strong links to industry and international collaborators.

My work has delivered key advances in the field, including:

• First cloned horses in South America (2010), Australia (2018) and Estonia (2026).
• Development of efficient OPU–ICSI systems in horses
• First in vitro-produced kangaroo embryos (2025)
• Embryo production across species, including donkeys and mules (2022)
• First cloned zebra embryos worldwide (2020)

With international research experience in South America, the USA and Europe, my current work focuses on optimising cloning, IVF and ICSI systems, identifying biomarkers of gamete and embryo quality and developing biobanking strategies for threatened species biology. Check out my last BirsScience talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIKGa0nqfIs

Dr Albie Gan is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Queensland (UQ).

Albie completed his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering at UQ in 2021, followed by a PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2025. His PhD research focused on developing and optimising innovative biological nutrient removal processes for municipal wastewater treatment, with an emphasis on enhancing phosphorus removal while reducing energy consumption, chemical usage and sludge production. His research involved long-term pilot-scale demonstrations in collaboration with industry partners, including Urban Utilities, Veolia and Seqwater.

His current research focuses on environmental biotechnology, particularly the development of innovative biological wastewater treatment technologies for process intensification and resource recovery. He is currently leading research into microbial entrapment technology, which aims to improve the retention, activity and stability of specialised microorganisms for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. His broader research interests include biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal, bioprocess engineering, process optimisation, pilot-scale demonstration and technology scale-up.

Maher Gandhi received his medical degree in the UK in 1989, and then trained as a haematologist, including a Fellowship in malignant haematology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto. He was awarded a PhD in immunology at Cambridge University under Patrick Sissons. He moved to Brisbane and from 2003-2024 worked as a Senior Staff Specialist (Pre-Eminent Status) in the Haematology / Oncology Department of the Princess Alexandra Hospital. He leads his own laboratory group and has established an international reputation studying the tumour immune microenvironment in lymphoma and its manipulation, with continuous NHMRC/MRFF funding since 2005. He was Chair of Laboratory Sciences for the Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group between 2010-2016, won the prestigious Australian Society of Medical Research Clinical Research Award in 2010 and in 2012 took up the inaugural John McCaffrey Cancer Council of Queensland / Office of Health and Medical Research Clinical Research Fellowship. Between 2011-2014 he was privileged to serve as Chair of the Metro South Human Research Ethics Committee. In 2013 he was appointed Professor of Experimental Haematology, University of Queensland, based at the Translational Research Institute, in 2014 became the inaugural Leukaemia Foundation Chair of Blood Cancer Research at the University of Queensland Frazer Institute, and was appointed Cancer Program Head in 2016. In 2018 he became Executive Director and Director of Clinical Research at Mater Research. He also continues to head the Blood Cancer Research Group, which is based in Mater Research. In 2025 to current, he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Translational Research Institute and its manufacturing branch TM@TRI, to serve Queenslanders by transforming health through collaborative research.

Dr Elise Gane graduated with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours Class I) and a University Medal for academic achievement from The University of Queensland in 2008. She worked as a physiotherapist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (2009-2013), a quaternary public hospital, treating complex patients across the continuum of care from Intensive Care and post-surgical wards to inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient services. In 2014, Elise commenced her PhD with The University of Queensland, focussed on measuring the musculoskeletal side effects at the neck and shoulder that result from neck dissection surgery for head and neck cancer. Following the awarding of her PhD in early 2018, Elise was employed as a post doctoral researcher at the RECOVER Injury Research Centre (UQ) exploring return to work and social roles after road traffic crash. Since January 2019, Elise has fulfilled the role of Physiotherapy Conjoint Research Fellow between the School of Health and Rehabiltiation Sciences (UQ) and the Princess Alexandra Hospital Physiotherapy Department. In this role, Elise mentors physiotherapists in health service-based research (both qualitative and quantitative) whilst also pursuing her own research interests, including a telehealth cancer exercise program. She teaches a research course in systematic review methodology to students in the Physiotherapy Graduate Entry Masters program.

Elise's areas of research interest include codesign, implementation science, allied health led-models of care, oncology rehabiltiation, lymphoedema, chronic disease, physical activity (particularly in rehabilitation settings, chronic disease, or the workplace), and musculoskeletal health.

Biography

Senior Lecturer Dr Ramon Ganigué leads a research program on microbial biotechnologies for sustainable manufacturing, addressing critical challenges such as climate change and circular resource management for the benefit of people and planet.

He obtained his PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Girona, Spain. Prior to joining The University of Queensland (UQ), Ramon held academic and research positions across Europe and Australia, including Assistant Professor (2017–2022) and Associate Professor (2022–2026) in the Department of Biotechnology at Ghent University, Belgium, alongside postdoctoral appointments at Ghent University, the University of Girona, and UQ.

He has published over 100 peer‑reviewed articles and established extensive international collaborations spanning Europe, Australia, China, and North America. Ramon has led multiple large-scale, multi-partner research projects and, over the past five years, has secured approximately AUD 10 million in competitive European funding to support his team’s activities. In 2024, he was appointed Associate Editor of Frontiers in Bioprocess Engineering.

Research

Vision: To harness the diversity and functionality of microbial systems to enable sustainable, circular manufacturing processes that decouple production from fossil resources and support the transition to a net-zero bioeconomy.

Mission: To engineer robust, scalable microbial bioprocesses that convert complex, non-refined feedstocks into high-value products for the benefit of people and planet. His team integrates microbial physiology, community engineering, and process design to unlock the potential of non-model microorganisms and microbiomes, while developing intensified and industrially relevant bioprocess platforms.

Dr Ramon Ganigué’s research lies at the intersection of microbial biotechnology, chemical engineering, and sustainability, with a focus on engineering microbial bioprocesses for sustainable production systems. His team applies an integrated toolbox spanning microbial physiology, community engineering, metabolic and process modelling, and bioprocess intensification to develop next-generation biotechnologies.

Central to this approach is a deep understanding of microbial physiology and metabolism. The research places particular emphasis on non-model microorganisms, including anaerobes, extremophiles, and complex microbiomes, which offer unique and underexploited capabilities for sustainable bioproduction. These systems are leveraged to convert non-refined and complex feedstocks into value-added products, such as biochemicals, biofuels, bioplastics, and alternative proteins.

A key focus of the program is addressing the operational and engineering challenges that limit industrial deployment. This includes the development of continuous, intensified, and non-axenic bioprocesses, as well as innovative reactor configurations designed to enhance robustness, efficiency, and scalability. Through this integrated approach, the research aims to bridge the gap between fundamental microbiology and industrial application, enabling practical and scalable solutions for sustainable manufacturing.

While sustainable biomanufacturing remains a core focus, the group actively explores the application of its microbial biotechnology toolbox to other systems and challenges aligned with sustainability goals for people and planet.

Teaching & learning contributions

Ramon is an experienced educator contributing across undergraduate and postgraduate programs. He currently lectures in key courses including Principles of Biomedical and Bioprocess Engineering (BIOE1001), Environmental Systems (ENVE2501), and the capstone Process Engineering Design Project (CHEE4001). He is also co-editor of the 2024 IWA Scientific Book Resource Recovery from Water: Principles and Application, and has contributed to MOOCs on resource recovery from wastewater and carbon capture and utilisation technologies.

My teaching practice is anchored in the scholarship of reflective practice, an evidence-based approach proven to enhance teaching quality and improve student outcomes and grounded in the conviction that quality teaching is fundamental to student success.

As the Academic Lead for Advancing Teaching at UQ’s Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation (ITaLI), I design programs that enhance teaching excellence. Through these programs, my leadership and expertise impact governance, curriculum innovation, and has shaped inclusive academic communities within and beyond UQ.

My research impacts Higher Education globally and focuses on recognising and rewarding teaching expertise, shaping policies across higher education institutions. I have contributed to 24 curriculum reviews of academic programs, published 84 scholarly works, secured $1.9M in funding to investigate and innovate university education practices, and spearheaded international collaborations that influence teaching recognition and career progression globally.

A dedicated mentor, I have supported over 800 UQ staff in achieving HEA Fellowships, guided senior leaders globally in attaining their Principal Fellowship status. I have established similar schemes in partnership with 8 universities across in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK.

I am the program convener of the Graduate Certificate of University Teaching Practice which enables UQ staff develop teaching expertise. Successful completion of this accredited program leads to HEA Fellowship.

Professor Brenda Gannon is an international interdisciplinary leader providing evidence and solutions for health and social care systems, spanning across economics, medicine and social science, in collaboration with academia and industry. She brings extensive experience and expertise in program and policy development related to health and ageing, social inclusion, and citizen science, fostering and advancing excellence at the intersection of many disciplines.

Working at the interface of health service delivery, strategic planning and practice influence, and health economics more broadly, across many sectors, enables her research to inform optimisation of health care and workforce organisation. The models are translatable and transferrable across many sectors, including ageing, mental health, child and the working populations.

She is a Professor in the School of Economics and an Affiliate Professor at the Mater Research Institute, The University of Queensland. She is also an affiliate member of CEPAR (ARC Centre for Research Excellence in Population Ageing Research). Since 2022, she is Honorary Adjunct Professor at University of Galway, Ireland. She was Director of Research in the School of Economics from 2018-2023. . She has developed a range of projects on topics of dementia, physical activity and cognition, health and health care utilization, and consumer directed care and home care. She has led and worked extensively on interdisciplinary research with gerontologists,several clinicians and methodologists. Her work has been influential in the development of programs for falls preventions and informing policy on disability and social inclusion, and has positively impacted on the health of many older people across the world. Her work also spans across the lifecyle from birth, and she has worked with clinicians on trials for newborns with breathing difficulities. She is the Health Economics and Epidemiology lead for the Queensland Family Cohort (QFC) Study, the pilot led by Mater Research, and is on the QFC Governance Committee, focusing on maternal mental health, inequalities of opportunity, alcohol use and related health care use and costs.

Professor Gannon’s research carries a dual role, (1) as an applied health economist using big and complex data, utilising health economics theory and concepts to test the validity of causal hypotheses, (2) collaborator across all Faculties leading critical economic evaluations. Her research is funded by her position as chief investigator on projects from the Australian Research Council, National Health and Medical Research Council, MRFF, EU H2020, Health Research Board, Ireland and the National Institute for Health Research, UK. She is the lead economist on projects in dementia, emergency care and paediatric care. All studies incorporate methodological innovations and applied research. She has provided advice to government at senior levels, and had a Ministerial appointment, on the Medical Services Advisory Committee Evaluation Sub-Committee 2017-2021. She sits regularly as a panel member of various NHMRC and MRFF grant review committees and has also previously appointed to the EU Commission grant panels. She has been invited to give several talks at international fora, including a key note talk on ageing and longevity at the National Academy of Medicine, Global Roadmap to Healthy Longevity, in Washington DC. Professor Gannon was an elected Professorial member of the Academic Board at UQ 2018-2022. In 2023, Professor Gannon was elected a Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been elected as a Council Member of Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2024. In 2023, she led a symposium on Economics of Dementia Care, with international colleagues, in collaboration with Dementia Australia.

Dr Mile Gao is a physicist specialising in condensed matter physics, with a focus on charge carrier dynamics in organic semiconductor devices. His research advances the development of novel measurement techniques to improve the understanding of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). He has pioneered several charge carrier mobility measurement methods, including Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor CELIV (MIS-CELIV), photo-MIS-CELIV, injection-CELIV, and photo-injection-CELIV. These techniques enable precise characterisation of charge transport and generation processes in diode-like structures, addressing key challenges in organic optoelectronics.

Dr. Mile's work has led to significant insights into charge injection, extraction, and mobility in organic semiconductors, with implications for improving device efficiency and stability. His research is highly interdisciplinary, combining physics, materials science, and device engineering.

He has published extensively in high-impact journals and holds a patent for his contributions to the field. As an ARC DECRA Fellow at The University of Queensland, he also teaches and supervises students in advanced experimental techniques for semiconductor characterisation.

Expertise:

• Charge transport in organic semiconductors
• Carrier generation efficiency in OPVs
• Advanced electrical characterisation techniques
• Organic optoelectronic device physics

Paul Gardiner's multidisciplinary research promotes active ageing with a focus on helping people improve and maintain quality of life. His PhD research reported for the first time that it is feasible to reduce sedentary time in older adults. His current research builds on this to examine behavioural approaches to dementia prevention.

He is part of the Our Voice Citizen Science global research network. This network has over 30 members across six continents and aims to improve health equity through allowing citizens to discover their environment, discuss their findings, and advocate for change.

He has a strong interest in diversity, equity and inclusion and co-founded the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Special Interest Group of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA).

Previous research areas have included evaluation of drug and alcohol treatment services, development and dissemination of parenting programs, stillbirth epidemiology, and women's health.

Dr Kate Gartlan is an immunologist with considerable expertise in cellular immunology, particularly using in vivo models of inflammation to investigate immune-modulation and T cell polarisation. Dr Gartlan began her research career at WEHI within Professor Ken Shortman’s laboratory developing strong skills in both molecular and cell biology, where she became interested in the early factors that influence adaptive immunity. She completed her PhD in 2009 at the Burnet Institute working with Associate Professor Mark Wright, where she studied functional redundancy between Tetraspanin proteins in the immune system. To advance her understanding of inflammatory mediators and adaptive immune polarisation, she moved to the University of Oxford and took up a postdoctoral position within the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. Working with Professor Quentin Sattentau, she investigated novel ways to modulate T cell polarisation and influence B cell responses to HIV vaccines.

After returning to Australia, she has worked with Professor Geoff Hill at QIMR Berghofer investigating novel therapies to treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in allograft recipients. Dr Gartlan has held active teaching roles within both university and research institute environments, contributing to undergraduate science and medicine programs at both departmental and college levels.

Her main research interests at present surround the role of IL-17 & IL-22 in GVHD, potential therapeutics to modulate T cell polarisation after allogeneic bone marrow/stem cell transplant (BMT/SCT), as well as developing novel inhibitors of graft rejection to improve engraftment after BMT/SCT.

Professor Coral Gartner is an international expert in tobacco control policy and the world's leading expert on electronic nicotine delivery systems (or e-cigarettes). She is the Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence on Achieving the Tobacco Endgame (Tobacco Endgame CRE), an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, and the Chair of the Interdisciplinary Tobacco Endgame Research Network, the country lead Investigator for Australia with the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (ITC Project), and a Co-Investigator with the SewAUs Wastewater Epidemiology Project. She is currently the Director of Research at the University of Queensland's School of Public Health, the Regional Editor for Australasia for the BMJ journal, Tobacco Control, after serving as a senior editor from 2012-2018. She is the immediate Past President of the Oceania Chapter of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT-O).

She leads a multidisciplinary research team of international experts (located in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the USA, England, and the Netherlands) to develop the evidence base for tobacco endgame strategies and to identify the most promising policies that could end the cigarette epidemic in Australia, and beyond. Her research program includes consideration of how these policies could be implemented, while mitigating potential unintended impacts and increasing equity. Her research methods span cohort studies, clinical trials, policy analyses, simulation modelling and mixed methods research.

Professor Gartner joined the University of Queensland in 2006. With undergraduate qualifications in environmental health and a PhD in environmental epidemiology, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship on tobacco control policy and held a NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (2014-2018). In 2019, she led the development of UQ’s flagship cross-faculty postgraduate programs in Environmental Health Sciences.

Professor Gartner has published over 300 academic works, including journal articles, book chapters, and submissions to government inquiries, and has served as an expert witness to a number of government inquiries and consultations. She has also authored articles on tobacco control topics for The Conversation.

Fleur Garton is the Bill Guest MND Fellow, leading a research program focused on improving outcomes for those with a neurological disease. She completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Hons I) in 2008 at the University of Sydney. Pursing an interest in the molecular basis of skeletal muscle function she completed her honours and PhD at the Institute of Neuroscience and Muscle research at the Children’s Hospital Westmead. Fleur spent two-years as post-doctoral researcher at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne. She was responsible for modelling the effect of gene dosage using rAAV vectors while helping to contribute to studies on human performance and health. In 2016, Fleur moved to work with Professor Naomi Wray at the Program in Complex Trait Genomics team at the University of Queensland. She was awarded a Bill Gole MND Postdoctoral fellowship from MNDRA in 2016, an NHMRC Early Career Researcher Fellowship (2017-2022) and the Scott Sullivan MND Research Fellow (2022-2025). Her research program aims to further understand the genetic mechanisms of motor neurone disease (MND/ALS) using novel genomics analyses. This includes investigations into the use of cell-free DNA and other 'omic data to improve diagnosis and treatment. Fleur currently has research projects running at the Royal Brisbane Womens Hospital and the Mater Hospital together with local and international collaborators. Any potential participants or collaborators are encouraged to contact her on email about these projects.

Professor Gail Garvey is a proud Kamilaroi woman, a NHMRC Research Leadership Fellow, and Professor of Indigenous Health Research in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland.

Professor Garvey has established an extensive and targeted research program focused on cancer and the wellbeing of Australia’s First Nations people.

Gail was among the first researchers to recognise the substantial impact of cancer on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and her work has contributed greatly to key policy and practice changes to improve their cancer outcomes. Professor Garvey currently leads a Centre of Research Excellence – Targeted Approaches to Improve Cancer Services (TACTICS) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (NHMRC #1153027 2019-2023). The TACTICS CRE focuses on emerging priorities in cancer-related health services research and actively promotes the translation of research knowledge into Australian public health policy and practice. The CRE also focuses on building research capacity through training the next generation of researchers in cancer control.

Gail leads work in psychosocial aspects of cancer care for First Nations Australians. Her research into the psychosocial aspects of cancer care for First Nations cancer patients, is a critical component to improving their cancer outcomes. Professor Garvey and her team developed and validated a new tool to measure the unmet support needs of Indigenous cancer patients, which is now a recommendation in the Optimal Care Pathway guidelines.

Professor Garvey's research program also focuses on understanding and measuring the dimensions of wellbeing important to and valued by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the life course, which is important for developing/evaluating health interventions.

Originally trained as a teacher, Gail began her research career at the University of Newcastle in the 1990s where she was one of the first researchers to examine issues around the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical students. Since then she has been involved in a wide array of research collaborations both within Australia and overseas spanning three decades.

Along with her research expertise, Gail's strengths lie in her leadership and her collaborative approach to bringing key stakeholders - Indigenous consumers, researchers, and clinicians - together to achieve common goals. Career highlights include conducting the first Roundtable to identify research priorities in cancer for Indigenous Australians (2010); establishing the National Indigenous Cancer Network (2013) in collaboration with Cancer Council Australia, the Lowitja Institute, the Indigenous Health InfoNet and Menzies School of Health Research; instigating and convening the inaugural World Indigenous Cancer Conference in 2016 (Brisbane); and co-hosting the 2nd conference in 2019 (Canada).

Since 2011 Gail has received over $50 million in grant and government funding, including a NHMRC Investigator Leadership Grant (NHMRC #1176651 2020-2024). Over the same period Gail has published more than 180 papers in peer-reviewed.