Find an expert

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.

Professor Eugeni Roura is a nutritionist by background with specific research interests in digestive physiology and chemosensory science. He joined the University of Queensland (UQ) in 2010 as a member of the Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences, where he leads a research team active in the interface between basic and translational research aiming at industrial and societal applications. The main research interests include gut nutrient sensing mechanisms and appetite modulation (including taste and smell) relevant to humans, pigs and poultry. Recently, the research focus has evolved to include transgenerational nutrition studies including foetal development in pigs and “in ovo” applications in chickens. In 2011 he joined the UQ School of Biomedical Sciences as an Affiliated Lecturer.

Professor Roura graduated with a Veterinary Science degree from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) before pursuing post-graduate studies in Nutrition at the University of California (UC Davis). After finishing a Post-Doctoral position at UC Davis, he started a sixteen-year industry career working for the feed and food industries in R&D and market-focused technical services, culminating as Group Deputy R&D Director of Lucta S.A.

He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and he has been invited as keynote speaker to ca 50 scientific meetings. He is currently serving as a member of the National Committee for Nutrition of the Australian Academy of Sciences, International Steering Committee of the Digestive Physiology of pigs, R&D and Education Committee of the Australasian Pork Research Institute Ltd., expert evaluator of 1 international and 2 national research grant programs, and as Editorial Board of two scientific journals ("Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology" and "Animals"). Main past positions include President of the Austral-Asian Chemosensory Society, Vice-Chairperson of the Board Specialty Committee of Mongolian Medicine, Standards Australia FT-022 Committee “Sensory Analysis of Food”, Master of Dietetics Studies Engagement Committee (UQ), AgriFutures Chicken Meat Advisory Panel, and the European Feed Additive Federation (FEFANA) amongst others. In addition, Professor Eugeni Roura has been involved in several national and international conference organizing committees including acting as leading co-Chair of the Digestive Physiology of Pigs 2018.

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

I graduated from The University of Queensland Gatton Campus in 1994, taking my first position within the School of Veterinary Science in October 1994. I am an experienced Veterinary Technical Officer, qualified Veterinary Nurse and Workplace Trainer and Assessor. I have a strong background in animal husbandry and welfare, behaviour, applied animal ethics, and sustainable wellbeing with more than 30 years’ experience in varied animal and veterinary research paradigms.

Following 18 years as Manager of the Clinical Studies Centre (CSC) within the School of Veterinary Science, I moved into a Level A academic position and was appointed Academic Program Coordinator for the Bachelor of Veterinary Technology degree at UQ (2013 - 2019). Concurrently, I held the position of Director of the CSC from 2013 – 2018. I teach primarily into the BVetTech and BVSc programs but also contribute to several other animal-related programs at the UQ Gatton Campus.

My passion for teaching, and commitment to instil a desire in all students to embrace life-long learning underpins my teaching and mentoring philosophy.

I gained my PhD in 2017 and have expanded my areas of speciality research to include the psychology of human – animal relationships, animal behaviour and animal-related occupational trauma and healing. I am a Compassion Fatigue Specialist Therapist, and recieved my Graduate Diploma in Psychological Sciences in 2022. Having lived experience of occupational trauma and compassion fatigue, I present extensively in these subject areas as well as in psychological wellbeing and emotional intelligence. Further to presentations, I also provide interactive, thought-provoking seminars and workshops within all sectors of animal-related industries and occupations.

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.

Heather attained her Bachelor of Technology degree in food engineering from Massey University. She then spent 10 years in gelatine manufacture in various roles including quality assurance, production management and process improvement engineering. In 2015 she completed her PhD study into the rheology of biopolymer soft particle suspensions, supervised by Professor Jason Stokes at the University of Queensland. She has since continued at UQ in postdoctoral roles investigating the relationship between rheological properties, food structure and sensory perception of real food products and model soft particle suspensions with a focus on dairy protein systems. The key outcomes from the project have allowed our industry partner to move towards the rational design of food products.

Dr Jiahua Shi got her PhD in Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore in 2015, followed by three years postdoc training at NTU Food Technology Centre, Singapore, as well as APEC Centre for Sustainable Development in Agriculture & Fishery Sectors, Singapore. She also worked four years at School of Environmental Engineering and School of Medicine at University of Wollongong before joining UQ.

As a FaBA Senior Research Fellow and Future Research Leader, Dr Shi's research at UQ focuses on premium food and beverge products aligning with the Trailblazer of Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA). With a background in analytical chemistry and microbiology, Dr Shi's food research aims at microbial conversion of food waste (e.g. ugly fruits and waste veges) into high value food ingredients through fermentation technology. Since 2015, Dr Shi has attracted 6 research grants (>1.2 million) as chief investigator (lead CI and/or co-CI). She has been working closely with local and international food industry partners and government agencies, as well as multiple international research institutes in China, Singapore and Denmark.

Dr Millicent Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Crop Physiology at The University of Queensland. Her research is focused on understanding the physiological mechanisms that underpin yield stability and quality in grain legumes. Millicent works closely with breeders, both in Australia and overseas, to develop improved knowledge on abiotic stress adaptation and tools to accelerate genetic gain. Dr Smith leads a national research project funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation focused on deploying novel phenotyping and genomics approaches to fast-track the development of new chickpea varieties that display lower yield loss in response to high temperature. Millicent is passionate about training the next generation of plant scientists. She leads a growing research team of postdoctoral scientists, postgraduate and undergraduate research students and has been awarded for her innovative teaching approaches applied to large undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Professor Heather Smyth is a flavour chemist and sensory scientist who has been working with premium food and beverage products for more than twenty years. With a background in wine flavour chemistry, her expertise is in understanding consumer enjoyment of foods and beverages in terms of both sensory properties and composition.

Smyth has a special interest in describing and articulating food quality, understanding regional flavours of locally grown Australian produce, and modelling food flavour and textural properties using instrumental measurements. Smyth also specialises in researching how human physiology and psychology can impact sensory perception and therefore food choice.

Ricardo J. Soares Magalhães is Professor of Zoonotic Disease Epidemiology and Biosecurity and Director of the Queensland Alliance for One Health Sciences. Prof. Soares Magalhaes is a European Veterinary Board Specialist in Population Medicine with extensive national and international research experience in three main areas: spatial epidemiology of zoonotic infections, outbreak response for emerging zoonoses and risk assessment of animal’s environmental health/biosecurity. A key focus of his team's current research is to develop geographical risk assessment methods to assist climate-sensitive zoonotic infectious disease prioritisation for improved surveillance and risk management in both human and animal populations.

Prof. Soares Magalhães’s team is currently leading the development of a number of epidemiological data analytics platforms including for zoonotic influenza (WHO SEARO, Word Bank), antimicrobial resistance in agribusinesses and the environment (SAAFE CRC) and veterinary clinical data (VARDC and ACARCinom).

My research is in the discipline of higher education and focuses on university teacher beliefs, thinking and practices in relation to the use of educational technologies in teaching & learning. I am also interested in learning designs to support authentic learning approaches using new and emerging technologies such as Web 2.0/3.0 technologies, mobile technologies and 3D immersive environments.

Caroline Steel’s research is in the use of current and emerging educational technologies primarily in university and more recently as applied to the field of Technology-Enhanced Language Learning. She is President and Executive Member of ascilite (Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education). Her research into educational technologies draws on teacher and learner beliefs and affordance theories to investigate learner and teacher preferences and current uses of technology in education. She was lead researcher on a large multi-university research project that investigated the transitional experiences, motivational factors, technology preferences and uses of language students across 3 universities.

Caroline has worked in education-related fields for nearly 20 years as a language teacher, curriculum designer, university teacher educator and now research fellow. Caroline's PhD investigated university teachers' pedagogical beliefs, beliefs about web technologies and how these are enacted in practice. In her research she draws on a number of qualitative research approaches and methods including stimulated recall and concept mapping. Caroline teaches the Masters of Education course ‘Creating classrooms of the future with educational technology' and an undergraduate course in ‘Languages and Technology’.

I began my scientific career with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Chemistry, followed by a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours in Chemistry from Massey University, New Zealand. My honours project focused on developing hydrogels for controlled peptide release in the gut. I then pursued a PhD at Massey University, working on synthetic anti-cancer drugs based on cyclodextrins.

After completing my PhD, I worked as a Research Officer at the New Zealand Veterinary Pathology Epicentre, refining my diagnostic research skills. I continued my career as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Kansas State University, contributing to the detection and surveillance of zoonotic diseases in the swine industry.

Currently, at the University of Queensland, I integrate my expertise in synthetic peptides with vaccine development. My research bridges medical and agricultural biotechnology, focusing on innovative adjuvants and vaccines that span medicinal chemistry, nanotechnology, and immunology, aiming to enhance both health outcomes and agricultural practices.

After graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1997, Allison spent 2 years in mixed practice in Gawler, SA, before traveling to the USA to undertake a residency in Large Animal Internal Medicine at the Ohio State University. She completed her Masters of Science and was awarded Diplomate status of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) in 2002. She then became a faculty member at Auburn University in Alabama and competed a fellowship in Emergency and Critical Care and obtained Diplomate status in 2007. Allison worked as a specialist and taught veterinary students at Auburn University for 12 years, and has over 300 publications/book chapters/scientific presentations/conference lectures. She was awarded 30 research grants and has presented research throughout the world in the areas of equine endocrinology, fungal disease, neurology, infectious disease and pharmacology. Allison resigned her position as Professor of Equine Medicine at Auburn University in 2015 and moved back to Australia. She spent some time in small animal, mixed and equine practice seeing primarily emergency cases whlist actuing as a Director on the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Victoria. She then completed her PhD at the Swedish Agricultural University in Uppsala and commenced as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland's School of Veterinary Science. Allison enjoys speaking at international conferences. Her current research interests include equine endocrinology, pharmacokinetics and tthe local Queensland specific probelms of Hendra virus diagnsotics and vaccination responses and treatment of Insect Bite Hypersensitivity. Because of her broad prior experieinces she is able to supervise graduate students and undertake collaborative research working with a number of veterinary species.

Jason Stokes is a Professor in the School of Chemical Engineering and leads the Premium Food and Beverages Program in Australia’s Food and Beverage Accelerator. This program focuses on industry-driven research to enhance onshore value-adding and business growth opportunities. Jason obtained his BE (Chem) and PhD from University of Melbourne, and was a Researcher with Unilever R&D United Kingdom from 1999-2008, before joining UQ in 2008.

Jason is a recognized expert in the rheology, lubrication, structure and processing of complex fluids and soft materials, including food and beverages. He pioneered the development of rheology and soft contact tribology techniques to provide new insights into oral processing and sensory perception that includes mouthfeel, taste and flavour. His research has uncovered the physical and structural properties driving the complex sensory attributes of a wide variety of food and beverages. These are used by industry to engineer next-generation foods with improved quality and sustainability.

He served in a leadership role as Deputy Associate Dean Research in the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and IT (EAIT), 2020-23, with a specific focus on research training, development and well-being of emerging researchers. He has previously held other senior roles inlcude Acting Associate Dean of Research in Faculty of EAIT and Director of Research in the School of Chemical Engineering.

Some key areas of his research include:

1. Rheology, tribology, and interfacial properties of soft matter, food and beverages, including development of methods to uncover relevant material properties of food and beverages driving mouthfeel, texture and flavour. .
2. Soft materials and Soft matter such as gels, soft glasses, suspensions, microgels, emulsions and foams, with particular emphasis on using fundamental approaches to uncover structure-property relationships for complex systems.
3. Colloids and hydrocolloids such as nanocrystalline cellulose, microgels, polysaccharides, proteins and starches.
4. Development of structure-property-processing relationships for rational design of food and beverages, including dairy & plant-based and solids & liquids.
5. Aqueous lubrication, transport phenomena and flow of non-Newtonian fluids and their application across various industries (minerals, waste, foods, firefighting fluids, polishing fluids).

Professor Stokes lectures and coordinates teaching modules in the Chemical Engineering degree, with particular strengths in Fluid Mechanics and currently coordinates and lectures both Transport Phenomenon (CHEE4009) and Engineering Placement (ENGG7292) courses.

Professor Yasmina Sultanbawa's research is focused within the agribusiness development framework, specifically in the area of food processing, preservation, food safety and nutrition. Her current research includes the minimisation of post harvest losses through value addition and the search for natural preservatives to replace current synthetic chemicals. In addition, her research area also includes the challenge of nutrition security, in particular micronutrient deficiency (hidden hunger), lack of diet diversity and nutritional losses in the food supply chain, which are addressed by her work with underutilized Australian plant species and potential new crops. Her work on Australian native plant foods is focused on incorporation of these plants in mainstream agriculture and diet diversification Working with indigenous communities to develop nutritious and sustainable value added products from native plants for use in the food, feed, cosmetic and health care industries is a key strategy. The creation of employment, economic and social benefits to these remote communities is an anticipated outcome. She considers it a privilege to engage with these communities and is very passionate that her work will have a positive socio-economic impact.

Research Focus

• Functional ingredients (natural additives)

Functional food/feed/nutraceutical ingredients with enhanced nutritional and phytochemical profiles are obtained from specialty crops (Australian native plant foods) and industry co/by-products. Natural additives are obtained from raw materials of vegetable, fruit, herbs/spices or microbiological origin. An example is plant extracts which can provide e.g. antioxidants, shelf-life extension (natural antimicrobials), trace-nutrients (vitamins/ minerals) and novel flavours. Innovative technology solutions

• Novel packaging systems

Development of active, biodegradable packaging material with natural additives for shelf life extension, smart packaging with nanosensors for the effective detection of food contaminants, microperforated packaging systems with optimised modified atmospheres for fresh foods and high barrier packaging material for herbs and spices are practical objectives of her research. Engineered nano-delivery systems for plant bioactives Develop nano-platforms for targeted delivery and controlled release of plant bioactives including antioxidant and antimicrobial products, through testing of in vitro activities and shelf life under various conditions.

• Photodynamic treatment

Photodynamic treatment or photosensitization is a novel light and photo dye based approach which offers promising alternatives to conventional methods for the control of microorganisms. Plant bioactives such as curcumin has been successfully used to control mycrotoxigenic fungi. This technology has potential as a decontamination tool to reduce the microbial load in food and feed.

• Food safety

Her research focus in this field includes intervention strategies to inhibit and prevent food-borne pathogens and spoilage organisms in fresh food and beverages, elucidating mechanisms of antimicrobial action, shelf-life extension with natural antimicrobials, retaining bioactivity during processing and storage, search for natural inhibitors from Australian native plants, use of bioactive honey from Leptospermum polygalifolium (Jelly bush) in treating microbial wound infections.