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Dr. Amani Kasherwa is a social work lecturer in the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Social Work at the University of Queensland (UQ), with expertise in childhood trauma. His primary research focus is on child sexual abuse, particularly among children and families exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in complex humanitarian settings. Amani's work deeply explores the intersection of childhood trauma, including intergenerational trauma and access to support services for children and young people affected by various forms of childhood adversities. He is highly engaged in the fields of critical childhood and youth studies, peacebuilding, family violence, and mental health services.

Amani brings his extensive research, teaching and practice experiences to enrich the learning experiences of undergraduate and postgraduate students at UQ. He received his PhD in Social Work from the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney) in 2024, with a thesis titled "Negotiating Survival Overseas: Exploring the Help-Seeking Processes and Support Patterns of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Survivors in African Communities with Refugee Backgrounds in New South Wales." His research agenda post-PhD focuses on developing culturally safe prevention strategies for children, young people, and families transitioning from refugee settlements and negotiating a new life in high-income countries like Australia, building on the foundation of social work and peacebuilding theories and methods.

Dr Kassianos is a Senior Scientist at the Conjoint Internal Medical Laboratory, Queensland Health. Dr Kassianos has made significant contributions to understanding the cell-cell communication between discrete kidney cell and immune cell populations and the therapeutic potential of targeting this cross-talk in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Dr Kassianos has been integral in the development of innovative tools for CKD analytics: (i) in situ/ex vivo profiling for integrating CKD molecular profiles with histopathology; and (ii) preclinical models for screening novel CKD therapeutics. His research is internationally recognised in the field of CKD pathobiology.

Dr Kassianos has contributed to the fields of nephrology and immunology with 41 publications, >2000 career citations (~48 citations/paper) and invited international keynote lectures. Dr Kassianos has a continued record of success in attracting competitive research funding (>$2M as CI), including an NHMRC Dora Lush Scholarship (2007-2010), an RBWH Foundation Fellowship (2012-2014) and two NHMRC Project Grants as CIA (2016-2019; 2019-2022). Dr Kassianos has publications in high-ranking specialist (nephrology, immunology) and generalist journals, including five editorial commentaries in publication issues. These include 21 publications (~50% of his papers) as first or senior author/co-author – of which, 19 (90%) are in top field-weighted journals (Q1, top 10%), including Kidney Int, J Am Soc Nephrol, Cell Death Dis and J Extracell Vesicles. During this time, Dr Kassianos has supervised 5 Early Career Researchers, 5 PhD students (3 to completion) and 2 Masters students (both to completion). Dr Kassianos is also an Editor at Frontiers in Physiology and has contributed to 3 NHMRC grant review panels (2019-2021).

Tim Kastelle is Professor and Director of the Andrew N. Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership. The Academy's mission is educating students with demonstrated leadership prowess, a passion for sustainability and the potential to solve problems through large-scale innovation, with the Academy also taking leadership in sustainability and innovation both locally and globally. Tim’s research, teaching and engagement work are all based on his study of innovation management. He graduated from Princeton University with a degree in economics, and his MBA and PhD were completed at UQ. He has published widely in the leading innovation journals.

Tim is deeply committed to translating research into practice to help people and organisations create value from ideas. To this end, he writes a well-regarded innovation blog for managers (http://timkastelle.org/blog/), and he has worked to develop innovation and leadership programs in collaboration with a wide range of organisations, such as the Commonwealth Science & Industrial Research Organisation, CSR, Meat & Livestock Australia, Teys Australia, Logan City Council, and Metro South Health.

Dr Kaur is working as an Honorary Research Fellow/Lecturer within the School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland, Australia. Along with her current work on 'Topically applied nano silver biocomposites in Dentistry', she is providing hands on research supervision to higher degree research students.

Dr Kaur's research interests include understanding the surface chemistry at nanoscale, development of nanomaterial libraries for specific applications, characterization using sophisticated spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, behavioral difference between nanoparticles and metal ions, understanding the nano-bio (eco) interactions through the corona formation, quantification and life cycle assessment of nanomaterials in both biological tissues and environmental samples. Her research philosophy is to encourage her students to explore and perform research in areas that they find interesting.

Career overview

PhD Nano-biochemistry (2015)

MSc Chemistry and Biochemistry (2004)

BSc Chemistry and Biology (2002)

Dr Kaur completed her PhD on a MRC-NERC funded project at the University of Birmingham, UK on understanding the surface chemistry of cerium oxide nanoparticles and their uptake and internalisation in human lung epithelial cells (A549). In this work, she developed a library of ceria nanoparticles with a range of functionalities and quantified their oxidation states using STEM-EELS, XPS and XAS. She was a visiting researcher (2012-2015) at University of South Carolina, USA and worked on collaborative research with Public health , USA which gave her substantial international research experience. Dr Kaur worked for 2.5 years (2015-2017) as a postdoctoral research fellow in the famous 'FENAC lab' at University of Birmingham which is UK's national facility for Environmental nanoscience analysis and characterisation and worked with the foremost leaders in their field. During this period, she worked on a NERC funded project towards the development of isotopically labelled and biologically compatible silver nanoparticles with different functionalities for various biomedical and environmental applications. In particular, the focus was to provide a robust protective surface coating to the nanoparticles in order to inhibit the dissolution process in aquatic Zebrafish media. The nanopaticles were fed to Zebrafish and quantified for their multi-generational bioaccumulation using stable isotope tracers in a collaborative work with University of Exeter and Imperial College London, UK.

Before joining UQ, Dr Kaur worked as a Lecturer and then Senior Lecturer in Inorganic and bio-chemistry at Nottingham Trent University, UK. She was the module leader for Year 2 and taught Inorganic chemistry to all levels of undergraduate classes along with Nano and green Technology as well as Biochemistry modules. She has successfully supervised 2 BSc, 2 MRes and 2 PhD students in the past and is currently supervising 2 PhD students at UQ. She has published in High impact journals and presented papers at both National and International Conferences. Recently, she was an invited speaker and honoured at Queensland Parliament for her community work and public service.

Scientific Leadership, Awards and Research grants

• Nov 2022: Invited speaker and honoured with an appreciation momento for community work and public service by member of Parliament Hon Stirling Hinchliffe at Queensland Parliament, Queensland, Australia.
• Oct 2017: GBP 20,000 for research projects, Nottingham Trent University UK research grants 2018.
• Feb 2015: GBP 98,000 NERC Research fellowship in nanoscience, University of Birmingham, UK
• Nov 2014: GBP 1000 Best doctoral project award by Diamond Light Source, Annual XAS meeting, UK
• Jun 2014: Best Poster award by Public health England, Indoor and outdoor pollution annual meeting, Solihull, UK
• Nov 2013: Invited Panel member, Special workshop on nano-ceria, organised by Sustainable Nanotechnology Organisation, Santa Barbara, California, USA
• 2013-2014: Post-graduate research representative for Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, UK
• Sep 2012: Travel award, 2000 CAD, 7th ICEENN, Banff, Alberta, Canada
• Sep 2011: NERC funded doctoral studentship, University of Birmingham, UK
• July 2002: Awarded with the ‘college colour’ by Govt. Mohindra college, Patiala, India
• 2001-2002: Editor in chief of the college science magazine, Govt. Mohindra college, Patiala, India
• Feb 1999: Nominated for outstanding student of the year award, MSSS, Patiala, India

External positions

• 2022-Present: Candidature Chair for MPhil thesis, School of Dentistry, Herston, University of Queensland, Australia.
• 2020-2021: Guest Editor 'Environmental Science: Nano'.
• 2012-2017: Founder and organiser of Cross Campus meeting platform called NANOForum, University of Birmingham, UK
• 2017-2019: External examiner for research degrees, University of Central Lancashire, UK, September
• October 2017 to present: Co-Editor of journal ‘Advances in Nanotechnology’.

Research collaborators and funding agencies:

Natural Environment Research Council, UK

University of Birmingham, UK

University Of South Carolina, USA

Public Health England, UK

Medical Research Council, UK

Imperial College London, UK

University Of Exeter, UK

National Physical Laboratories, UK

BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Germany

Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, France

Université Grenoble Alpes, France

Since returning to academia from industry in 1998, Professor Lydia Kavanagh has become a leader in engineering education and has used her background as a professional engineer to design both curricula and courses for active learning by combining real-world projects and specialist knowledge. She has had a significant impact on the delivery of UQ’s undergraduate engineering program through creative new teaching pedagogies including the Flipped Classroom, innovative authentic approaches to assessment, and the introduction of multi-disciplinary courses. As Director of First Year Engineering for almost a decade, Lydia was responsible for a significant program of extra-curricular transition support for first year students and she co-coordinated two compulsory courses that delivered what could arguably be the world's largest flipped classroom for 600 students. Recently, she has set up a Leadership and Mentoring Program for all EAIT faculty students (undergraduate and postgraduates), and continued this into a Leaders@EAIT, an ongoing academy for these students to continue to develop leadership competencies.

Lydia is now the Deputy Associate Dean Academic (Curriculum Review and Teaching Innovation) for the Faculty of Science where she has overseen a faculty-wide overview of curriculum resulting in streamlined undergraduate and postgraduate offerings. She holds a concurrent fractional position with the Institute of Teaching and Learning Innovations, where she has developed frameworks and systems for UQ shorter form credentials.

Lydia is also heavily involved institutionally with training and mentoring academics and professional staff with teaching responsibilities through the development and implementation of the Graduate Teaching Assistant program (for PhD scholars and postdocs), Teaching@UQ (for staff new to teaching), and TeachingPlus@UQ (for emerging leaders in Teaching and Learning).

Lydia’s work was recognised with a Principal Fellowship of the HEA, an ALTC Excellence in teaching award in 2011 and she has lead and participated in Carrick/ ALTC/ OLT projects on teamwork, online learning, curriculum innovation (2x), preparing students for first year engineering, and Flipped Classrooms.

Dr Danish Kazmi completed his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering at The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia. His PhD research investigated the potential use of crushed waste glass as a sustainable alternative to depleting traditional construction sands (natural and quarried) to backfill granular columns for in-situ ground improvement. He is a pioneer globally in researching the potential use of crushed waste glass to backfill granular columns for ground improvement in clayey soil.

His research mainly focuses on developing sustainable geomaterials by recycling ever-increasing wastes as alternatives to diminishing and increasingly expensive natural aggregates in geotechnical construction, helping the transition to a circular economy.

Danish is a TEDx Speaker and delivered a TEDx Talk at TEDxBrisbane. He is also one of the youngest researchers ever from his centre at UQ to receive a PhD.

Danish won the prestigious Career Development Fellowship at UQ, funded by the Australian Government. He received the coveted UQ Global Change Scholar Award. He won the Young Science Ambassador Award for the Wonder of Science Program in Australia to help promote a STEM culture in Queensland schools. He is a passionate science communicator and a double award winner at the Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) at the UQ’s School of Civil Engineering level. His PhD research has been featured in several Australian and international magazines and has led him to win several scholarships, alongside his selection to present at well-reputed live science communication events. Danish has published three high-definition UQ-branded Video Abstracts to communicate his research to the broader society and help maximise science outreach. Danish was interviewed by Inspiring Australia as part of Australia's National Science Week celebrations to help spark the interest of students in STEM education. He successfully initiated cross-institutional research collaborations with world-leading organisations and is an invited peer-reviewer for various top-ranking scientific journals and conferences.

Danish worked as a full-time Geotechnical Engineer in the Tunnels & Geotechnical Team (South Queensland Region) at GHD for over 2 years in the Australian industry. Previously, he worked as a full-time Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering at UQ. He is passionate about helping to develop transformative civil and geotechnical engineering solutions through leading-edge research leveraging university-industry collaborations.

Danish is a UQ Global Change Scholar and Green Office Representative. He is a recognised UQ Future Leader awardee. He is an accredited Mental Health First Aider and a UQ Mental Health Champion. He is also a certified Carbon Literate. Danish cares deeply about the environment and believes that planet Earth is our most valuable asset. Outside work, he enjoys volunteering for sustainability, social initiatives, and science communication, connecting with nature, and spending time at the beach.

Australian Geotechnical Industry Experience Highlights

• Asset management, site inspections, construction quality assurance and compliance (QA and QC)
• Dam inspections, monitoring, regulatory compliance and high-level reporting
• Geotechnical site investigations (including sonic drilling, auger drilling, etc.)
• Borehole and test pit logging
• In-situ sampling of soils and rocks
• Standard Penetration Test (SPT)
• Concrete and asphalt core sampling and logging with borehole reinstatement (Airport taxiways, rigid aircraft pavement design, etc.)
• Dynamic Cone Penetration Test (DCP) and PANDA® Lightweight Dynamic Cone Penetration Test
• Packer Test (to determine the average hydraulic conductivity of underground rock formations)
• Geotechnical instrumentation (standpipe and vibrating wire piezometers, data loggers, telemetry, etc.)
• Geotechnical cost estimation, report writing and proposal development

Australian Industry Certifications or Licenses (Shortlisted)

• ​​​​​Queensland White Card (Construction Induction)
• Class C Manual Driver License (Open)
• Provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (HLTAID009)
• Provide basic emergency life support (HLTAID010)
• Provide First Aid (HLTAID011)
• Operate and maintain a four wheel drive vehicle (RIIVEH305F)
• Undertake first response to fire incidents (MSMWHS212)
• Communicate in the workplace (RIICOM201E)
• Apply initial response First Aid (RIIERR205D)
• Respond to local emergencies and incidents (RIIERR302E)
• Comply with site work processes/procedures (RIIGOV201E)
• Conduct local risk control (RIIRIS201E)
• Work safely & follow WHS policies and procedures (RIIWHS201E)
• Standard 11 Surface Induction (RIISS00034 Surface Coal Mine Safety Skill Set)

Professional Memberships

• ​​​​​Australian Geomechanics Society (AGS)
• Australian Coastal Society (ACS)

Dr Keane is a haematologist at Princess Alexandra Hospital and runs the Lymphoma Research Lab at the UQDI in Brisbane. His main research interest is focused on the interface between the tumour microenvironment and the malignant lymphoma cell, with a goal to build an understanding of lymphoma from an immunological and biomarkers perspective. To bridge developments between the clinic and bench-top, the laboratory has a strong emphasis on patient material, which it obtains from international and national clinical collaborators, much being from investigator-led clinical trials.

Lymphomas studied include more common lymphomas such as Hodgkin Lymphoma, Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma and Follicular Lymphoma but his lab has a particular focus on rare lymphomas such as primary central nervous system lymphoma and lymphomas that develop in patients who are immunocompromised.

Dr. Keane has been instrumental in translating work from his lab into multiple immune based clinical trials currently being run across Australia, many in rare and hard to treat lymphomas, where patients have limited treatments available.

The goals of the lab are to directly improve outcomes for all lymphoma patients by performing innovative translational science that not only generates new knowledge and brings new treatments to Australian patients but helps to train the next generation of lymphoma researchers in Australia.

Associate Professor Lauren Kearney is a registered midwife and nurse and is employed as a Conjoint Associate Professor in Midwifery between the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, UQ and the Women's and Newborn Services, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Lauren’s teaching expertise is within the postgraduate and higher degree by research areas. Her research track record is strongly focused upon maternal and child health; specifically, within the domains of evaluation of models of care (relating to the perinatal period and early years), intravenous fluid management and access during labour and birth, and facilitators to promote a positive and physiological spontaneous vaginal birth. She is also committed to enhancing women's opportunity to breastfeed and thrive in the postpartum period. Lauren has strong industry collaborations. The recipient of several competitive research grants, Lauren is passionate about improving the experience of health care for women and children through translation of high-quality evidence into practice.

Supervised by Andrew Fitzmaurice, I wrote my PhD on the history of the early modern common law in England, focusing on the seventeenth century clashes over the role of the judiciary. The major result has been to demonstrate the efforts of early modern common lawyers to articulate their independence from the sovereign king. Faced with assertions of judicial subordination to monarchical will, common law judges retorted that holding judicial office entailed the interpretation and application of custom. Custom, found in precedents established by earlier judges, was a source of law that originated in statute created by king and parliament. Empowered by custom, common lawyers could restrain the sovereign’s power.

My current work tests the hypothesis that the early modern clash between custom and sovereignty has been imported into the Australian context, where it plays a critical role in native title jurisprudence. Since the early 1990s, the Australian High Court has heard a series of disputes over the customary rights of First Nations peoples in Australia and the power of Crown sovereignty. If correct, this suggests that modern High Court jurisprudence is a new iteration of a centuries-long unresolved battle within the common law tradition, stretching from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. Initial findings are published in Law and History Review and the Historical Journal. Non-academic articles exploring related questions are published in Australian Book Review, Meanjin, and Sydney Review of Books. These questions are also addressed in Our Muddle, a podcast series with Associate Professor Ryan Walter.

Before joining the University of Queensland, I worked as a policy writer in Canberra.

Dr Shelley Keating is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) and a Senior Lecturer in Clinical Exercise Physiology at the School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland. With a strong grounding in exercise metabolism and body composition, Dr Keating leads a program of research aimed at changing the way we prioritise, access and deliver lifestyle intervention for people with obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/ metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and type 2 diabetes. Dr Keating holds qualifications in clinical exercise physiology BExSciRehab (Hon-1); MExSpSci (Clinical Exercise Science); PhD (Exercise Physiology) and over 15 years’ experience as an AEP developing, delivering, and disseminating exercise interventions in adults with obesity and related chronic diseases.

Brian Keating (PhD University of Queensland 1981) is currently Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland in association with the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI). This honorary appointment follows on from a 40 year engagement in agricultural research in Australia and abroad. Brian’s career has focused on the productivity and sustainability of agricultural systems in Australia and sub-Saharan Africa. He was a pioneer in the application of simulation models in farming systems research in eastern and southern Africa in the 1980’s and 90’s. Over the last two decades, Brian has held a number of senior leadership roles in CSIRO, including: Chief of CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems (2004-2008), Director of Sustainable Agriculture Flagship (2008-2013) and the member of the CSIRO Executive responsible for Agriculture, Food and Health (2014-2015).

Brian served (2010-2015) on the Australian Government’s statutory committees responsible for independent advice on the scientific and environmental integrity of greenhouse gas mitigation programs- namely Carbon Farming Initiative (DOIC- Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee) and the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERAC – Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee).

Recent international advisory roles have include Chair of the Science Advisory Panel of AgResearch - New Zealand (2013-2018) and Chair Independent Steering Committee of the CGIAR Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) (2014-2019). Brian remains a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Irish agricultural research and extension agency, Teagasc and Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI). He was recognised as Distinguished Lecturer and Fellow of the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFOST) in 2014.

Academic Qualifications

B.Agr.Sc (1st Class Honours) University of Queensland 1976

Ph.D University of Queensland 1981

Career Timeline

PhD Student University of Queensland 1977-80

Research Scientist CSIRO Tropical Crops and Pastures 1981-85

Research Scientist ACIAR/CSIRO/KARI Project Kenya 1985-89

Senior Research Scientist CSIRO Tropical Crops & Pastures 1990-98 Principal Research Scientist CSIRO Tropical Agriculture 1998-2000

Senior Principal Research Scientist CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 2000-02

Program Leader, Agricultural Landscapes CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 2002-03

Chief Research Scientist / Acting Chief CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 2003-04

Deputy Chief - Science Integration CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 2004-2006

Chief of Division CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems 2006 – 2008

Director, Sustainable Agriculture Flagship CSIRO 2008 – 2014

Executive Director, Ag, Food & Health CSIRO 2014 – 2015

Honorary Fellow CSIRO Agriculture & Food 2016 – 2020

Adjunct Professor University of Queensland 2020 - present

Publication Summary Google Scholar reports 260 cited articles (3/4/2020) with 10,999 lifetime citations (4303 since 2015) and a lifetime h-index of 50. View my Google Scholar profile here.

Julia Keenan is a Research Fellow and PhD candidate at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM), Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland. With over 15 years at CSRM, her work focuses on social performance, sustainable development, and Indigenous self-determination within the extractive industries.

Julia’s research examines the relationship between mining operations and local communities, focusing on agreement-making, gender equity, economic participation, and mine closure. Her PhD investigates corporate social performance (CSP), exploring policy implementation gaps, stakeholder engagement, and social safeguards throughout the mining lifecycle.

Julia has contributed to global mineral resource governance projects, partnering with the United Nations Environment Programme to implement the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) Resolution on Mineral Resource Governance. She also worked on the Strategic Regional Environmental and Baseline Assessment (SREBA) for the Beetaloo Sub-basin, profiling community concerns about resource development.

Since 2023, Julia has coordinated CSRM’s involvement in the Community Smart Consultation and Consent Project (CSCC), which focuses on improving natural resource governance through community-based consultation and FPIC. She has co-authored guidance documents for the International Council on Mining and Metals and Rio Tinto.

Julia holds a Bachelor of Science/Bachelor of Arts (Hons in Linguistics) from The University of Queensland and is nearing completion of her PhD.

I am the Founder and Director of the Hearing Research Unit for Children, leading three research teams investigating (1) middle ear assessments in neonates and infants, (2) hearing screening and diagnostic assessment of school-aged children, and (3) assessment of auditory function of adults and children using electrophysiologic measures including otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem response, steady-state evoked potentials, wideband absorbance and wideband tympanometry. My special interest in technological advances and my mission to improve hearing health services through the use of cutting-edge technologies have inspired me to become a world leader in detecting ear diseases in newborns, infants and children. As a world leader in the field of tympanometry and advanced middle ear assessments for children, I have been invited to present on the use of wideband tympanometry with infants and children at international seminars and institutions.

As of July 2024, I have a career total of 249 publications - consisting of 1 book, 4 book chapters, 2 chapters in the Encyclopedia of Human Communication Sciences and Disorders, 132 peer-reviewed journal papers and 110 conference abstracts. Internationally, I am ranked as the most productive author in the world in the field of Tympanometry (a test of middle ear function) and advanced middle ear assessments for all years (1994-2024) and for the last 5 years (Web of Science, February 2024). My work has been cited in 25 different subject categories including Medicine, Health Professions, Neuroscience, Physics, Astronomy, Engineering and Computer Science (Scopus, February 2024). Furthermore, my work has been widely cited internationally by authors in 83 countries ranging from the United States to Europe, Asia and the Middle East (Scopus, February 2024).