Doctor James Falconer has been an academic at the School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland since June 2015. Dr Falconer was an assistant lecturer, then research & teaching fellow at the School of Pharmacy, the University of Auckland from 2011 – 2015.
In 2007 he was awarded with the Technology for Industry Fellowship (TIF) from the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) from the NZ Government with joint funding from Pharmaceutical Compounding New Zealand (PCNZ) to complete a PhD under A/Professor Jingyuan Wen and Professor Raid Alany from the University of Auckland, New Zealand for development of a supercritical fluid platform and transdermal delivery of poorly aqueous soluble steriods. As a post-doctoral researcher under A/Professor Zimei Wu and collaboration with Argenta Global in Auckland he worked to help stabilise a veterinary pour-on which resulted in international patents and registered product for cattle. He was then appointed as a lecturer in pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Prior to his academic career, he received a BSc in Genetics 1999 and a Masters in Health Sciences (Bioethics) in 2003 under A/Professor Neil Pickering on the anatomy of the GMO debate from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. In 2005, he completed a BPharm (Hons) from the University of Auckland and undertook an internship at Middlemore Hospital in 2006, then was employed from 2007 as a ward pharmacist in general surgery and the hospital dispensary and as a community pharmacist - including the 'graveyard' shifts at day/night pharmacies.
Doctor Falconer has established research in supercritical fluid applications for selective extraction as well as in engineering advanced nanoparticulate dosage forms based on lipid and polymeric systems. A backbone to this work is the search for green/er technology to replace organic solvent driven material manufacturing processes and the repurposing of carbon dioxide for good.
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Anna Gemmell is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology at The University of Queensland (UQ). She obtained her PhD in Polymer Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering from UQ in 2020 within the Centre for Advanced Imaging and Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology under the supervision of Professor Kristofer Thurecht for her work designing and investigating the in vivo application of next-generation polymeric cancer nanomedicines using an advanced molecular imaging approaches in pre-clinical models. Her work was recognised by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Polymer Division with the Treloar Prize for outstanding oral presentation at the 37th Australasian Polymer Symposium in 2019.
Her expertise lies in the field of polymer chemistry and the design of 'smart' materials capable of responding to environmental cues to inform and improve performance in biomedical applications. Building on her first postdoctoral position where she worked on the development of sustainable, bio-degradable polymers for advancing the chemical and material properties of medical textiles funded through an Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowship, Dr Gemmell is currently working on an industry-tied project to develop biomolecule separation membranes.
Dr. Gemmell also has a strong background in research administration and has gained valuable experience in the development and management of competitive research grant funding within the tertiary education sector. She has worked as a Research Administration Officer for over 12 months, where she developed her skills in project management, critial review of grantsmanship, elegibility and compliance, reporting processes, and gained an understanding of the funding landscape within Australia.
In addition to her research, Dr. Gemmell is dedicated to encouraging and enabling the next generation of STEM researchers from all walks of life. She is actively engaged in undergraduate teaching and has played a leadership role in numerous committees. As an early-career academic, she is deeply committed to advocating for positive change in the research environment for gender and cultural equity and diversity, and for improving mental health and well-being.
