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Stephen is an experienced academic who has taught physiology to many (some 40,000) UQ students across science, biomedical science, animal and veterinary sciences, health science, exercise science, human movement and nutrition science, dentistry, pharmacy, speech pathology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and medical doctor programs. During his career Stephen has been frequently recognised for his innovative teaching practice and strategic leadership in teaching and learning. Stephen was Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Biomedical Sciences from 2019 to early 2024, and in 2020 was awarded Academic Leader of the Year in the UQ Faculty of Medicine.

Stephen's expertise is endocrinology. His laboratory examines the hormonal control of growth, metabolism, appetite, and reproduction - unravelling the complexity of how hormones regulate physiological mechanisms in healthy individuals versus dysfunction that occurs in disease states.

Stephen also has a keen interest in metacognition of learning, self-regulation of learning, and lifelong learning. He is currently investigating how students develop capabilities during their undergraduate studies that support their future professional roles.

Dr Elham Assadi Soumeh is a senior lecturer in Animal Science and Production within the School of Agriculture and Food Science. Her background is in monogastric animal nutrition -poultry and swine. Her PhD research was about branched-chain amino acids requirements and metabolism in pig post weaning and characterization of metabolic profile of high performing pigs when were fed with optimum dietary branched-chain amino acid levels. After conducting her PhD in Aarhus University in Denmark and prior to joining UQ, Dr Soumeh worked as a senior scientist in animal feed industry (Cargill BV, Netherlands) for 2 years, where she managed different customer-focused research portfolios within the area of monogastric animal nutrition and production e.g. nutrient requirements and metabolism, gut health, nutritional strategies and management. Dr Soumeh has completed a BSc in Animal Science, MSc in Animal Nutrition and a PhD in Animal Nutrition and Physiology. The scientific outcomes have been published in high-impact journals and/or presented in conferences and symposiums around the world.

Career Summary: I obtained my B. Tech., Dairy Technology degree from SMC College of Dairy Science, Gujarat, India in 2003. I graduated with a PhD degree in dairy chemistry from the University College Cork, Ireland in 2007. After gaining experience as a postdoctoral fellow in the California Polytechnic State University for 2 years, I joined UQ as a research officer in 2010 and was appointed as a lecturer in 2011 and promoted to associate professor in 2021.

I am a milk and bioprocessing expert with significant experience in dairy processing including alternative methods, milk protein structure and functionality, milk product drying systems, and rapid quantification assays of milk biomolecules. My research spans from fundamental milk protein chemistry to physiologically important milk enzymes. I am leading a UQ-QUT alliance with the RBWH, on innovative pasteurisation of breastmilk through NHMRC Ideas and Children Hospital Foundation grants. This aims to translate my dairy research expertise into enhancing nutrition of low-birth-weight babies, as well as improving infant gut microbiota. This has expanded to related research, including alternative pasteurisation of camel milk, a high-value product used as bovine milk alternative for human nutrition. Since 2011, I have led the ‘non-thermal processing research program’ at UQ. I was one of six research theme leaders (food quality) as well as management committee member in an ARC Industry Transformation Research Hub (2014-2020) that involved 26 researchers. I am currently one of the four program leads for the Food and Beverage Accelerator Trailblazer grant ($165 M) led by UQ. I am also leading the education and training program and am part of the steering committee for a Strategic University Reform Fund (SURF) ($6.9 M) from Department of Education, Skills and Employment.

Research interests:

• Alternative processing techniques to preserve milk and milk products: I have led the ‘non-thermal processing research program’ at UQ since 2011, studying non-thermal techniques such as carbon dioxide, pulsed electric field (PEF), and high-pressure processing (HPP) for milk pasteurisation to minimise loss of heat-labile biomolecules (incl. vitamins/minerals) while ensuring microbial safety.
• Non-bovine milk systems: Since 2014, my research on preserving microbial integrity of dairy stream products for longer periods has evolved in exploring non-bovine systems such as human and camel milk. I have developed expert knowledge of their composition, enzymology, bioactive molecules and digestibility.
• Protein structure and functionality: I have led many studies analysing fundamental properties of milk proteins and their interaction with hydrocolloids. I have considerable expertise in studying protein structure, interactions and denaturation and their functional properties applicable to dairy systems such as texture, rheology, tribology, foaming, gelling and emulsifying properties and surface hydrophobicity. Most recently, I have led development of highly sensitive, high-throughput methods to analyse immunoprotective enzyme activities in human, bovine, goat and camel milk.

Publications and contribution to field of research: I have published >150 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters, >87% in Q1 journals (JCR Journal Rankings). My h-index is 31 (Scopus) and 38 (Google Scholar) (March, 2023). My research demonstrates international reach, being cited across 103 countries (March 2023). I have been cited by authors from 25 different subject areas, which demonstrates the impact of my research beyond my own subject area of Agricultural and Biological Sciences to fields such as of Medicine, Chemical Engineering, Immunology and Microbiology, Social Science, Nursing, Materials Science and Engineering (Mar 2023). My overall Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) for all subject areas is 1.59 (Mar 2023). I have 4 highly cited papers in the academic field of Agricultural Science (Web of Science, Mar 2023) and 25 publications in the top 10% most cited publications worldwide (field-weighted) (SciVal, Mar 2023). I am ranked as a Top 1% author in the ESI category of Agricultural Sciences. My publications demonstrate impact beyond the scholarly community. Several of my publications have also been cited in patent documents and have outstanding Altmetric scores (top 5%) with numerous social media, news and blog mentions.

Research support: Since joining the UQ, I have been involved in 17 successful funding proposals and has secured significant research funding through competitive grants. I am a CI on grants worth >$183 million. I have been able to attract funding from a variety of sources such as ARC, NHMRC, DESE, Dairy Innovation Australia Limited (DIAL), UniQuest, Children Hospital Foundation, direct commercial sources and the UQ.

Mentoring: Since 2014, I have supervised 27 HDR students (12 as principal advisor) and >60 Coursework Masters/ Honours students. I have has mentored three postdoctoral fellows.

Professional activities: I am a member of Clinical Advisory Board, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood Milk since 2020. I am the Director of Teaching and Learning for UQ’s School of Agriculture and Food Sciences since 2021. I am an editorial board member of Scientific Reports, Foods, and Journal of Dairy Research.

Anne is currently appointed as a lecturer in Animal Science and Production and has a broad range of intests within the animal science landscape. Anne began her studies in the field of Equine Science and then further broadened to Agricultural Science which has provided a diverse backdrop to her current interests. The field of parasitology was the focus of her PhD studies as she investigated the underlying physiology of the periparturient relaxation to gastrointestinal worms in sheep, however, this multidisciplinary topic has led to interests across the board in immunology, endocrinology and nutrition. During her post-doctoral term, Anne worked on projects that investigated anthelmintic resistance in important equine and cattle parasites and on the development of molecular diagnostic tools. Her more recent work continues to build on these interests in equine parasitology through supervision of students in this field, but also includes projects focussed on small ruminant parasite management and nutrition. Anne's research interests are industry-focussed with a strong drive for useful outcomes to improve the management of horses and livestock.

Dr. Gry Boe-Hansen graduated with a DVM in 2001 and a PhD in Veterinary Reproduction in 2005 from The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (KVL) Denmark. She took up a position as Assistant Professor at the department of Veterinary Reproduction and Obstetrics at KVL. In 2007 she was appointed at UQ as Lecturer in Veterinary Reproduction at School of Veterinary Sciences. Her overall research theme is causes of and methods to improve suboptimal reproduction in livestock. She is particularly interested in andrology, including venereal disease, with emphasis on genetic and environmental factors affecting reproduction and has published particularly in the field of sperm and semen quality, and biomarkers in relation to fertility. This has involved implementation of reliable, precise and accurate semen quality assays into conventional semen analysis, in both domestic animal semen laboratories and human clinics.

Lilia works to unravel the overwhelming complexity of the biological world and to assess ways to use it to solve problems of our time. She finds especially intriguing all the invisible interactions between plant and microbes. She investigates the drivers of these interactions and aims to address major societal challenges. Her purpose is to make use of nature’s arsenal to tackle problems that threaten environmental conservation and food security. She has worked with a range of beneficial and pathogenic microbes across model, forestry, grain, and horticultural plant species, grown in managed and natural habitats in different countries, including Brazil, Germany, Australia, USA, Costa Rica, and Papua New Guinea. Her expertise lies within plant pathology, molecular biology, plant nutrition, microbial ecology, biological indicators of soil health, bio-prospection of natural products produced by microbes, plant biotechnology, and molecular diagnostics.

Professor Mary Fletcher is a natural product organic chemist, and led the Natural Toxin group within the Centre for Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI) 2010-2024,before being appointed Emeritus Professor in 2024. She previously worked as a research chemist at both The University Queensland and Queensland Primary Industries (Biosecurity Queensland), before joining the Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation in 2010. Prof Fletcher's current interest focuses on bioactives that reduce enteric methane and the application of slow release delivery systems appropriate to rangeland grazing systems. Prof Fletcher has an industry recognised expertise as an applied organic chemist with a specialist interest in the identification and analysis of natural toxins and other bioactives in a range of plants, fungi and agricultural products. Such toxins and bioactives can affect both human and animal health posing risks to livestock production, food safety and market access.

Prof Fletcher is also an Affiliate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (http://www.scmb.uq.edu.au/index.html), and an Affiliated Scientist at the Biosciences eastern & central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub in Nairobi, Kenya (http://hub.africabiosciences.org/).

Prof Fletcher is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and in 2016 was elected President of the Queensland Branch of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (http://www.raci.org.au/branches/qld-branch).

Marina Fortes has a degree in Veterinary Medicine (2004) and a Master of Science in Animal Reproduction (2007) from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. She completed her PhD in genetics, in 2012 at The University of Queensland (UQ). For her PhD Marina had international scholarships from UQ and the Beef CRC. Her PhD received the Dean's commendation award. After that, Marina worked as a post-doc at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI). In August 2014, Marina joined the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (SCMB) as an academic and established the Livestock Genomics Group. As a researcher, Marina is interested in genetics and genomics, sustainable livestock production, and reproductive biology. Ongoing collaborations link her group to a rich research environment, both domestic and international, which contributes to sustainable livestock industries. Meat and Livestock Australia has provided ongoing support to the projects led by her group. For her work on the genomics of cow fertility, Marina received an Advanced Queensland Fellowship (2018-2021). Marina teaches undergraduate and postgraduate courses, including the Livestock Biotechnology course (BIOT7038) within the Master of Biotechnology program. The Women in Science podcast - https://soundcloud.com/womeninscience - was produced by Marina Fortes, Marloes Dekker, and Kirsty Short.

Dr. Forutan is an internationally recognized Researcher. Her research area includes understanding the bovine genome and epigenome, discovering causative mutation underlying economic important traits such as fertility, understanding the way genes turn on and off, investigating different methodologies to improve the accuracy of genomic prediction, and optimizing methods for predicting genetic diversity and inbreeding. Her future research career vision is to make a significant contribution to creating new knowledge in the field of quantitative genetics that can help to improve efficiency and resilience in Livestock.

Ristan is an Honorary Associate Professor School of Medicine Southern Clinical School and MRI-UQ. Previously she has been Senior Biostatistician at Mater Research and Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology and Biosecurity with the School of Veterinary Science UQ. She is an epidemiologist, medical researcher and veterinarian who has been involved in medical and veterinary clinical research, academic teaching and veterinary practice for over 25 years. She completed her Bachelor of Arts majoring in Pure Mathematics in 1972, Bachelor of Veterinary Science in 1979, Master of Veterinary Science in 1995, PhD in the School of Medicine, The University of Queensland in 2004, and membership of the Epidemiology Chapter of the Australia and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in 2005. Her areas of research interest include Congenital Hyperinsulinism of Infancy, bone metabolism in Cystic Fibrosis, Vitamin D in Type 1 Diabetes, as well as study design and data analysis. These latter interests have led to collaborations with clinicians and scientists in a wide variety of fields of research, for example human viral respiratory infection, paediatric liver disease, Pseudomonas spp infection in humans and horses, and many others. Since 1990, Dr Greer has been variously a lecturer and researcher with The University of Queensland School of Medicine, Queensland Children’s Medical Research Institute and affiliated institutions, and taught epidemiology in the School of Veterinary Science where she inaugurated the first course in research methodology for postgraduate students.

Nick is interested in fostering efficient, environmentally friendly animal production enterprises. He uses the data and capabilities provided by modern 'omics technologies to help improve breeding decisions and to inform other types of 'on farm' intervention.

Nick has a parallel interest in the development, physiology, metabolism and conservation of native Australian species, particularly frogs and butterflies.

Nick is a metabolic biochemist by training with research expertise in a) the handling and biological interpretation of large, complex data sets b) molecular technologies c) mitochondrial physiology and d) metabolic flux.

Nick enjoys teaching various aspects of biochemistry and molecular biology to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. He highlights the main themes using the comparative method and illustrates their importance through applied examples from agriculture and other areas of human endeavour.

Before taking his current position as a Teaching and Research academic in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability (AGFS) Nick worked for the CSIRO in a research intensive multi-disciplinary Systems Biology group.

Through this group he helped develop and apply bioinformatic methods that used metabolite, protein, RNA and DNA biotech to understand, model and predict phenotypes of commercial importance in cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens.

A research highlight from this time was the co-invention of a universal method for inferring causal molecules from genome-wide gene expression data (Hudson et al 2009. PLoS Comp Biol e1000382). This method has been applied across a diverse range of model systems including human kidney cancer and commercial traits in various agricultural species.

Following an undergraduate degree in Animal Biology at the University of St.Andrews, Nick was awarded his PhD through what was then the Zoology department of the University of Queensland, after travelling from England on a Britain-Australia Society funded Northcote Scholarship.

A/Prof Stephen Johnston is a Reader in Reproduction (40% Teaching; 40% Research and 20% Service) in the School of Environment at the University of Queensland, where he teaches animal reproduction and captive husbandry to Bachelor of Wildlife Science and Science undergraduate and postgraduate students. He is current program coordinator for the Bachelor of Wildlife Science Program. He is also a research affiliate in the School of Veterinary Science. Stephen was trained as a zoologist and specialises in the area of reproductive biology in a broad diversity of species ranging from prawns to tigers but with a major focus on Australian mammals. A/Prof Johnston has published 300 scientific works in basic and applied science disciplines including reproductive anatomy, physiology and behaviour. He was the first person in the world to produce a pouch young following artificial insemination in a marsupial, a task that he and his colleagues have now carried out successfully in the koala, a total of 34 times. Stephen is also a specialist in the cryopreservation of marsupial spermatozoa and in the assessment of sperm DNA fragmentation, including human and domestic animal spermatozoa. A/Prof Johnston’s recent research interests and grant success include studies aimed at a better understanding of the effect of chlamydia on male koala reproduction, heat stress in koalas, sociobiology of koalas, genetic and reproductive management of koalas, wombat captive reproduction, echidna captive breeding, crocodile artificial insemination and prawn aquaculture. He is a Fellow of the Society for Reproductive Biology (2019)

As a Senior Lecturer in Animal Science and Production, my research focuses on nutrition and gut microbiology. I completed my Ph.D. through the University of Sydney investigating the effects of various feed additives on performance, and meat quality of sheep. I then went on to complete a Post-doctoral Fellowship in Canada (The University of Alberta), investigating the effects of weaning age and strategy on the development of the ruminal microbiome in dairy calves. Developing this research theme, I was awarded a highly prestigious Marie-Curie Individual Fellowship for a 2-year project in France, to investigate the effects of additives on gut microbiome establishment and programming for lifelong effects in dairy calves to reduce methane emissions. In October 2017, I began my current position as a teaching and research academic at The University of Queensland focusing on feed efficiency, and environmentally sustainable ruminant production systems with a focus on manipulating the rumen for reduced methane emissions and enhanced production. I bring a multidisciplinary approach to my research to examine the effects of nutrition and age on microbiology, production performance and meat quality of an animal.

Dr Moradi is an entomologist with extensive experience using novel technologies to control plant and animal insect pests. As a research scientist at DAF currently she is scoping out new projects to use flies as vectors of vaccines for livestock.she is also developing projects on using Nano technology for livestock exctosparsite control.

Primary Areas of Interest: Comparative Animal Physiology, Animal Welfare and Conservation Physiology

I embarked on higher education at the University of the South Pacific, where I earned a Ph.D. in Biology. I conducted research work in non-invasive reproductive and stress endocrinology tools for amphibians, unlocking the secrets of the reproductive hormonal cycles and stress hormone responses of Fijian ground frogs.

My postdoctoral research fellowships took me to institutions across four countries: New Zealand, Australia, India, and Canada. Each destination enriched my knowledge and expertise, adding diverse dimensions to my academic repertoire. In 2010, I joined Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, where I began research on the Conservation Physiology of wildlife in collaboration with leading WIldlife Ecologists. The postdoctoral research has yielded remarkable insights into the physiological regulation of stress in amphibians and I also had opportunity to develop hormone monitoring tools for iconic Australian wildlife such as koalas. This exposure generated my passion to conduct further research on the health and welfare of koalas. Over these years, I have been lucky to work with and supervise over 20 Honours, Masters, and Ph.D. students.

My current research program seeks to bolster animal resilience through a multifaceted approach, involving physiology, behavior, and management practices.

I returned to Australia in 2015 upon completing my international postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Saskatchwen, Canada. Prior to starting Faculty appointment at UQ, I have had the worndeful opportunity to teach at regional universities including Charles Sturt University (Wagga Wagga) and Western Sydney University (Hawkesbury Campus).

I am currently based in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability (AGFS) as academic member of the Animal Science Discipline Group. I teach primarily Animal Physiology & Anatomy and supervise a dynamic group of research scholars through the Stress Lab. I am Category B member of the UQ Animal Ethics Committee (NEWMA). I also represent the University of Queensland as a LINK member for the Universities Federation of Animal Welfare (UFAW).

International Engagement

In 2024, I was receipient of the Technical University of Munich Global Visiting Professor Fellowship Program and spent 6 weeks at the TUM School of Life Sciences (Bavaria).

https://global-partnerships.uq.edu.au/article/2024/08/university-queensland-and-technical-university-munich-partnership-brings-two-worlds-together

I have engagement through the European Union Funded ClearFarm Research which brings Animal Welfare standards to livestock products from a farm to plate approach, using Smart-Farm and Precision Ag Technologies.

UQ joins €13m project to bring technology to livestock sector

In 2023, my team of scholars from the Stress Lab organised and Chaired the 38th Australia and New Zealand Society for Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry (ANZSCPB) conference at the UQ, Gatton campus.

UQ Gatton hosts successful 38th ANZSCPB Conference

I have presented our research through Conversation Articles

How climate change will affect your pet – and how to help them cope

Testing the stress levels of rescued koalas allows us to tweak their care so more survive in the wild

What does a koala’s nose know? A bit about food, and a lot about making friends

Koalas can learn to live the city life if we give them the trees and safe spaces they need

With the right help, bears can recover from the torture of bile farming

Drop, bears: chronic stress and habitat loss are flooring koalas

Nutritional Biochemistry, grazing and intensive production of cattle, sheep, goats.

My passion for agriculture and animal science comes from growing up amongst relatives in country Victoria, from Yea in the north, Korumburra in Gippsland and Heywood in the Western District. My career in agricultural science began at Melbourne University in 1960, with a defining year (1961) at Dookie Agricultural College, and subsequently with studies at The University of Sydney (1964-1969), University of New England (1970-72) and since 1973 at The University of Queensland. Promoted to Associate Professor in 1984, appointed Head of School of Agriculture in 1993 and the Head of School of Land and Food (1998-1999). Promotion to Professor was denied in 1997 and again in 2000. Retired from the University in 2006, but have maintained academic and research activity by managing ACIAR and other grants in Papua New Guinea and Vietnam. Publications since retirement have included books on family history, goat production in Vietnam and other biographies. Latest publications were on goat nutrition in 2022, in collaboration with Dr Simon Quigley's team at UQ, This year, 2023, celebrates 50 years of service to the University of Queensland.

Dr Taylor Pini is a lecturer in veterinary reproduction within the School of Veterinary Science. Taylor graduated with a Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience (Hons) and a PhD in reproductive biology from The University of Sydney. After her PhD, Taylor undertook postdocs at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine (USA), and with the Gametic Epigenetics Consortium against Obesity (GECKO) at The University of Sydney. Taylor has worked across various aspects of male reproduction using a range of species, including sheep, mice and humans.

Taylor's research focuses on sperm biology and better understanding how both physiological processes and applied interventions impact sperm function, with the ultimate goal of improving outcomes of applied reproductive technologies.

Taylor is a co-host and producer of the science communication podcast Repro Radio.

Looking for a research project? Taylor is currently taking on Summer and Winter Scholarship Students (undergraduate) and Science Honours Students. If you are interested in pursuing a Masters or PhD degree with Taylor as a supervisor, please get in touch by email to discuss current opportunities and scholarship options.

Dr Luis Silva is an Associate Professor at QAAFI, University of Queensland, leading research in ruminant nutrition. Luis comes from a coffee and dairy farm and brings perspective from another major producer of beef, Brazil, where he had a previous appointment at the University of Sao Paulo. With large international experience, Luis has spent a sabbatical year at AgriBio, Melbourne, and has completed his PhD at Michigan State University, working with the nutritional/physiological modulation of ruminant development. Luis has considerable research linking cattle nutrition with physiological mechanisms and genomic tools and has coordinated several research projects investigating mechanisms to improve the efficiency of tropical cattle production. His work is published in 51 peer-reviewed scientific articles and several book chapters. Luis has also acted as the main advisor for 7 PhD students and 16 Master students.

Dr Karl Robinson joined QAAFI’s Centre for Horticultural Science (frm. Centre for Plant Sciences) in 2012 as a molecular biologist specialising in RNAi applications against animal and plant viruses. Karl received his doctoral degree from The University of Queensland, School of Veterinary Science in 2009 and was awarded the 2009 UQ Deans Award. Karl has held postdoctoral research positions within Queensland Government/The University of Queensland - Agricultural Biotechnology Centre and the Viral Pathogenesis and Vaccine Group at the Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Organisation, The University of Saskatchewan, Canada, before joining The Mitter Group. In 2017, Dr Robinson was awarded the Queensland State Government - Advance Queensland Reseach Fellowship to conduct research into alternative insect and virus control methods using RNAi and nanotechnology. Currently, a senior research fellow, supported by Grains Research Development Corporation and Horticulture Innovation Australia, Karl is leading research into spray-on RNAi applications for viruses and insects in high value grain and horticultural crops. Karl supervises a team of several higher degree research students and post doctoral researchers and delivers the plant virology lectures of the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences 3rd year virology course at UQ.

PhD Scholarship are available for domestic students.