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Stephen is a physiologist with expertise in endocrinology and student learning. His research examines the hormonal control of growth, metabolism, appetite, and reproduction - unravelling how hormones regulate physiological mechanisms in healthy individuals versus dysfunction that occurs in disease states. Stephen is also interested in metacognition of learning, self-regulation of learning, and lifelong learning. He is currently investigating how students develop capabilities during their undergraduate studies to support their future professional roles.

Stephen held the position of Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Biomedical Sciences at UQ from 2019 to 2024, and holds Graduate Certificates in Higher Education (University of Queensland, 2013) and Tertiary Education Management (University of Melbourne, 2023). In 2020 he was awarded Academic Leader of the Year in the UQ Faculty of Medicine. Stephen has taught physiology to about 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.

I am a comparative and environmental physiologist based at the University of Queensland. My research focuses primarily how the environment constrains the physiology of invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles. I have a highly diverse research program that incorporates fundamental, curiosity-driven research and increasingly, a more applied research agenda in the emerging field of conservation physiology. Conservation physiology explores the responses of organisms to anthropogenic threats and attempts to determine the ecophysiological constraints dictated by current conditions and future environmental change. My research interests encompass the general areas of osmo- and ion-regulation, digestive and thermal physiology, environmental drivers of physiological function (specifically immune function and disease susceptibility) and animal performance in anthropogenically modified environments.

I received my Bachelor's in Biology (2001) from Yarmouk University in Jordan, followed by postgraduate degrees from the University of Houston in Houston-Texas (2002-2007). My studies are integrative in nature, joining the best of both the Neuroscience world and Circadian Biology (the study of biological clocks). In the laboratory of Prof. Arnold Eskin, I investigated how processes as complex as learning and memory are modulated by biological clocks i.e. the circadian (about 24 hours) system, using Aplysia californica as the experimental model. After completing my Master's in Science in 2005, my research focused on the mechanism by which biological clocks modulate learning and memory. This work was performed in the laboratories of Prof. Gregg Cahill and Prof. Greg Roman, experts in chronobiology and behavioral neuroscience, respectively. Using Zebrafish as a model system, I investigated the role of melatonin, a night-time restricted hormonal signal, in modulating long-term memory consolidation. My findings, published in Science in 2007, shows that the circadian system via the cyclic night-time confined synthesis/release of melatonin “the hormone of darkness” functions as a modulator, shaping daily variations in the efficiency by which memories are processed. After receiving my Ph.D. in 2007, I joined as a postdoctoral fellow the laboratory of the pharmacologist and melatonin researcher Prof. Margarita Dubocovich. My postdoctoral work engaged in elucidating the role of melatonin in circadian physiology and pharmacology during development and ageing in rodents (Mus musculus) and non-human primates (Macaca mulatta) at the Feinberg School of Medicine (Northwestern University-Chicago) and the State University of New York (SUNY). From 2010-2015, I held a teaching/research position in the Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomy and the Dept. of Neurology at the Goethe University in Frankfurt-Germany. During this time, I was involved in teaching gross human anatomy while continuing my endeavor in understanding the mechanistics involved in shaping memory processes (acquisition, consolidation and retrieval) by the circadian system.

Professor Alan Tilbrook is nationally and internationally recognised for leading scientific research in animal science and biomedical science (endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, behaviour, stress, and reproduction). He is a global leader in animal welfare science. Professor Tilbrook has an outstanding balanced portfolio in leadership, strategic planning, research, academia, education and government. He is Professor of Animal Welfare in the School of Veterinary Science and has an affiliate appointment in the Centre for Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation at The University of Queensland. Professor Tilbrook is one of three expert members of a Strategy Advisory Group to provide expert strategic advice to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to assist the development of the renewed Australian Animal Welfare Strategy. He is Chair and Research Champion of the National Primary Industries Animal Welfare Research, Development and Extension Strategy, represents Universities Australia on the Board of the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching, represents The University of Queensland on the World Organisation for Animal Health and is a member of the Australian Government’s Live Export Animal Welfare Advisory Group. Professor Tilbrook established The Animal Welfare Collaborative, a university-facilitated network of individuals, companies, and organisations working together to make evidence-based improvements in animal welfare. This was a collaborative venture with The University of Newcastle, The University of Western Australia and The University of Adelaide. He was a founder, Deputy Director and Co-Director of the Animal Welfare Science Centre, was the Research Chief of Livestock and Farming Systems at the South Australian Research and Development Institute and was Deputy Head of the Department of Physiology at Monash University. He has held numerous national and local leadership roles. Professor Tilbrook's research is conceptually driven with a multidisciplinary and integrative approach. He has developed cutting edge research programs across a range of species including sheep, pigs, poultry, cattle, goats, rodents, horses, buffalo and humans. Professor Tilbrook places a huge emphasis on collaboration, training and professional development.