Andrea is a Post Doctoral Fellow in Digital Cultures and Societies at the University of Queensland . She got her PhD at USC Annenberg, and is originally from Colombia. Broadly, her research interests lie at the intersection of media and Science and Technology Studies.She studies mobilities; cultures of transnational, remote work; on-demand workers and freelancers; feminized maintenance of workspaces; media tales of tech; civic social media in Latin America.
Her research can be found in New Media and Society, the International Journal of Communication, Mass Communication & Society, and in the edited volume Popular Culture and the Civic Imagination: A Casebook. She has also conducted research with the IDRC and USAID in projects about the "future of work" in the "Global South".
A/Prof Steve Bell is a senior social scientist at the Burnet Institute and has 22 years’ experience across South-East Asia (India, Nepal), Africa (Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and Western Pacific (Australia, Indonesia, PNG, Fiji) Regions. He works respectfully with not-for-profits, public institutions, businesses and community organisations, using innovative, inclusive, people-centred approaches to identify sustainable solutions to critical health challenges and accelerate health equity.
Steve’s work brings together lived experience, socio-ecological systems thinking and social theory to understand what works (or not) in global health and social development. He has researched and published widely on HIV, sexual and reproductive health, maternal health, neglected tropical diseases, TB and Indigenous health. He is particularly interested in understanding the socio-structural determinants of health and social inequities, and injustices associated with marginalisation due to gender, sexuality, age and geography. He has also published two books on interpretive and community-led approaches in research, design, monitoring and evaluation: ‘Peer research in health and social development: international perspectives on participatory research’ (2021), and ‘Monitoring and evaluation in health and social development: interpretive and ethnographic perspectives’ (2016). He is currently taking on new PhD students in these areas, so please do reach out to him at the Burnet Institute for a chat!
He holds associate professorial appointments at UNSW Sydney and The University of Queensland, is a Member of the International Editorial Board at Culture, Health & Sexuality, has been a Senior Advisor to the Boston Consulting Group, and has worked in research and consultancy roles with international governments, NGOs, UNAIDS, UNFPA and WHO.
Dr Debashish Dev is an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in energy transition, communication, sustainable development, community engagement, and understanding social change processes. Notably, his work integrates social performance and strategic regional development, enhancing community participation and social acceptance in energy policies and initiatives.
Working at the UQ Gas and Energy Transition Research Centre, Dr Dev contributed to developing a participatory community-based monitoring framework for regional development in Northern Territory, Australia. Currently, he is working on implementing the framework in practice. In addition, his ongoing research engagement includes understanding social risks in coal seam gas waste management, public discourses in gas-related policies, energy sector's contribution towards SDGs, energy-related social movements, and how energy information flows through the social systems.
Dr Dev's previous academic roles at the University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology involved teaching communication research methods, data in society, and social change processes. He also researched and taught in Bangladesh, concentrating on agricultural extension, organization management, climate change adaptation, and gender dynamics. He holds a Bachelor's (Honours) in Agricultural Science (Bangladesh Agricultural University), a Master's in Agricultural Extension (Bangladesh Agricultural University), and a PhD in Climate and Development (UQ). He is certified in Carbon Literacy and is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). Dr Dev’s work bridges research with practical solutions, aiming to advance sustainable development through effective community engagement and participatory approaches.
Paul specialises in Assessment and Management of Risk and Impact of Socio-Environmental determinants on the Wellbeing of our younger generations across their life span.
His overall vision is about how we use Environmental Health Intelligence to improve decision-making towards delivering more efficient Environmental Health Practices, Services and Solutions for local and regional communities in remote and disadvantaged socio-economic settings.
Within the complex interdisciplinary domains that hold the socio-environmental determinants of wellbeing, Paul’s operational research focuses on how / what interventions would best support communities to prevent, mitigate and adapt to EH risk and impact in rapidly changing environments and climate.
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 Lutfun Nahar Lata is a Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Lutfun's primary research area focuses on the Sociology of work and employment including the gig economy and the future of work.
Prior to joining the University of Melbourne, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Queensland. Currently, Lutfun is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Science Research at the University of Queensland.
She has written about gig economy, urban marginality, poverty governance, housing and place-based disadvantage. She is a mixed-methods researcher with extensive experience in conducting and publishing qualitative, quantitative and digital research and working with multidisciplinary teams that include stakeholders from academia, industry and local and central governments.
Lutfun is the author of Spatial Justice, Contested Governance and Livelihood Challenges in Bangladesh (Routledge 2023). Her research has been published in journals such as Current Sociology, The Sociological Review, Sociology Compass, Gender, Work & Organization, Cities, Geographical Research, Housing Policy Debate, Journal of Contemporary Asia, and Government Information Quarterly.
