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

Stephen has taught physiology to about 40,000 UQ students across 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. He has been the recipient of numerous teaching excellence awards, including a national ALTC Citation for Outstaning Contribution to Student Learning in 2009. In 2019 Stephen became Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Biomedical Sciences. In 2020 he received a UQ commendation for service excellence and was recognised as Academic Leader of the Year within the UQ Faculty of Medicine.

Dr Andy Barnes obtained his BSc (Hons) in Microbiology from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh and his PhD from the Medical School, University of Edinburgh. Andy worked for the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department and at the Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh before joining a small Canadian biotech company, Aqua Health Ltd, specialising in vaccines for aquaculture in 1993. In 1999, Aqua Health was bought by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis and Andy worked in their animal health division for 4 years before beginning an academic career at The University of Queensland. Currently in the School of Biological Sciences, Andy’s Aquatic Animal Health Lab researches vaccines for the aquaculture industry and investigates health and immunity in aquatic animals ranging from reef-building corals, through prawns and oysters, to barramundi, stingrays and grouper.

Lily is a movement ecologist and Postdoctoral Research Fellow. She is interested in how and where highly mobile predators travel, what their journeys can teach us about their evolutionary histories, and how to translate research findings into effective conservation policies. At UQ, in affiliation with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, she is currently working on using animal tracking data and network models to understand migratory connectivity in the oceans. She received her BSc (Hons) from the University of Queensland, studying the thermal physiology and behaviour of wild saltwater crocodiles. In her PhD, at the University of Cambridge, she investigated the foraging ecology of albatrosses and petrels across the Southern Ocean.

Methods and applications of statistics in evolutionary biology and population ecology.

My research involves the application and development of statistical methods in ecology, evolutionary biology, and general whole-organism biology. My two particular research foci are phylogenetic comparative methods and other uses of statistics in ecology, evolution, and systematics. I also have a strong interest in the application of Bayesian methods, and the statistical philosophy of the nature of evidence in whole-organism biology. How and why do scientists agree that certain data are evidence for or against a particular hypothesis?

I also provide a statistical consultation service for staff and students within the School of Biological Sciences

I am interested in taking graduate students at any level who are interested in quantitative methods in biology. Students in my lab will be able to (or be willing to learn) program computers in S (http://www.r-project.org), a compiled language such as C or Fortran, and/or a scripting language such as Python or Scheme in a Unix environment. Students are also encouraged to extend or develop their mathematical skills. A background in biology, statistics, mathematics, or computer science would be valuable. I can also co-supervise students who are interested in using quantitative methods for their thesis work, but for whom such methods are not a primary focus of research.

Dr Liviu-Gabriel Bodea is a brain immune cell biologist specialising in the functional interplay between microglia, the brain’s primary resident immune cells, and surrounding cell types, both in health and disease. He is a Research Fellow at the School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and is affiliated with the Clem Jones Centre in Ageing Dementia Research, Queensland Brain Institute.

Liviu was awarded his Dr.rer.nat. (PhD) title from the University of Bonn, Germany (2014), working in the group of Prof. Harald Neumann on projects related to microglia physiology. He then relocated to Australia as the Peter Hilton Early Career Fellow in Ageing Dementia Research (2014-2019) to continue his work with Prof. Jürgen Götz on the underlying mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Frontotemporal dementia. He secured major extramural funding for his research (NHMRC Project Grant, NHMRC Ideas Grant, Dementia Australia Research Foundation Mid-Career Fellowship), and since July 2024, he has led the Microglia Metabolic Reprogramming and Proteostasis Research Team within the laboratory of Assoc. Prof. Karin Borges.

Liviu has significant experience in generating and analysing both in vivo and in vitro models (from stable cell lines and primary cultures to genetically modified mice). His work combines various biochemical and molecular techniques, ranging from high-resolution microscopy to omics (transcriptomics, proteomics) and bioorthogonal labelling to analyse newly synthesised proteins.

Liviu has extensive experience in guiding both undergraduate and postgraduate students into the wonders of scientific research :)

Complete List of Published Work: PubMed Bibliography

Funding and Awards

2024-2027 NHMRC Ideas Grant #2030460 (sole CI, ~AU$ 800,000)

2022-2024 Dementia Australia Research Foundation Mid-Carrier Research Fellowship (AU$ 375,000)

2022 The University of Queensland Research Stimulus Fellowship (AU$ 150,000)

2019 Emergency Services Queensland Philanthropic Support (AU$ 25,000)

2018-2021 NHMRC Project Grant #1147569 (CIB, ~AU$ 460,000)

2014-2019 Peter Hilton Early Career Research Fellowship in Ageing Dement (AU$ 500,000)

Research Impact, Leadership and Professional Activities

Dr. Bodea attracted >3,500 citations (h-index 15 @Google Scholar), including 6 articles with >100 citations (Google Scholar) and Web of Science 2x Highly Cited Papers. In 2021, Expertscape recognised Dr. Bodea as one of the top-rated researchers in the field of tauopathy, placing him in the top 0.8% of >142,000 published authors worldwide on tauopathies between 2012 and 2021. Further proving its impact, his work was cited in 22 patents.

Dr. Bodea's study on the microglial TYROBP in late-onset AD (Cell 2013, co-first author, former Highly Cited Publication @Web of Science) represents a milestone in the field, with >1700 citations (Google Scholar). He also revealed the complement-induced neurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons following peripheral immune stimulation (JNeurosci 2014, first author). More recently, he coordinated studies that centred on the effect of Tau protein (molecule relevant for Alzheimer's disease) on protein synthesis (EMBO J 2019 and Acta Neuropathologica Communications 2021), the use of artificial amino acids and de novo proteome analysis for the investigation of memory (eLife 2020) and microglial physiology (STARProtocols 2023), and the role of neuronal PTEN enzyme in synaptic engulfment by microglia (Acta Neuropathologica 2020). He published authoritative reviews in the Journal of Neurochemistry (2017), Nature Reviews Neurology (2018), Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2018), and Brain Research Bulletin (2021).

Dr. Bodea has been a grant reviewer for Alzheimer’s Australia/Dementia Research Foundation (since 2016), MS Research Australia (since 2019), and NHMRC (since 2021). He was Lead Guest Editor for a Special Research Topic in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (2023), is a member of the Reviewer Board for Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience and was a member of the Reviewer Board for the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Mental Health section. He is an ad-hoc reviewer for various top-tier publications, ranging from Science to Trends in Cell Biology.

Dr. Bodea has mentored and supervised the daily activity of PhD students (2 completed, 1 current), Honours students (4 completed, all awarded First Class distinctions), 2 research assistants, and >15 other students on smaller projects. His PhD students received awards (e.g., the Alistair Rushworth Fellowship, Merck-QBI Best Student Publication Award, Best Oral Presentation). Both his completed PhD students continue with academic careers: Dr. Joey Benetatos, following a successful post-doctoral training in the Fraenkel Lab (MIT, USA), is currently pursuing his second post-doctoral position in the Prof. Loren Looger group (UCSD, USA), and Dr. Harrison T Evans is holding an Alzheimer's Association Postdoctoral Fellowship and is the Leon Levy Fellow in the Prof. Eric Klann lab (NYU, USA).

Stress, reproduction and chemical communication in marsupials. Effects of stress on ageing and neurodegenerative diseases. Vertebrate ecophysiology.

Adrian Bradley’s laboratory focuses on the following areas:

The role of hormones on behaviour in vertebrates, especially marsupials.Chemical communication in vertebratesStructure and function of the vomeronasal and olfactory organs in marsupials and their role in stress and reproduction.Vertebrate ecophysiology, with emphasis upon marsupials inhabiting environments ranging from cool temperate to subtropical rainforests.Metabolic strategies in adaptation in vertebrates.The effect of stress upon the brain, and modulation of adrenocortical and reproductive axes.Effect of stress on accelerated ageing and neurodegenerative processes in the brain of marsupials.Effect of stress and ageing upon cognitive performance and the role of the hippocampus. Includes the effect of stress on hippocampal neuronal connectivity and function.The pathogenesis of peptic ulcer in small marsupials, a model in which Helicobacter sp. do not appear to be involved. Reproduction, chemical communication and social organization in marsupial glidersThe Bradley laboratory has carried out some of the pioneering work on pituitary-adrenocortical and pituitary-gonadal function in marsupials and was the first to describe the role of free cortisol in the spectacular annual mortality of males in populations of small dasyurid marsupials. These studies also demonstrated the significant role of haemorrhage from gastric ulcers in contributing to the male mortality.This laboratory employs a range of sensitive endocrine techniques both in the laboratory and in the field to interpret metabolic and reproductive strategies that are used by a range of vertebrates as they adapt to changes in the physical and social environment during their life history.Neuroendocrine studies use immunohistochemical, confocal and EM techniques to examine neurons and glial cells within the hippocampus and in the olfactory and vomeronasal pathways..Dr Bradley has ongoing collaborative projects in various locations that include the Daintree World Heritage Rainforest Region, North Queensland, South Stradbroke Island, Tasmania and in Kluane National Park, Yukon, Canada. Previous collaborative projects have been carried out on mammal populations in the following locations:In Western Australia, the Kimberley, the SW wheatbelt, Karri forests and islands off the West Australian coast,Moreton Island, North & South Stradbroke Islands, QueenslandKakadu National Park, Northern TerritoryThe Daintree World Heritage area, North QueenslandForest and alpine mammals in Tasmania and VictoriaYunnan Province, SW ChinaKluane National Park, Yukon, Canada

A/ Prof. Karen Cheney is a marine ecologist employing a multidisciplinary approach to explore predator-prey interactions, animal signalling, and the fundamental principles behind the evolution and function of animal colour patterns. Her research spans sensory, behavioral, and chemical marine ecology, with a particular focus on marine fish and molluscs. She co-leads the Marine Sensory Ecology Group at UQ.

She is also the Academic Director of the Moreton Bay Research Station, where she is oversees the teaching and research conducted at the station. She also co-leads research projects on understanding the ecosystem services of shellfish reef restoration, and the conservation of the threatened seahorse, Hippocampus whitei, in SE Queensland. She is also the Deputy Director of the Centre for Marine Science.

Animal Signalling: She focuses on the evolution of animal signals in the marine environment, particularly those used for camouflage and warning signals (aposematism). Her research employs spectrophotometry, theoretical vision models, phylogenetic comparative analysis, and a novel method using a calibrated underwater camera system to analyse complex animal colour patterns. This innovative approach enables simultaneous in-situ collection of spatial and spectral properties of animals and their backgrounds. She specifically investigates the diversity of colour signals displayed by nudibranch molluscs, examining how these patterns are perceived by potential predators and their relationship to the unpalatability and toxicity of the molluscs’ stored chemical defences.

Colour Vision: She studies the visual performance of coral reef fish using behavioural assays inspired by tests used to screen for human color vision deficiencies. By relating behavioural data to theoretical visual modelling, she assesses the accuracy of these models. More broadly, she explores the sensory, neural, and cognitive foundations of colour perception and investigates the genetic basis for the diversification of visual systems.

Our lab aims to test fundamental hypotheses in genetics and evolutionary biology. Principally, we are interested the relationship between genotypic and phenotypic change during adaptive evolution. This line of inquiry requires an understanding of both the type of selection acting on traits as they evolve and ultimately the functional polymorphisms available for selection to act upon. We presently use both native and exotic species of Drosophila in our work but also undertake collaborative study in other organisms that represent examples of recurring ecological and evolutionary phenomena. We are equipped to use a broad range of techniques in our investigations including experimental evolution, field-based selection studies, quantitative genetics, molecular population genetics, genomics and advanced quantitative methods in statistics and computational biology. The broad range of techniques available to our group provides students with a unique opportunity to broaden their skill sets as they address fundamental questions.

I obtained my PhD from The Australian National University in 2001 and have been at UQ since August 2006

My research is primarily aimed at understanding the origins, diversification and distributions of organisms, especially plants and insects in Australia. I mostly take a comparative approach and use molecular phylogenies to test hypotheses about ecological and evolutionary processes. Recent and ongoing topics include: understanding how interactions among plants and insects affect the evolutionary radiation of each; teasing apart the effects of extinction and speciation to understand how past climate and environmental change has shaped our biota; and investigating the relative roles of continental drift and long distance dispersal in explaining the current distribution patterns of organisms in the southern hemisphere. Specific questions relate, but are not limited, to topics such as:

• how the diversification of the unique Australian flora has driven insect speciation

• whether specific insect-plant interactions are the result of long term co-radiation or more recent adaptive radiations of insects

• the relative roles of vicariance (such as that induced by continental drift) and dispersal in explaining the current distribution patterns of southern hemisphere organisms

• evolutionary patterns of host-use by herbivores

• how past climate change has shaped the current distributions of taxa

• assembly of the flora and fauna of current biomes, especially the arid zone, monsoon tropics and southern temperate biomes

• phylogeography of plants and insects, and what this reveals about contemporary and recent gene flow

• consequences of differential dispersal, such as that between male and female scale insects, different developmental stages, or seed and pollen

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.

Evolutionary and ecological genomics of marine invertebrate animals.

Animals evolve because their genomes need to respond to the constantly changing environment presented by both their external habitat and their internal microbial symbionts. Over evolutionary time, these different factors interact during development, when the animal body plan is being established, to generate the extraordinary animal diversity that graces our planet. In ecological time, early life history stages must detect and respond to the precise nature of their environment to generate a locally-adapted functional phenotype. Using coral reef invertebrates from phyla that span the animal kingdom, we study these gene-environment interactions using genomic, molecular and cellular approaches combined with behavioural ecology in natural populations. We work mostly with embryonic and larval life history stages of indirect developers, as these are crucial to the survival, connectivity, and evolution of marine populations. When not immersed in the molecular or computer lab, we are lucky enough to be immersed in the ocean, often in beautiful places!

Taylor Dick is an Associate Professor in The School of Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Neuromuscular Biomechanics Laboratory within the School of Biomedical Sciences. She leads a highly interdisciplinary research program at the nexus of biomechanics, bio-inspired assistive devices, and neuromuscular physiology. Using a combination of experimental and modelling tools, her research answers fundamental questions about how movement underpins evolution, health, and disease.

Upon completing her PhD in 2016 (Simon Fraser University, Canada), in collaboration with Harvard’s Concord Field Station, she undertook post-doctoral training in biomedical engineering (University of North Carolina, 2016-17) where she combined her expertise in biomechanics and muscle physiology to discover how bio-robotic devices influence locomotor energetics and the neuromechanical mechanisms that enable stability during unexpected perturbations. This has since provided inspiration for the optimization of bio-robotic assistive devices, in response to the behaviour of their physiological targets. In 2017, she was appointed a research and teaching academic at the University of Queensland (UQ) where she has developed a uniquely integrative and multi-disciplinary approach to studying locomotion and neuromuscular function with applications across discovery and translation. Her research program integrates musculoskeletal anatomy, neural control, and biomechanics to understand the diverse movements of humans and animals. By combining high-resolution and innovative experimental paradigms with modelling and simulation techniques, her team, a rich blend of biomechanists, physiologists, mathematicians, engineers, and computer scientists, investigates the complex interactions between biological systems that enable the remarkable diversity in human and animal movement.

Taylor has established herself internationally as an emerging leader in biomechanics research. This reputation is supported by prestigious awards, invited talks and review papers, and media attention. Her research has been funded through competitive grant schemes and industry partnerships, with total research support exceeding $3.6 million. Her contributions to research and mentorship have been recognized with a 2024 Queensland Tall Poppy Award, 2024 International Union of Physiologists Junior Faculty Award; 2024 International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology Kevin P. Granata Award, and the 2021 International Society of Biomechanics Jaquelin Perry Emerging Scientist Award. Taylor has been nominated (2020 and 2021) for the Faculty of Medicine Rising Star of the Year Award. Taylor is an elected Executive Council member of the International Society of Biomechanics (ISB) and the elected Chairperson of the Comparative Neuromuscular Biomechanics Technical group. She is a passionate promotor of STEM for young girls—having co-developed the led a government-funded nationwide program to boost girls’ engagement in STEM, BRInC https://www.canberra.edu.au/about-uc/faculties/health/brinc

She currently advises 12 PhD candidates, 1 Master’s student, and 5 Honours students. She has successfully advised 5 PhD, 2 Master’s and 9 Honours students to completion since commencing her faculty position at UQ in 2017.

For more information about her program of research, visit her lab website: https://biomedical-sciences.uq.edu.au/research/groups/neuromuscular-biomechanics

Originally from Ireland, Rebecca Dunlop completed her BSc (Honours) degree in Environmental Biology followed by her PhD in fish neuroethology, both from The Queen’s University of Belfast. She migrated Australia in 2004 to undertake a post-doc in humpback whale social communication at UQ where the research resulted in a number of highly cited papers, solidifying her international reputation as a leader and expert in large whale communication and social behaviour. She then began lecturing in the School of Veterinary Science in 2010, mainly in animal physiology and moved to the School of Biological Sciences in 2021 to take up a lecturing position in animal behaviour and physiology.

Research

Rebecca'a research interests are in animal physiology, behaviour, and communication. She mainly works on humpback whales, though has worked on bottlenose dolphins, beaked whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales. Her lab focuses on four main research areas: cetacean acoustic communication, hearing, and behaviour; the effects of noise on humpback communication, behaviour, and physiology; humpback whale social behaviour; and endocrine physiology in cetaceans. Her past and current PhD students and honours students all work within these core research areas.

She is, or has been, a P.I in several large collaborative projects aimed at determining the effects of noise on large whale behaviour and hearing in large whales. Understanding underwater noise impacts on marine mammals is a scientific area that is growing due to interest from the Navy, Oil and Gas companies, the vessel industry and from other ocean stakeholders such as whale watching companies.

Her work on social behaviour and reproductive behaviour uses a combination of behavioural and physiological indicators of reproductive status as well as stress and she currently has an endocrinology lab based at Moreton Bay Research Station. She also collaborates with researchers within the school of veterinary science to develop projects on large whale health and disease.

Genetics of mental health (new research)

We are using the genetic model organism, C. elegans, do investigate the genetic basis of both normal and disordered behaviour. Our current interests are identifying the genes responsible for anxiety and depression as well as the genes for eating disoders and addiction. Using C. elegans as a model organism will also allow us to study gene function as it relates to behaviour.

Molecular mechanisms of phosphine resistance (other research)

Genetic mapping of oxidative stress resistance genes. The fumigant phosphine disrupts oxidative metabolism, resulting in the production of reactive oxygen intermediates. This causes the premature ageing and death of targeted pests. Insect pests of stored grain in Australia now exhibit resistance to phosphine at levels more than 200 times the normal lethal dose.

We have genetically mappedf and identified the genes responsible for phosphine resistance in tall major insect pests of stored grain. We are using a systems biology approach in the model organism C. elegans to understand the molecular basis of phosphine action. Our genetic studies have recently shown that resistance to phosphine is associated with an extension of lifespan

Dr Bill Ellis is an ecological researcher based in the School of The Environment. He gained a BSc with honours in Zoology at The Australian National University and holds a Master of Environmental Law from the same institution. Bill graduated with a PhD in Zoology from The University of Queensland in 1998 and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at San Diego Zoo's Centre for Research on Endangered Species in 2011.