Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr. Yibeltal Assefa Alemu is an Associate Professor of Global Health and Health Systems at the School of Public Health, University of Queensland. His research program focuses on global health, health systems, and primary health care, with a particular emphasis on advancing universal health coverage (UHC) and global health security (GHS). He coordinates and delivers courses on health systems and global health, focusing on developing the next generation of public health leaders through innovative, authentic, and evidence-based education. He also supervises and advises HDR students working on topics such as global health, health systems, primary health care, UHC and GHS.
Before joining the University of Queensland in 2016, Dr. Alemu built an extensive career in health policy, program implementation, and disease control at both national and global levels. Since 2007, he has contributed to the design of implementation and treatment guidelines, as well as monitoring and evaluation frameworks for disease control programs (DCPs). He has led national surveys, surveillance initiatives, and program evaluations in Ethiopia and across sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and health systems strengthening.
Leadership and Professional Experience
Deputy Director General, Ethiopian Public Health Institute (2013–2016): Coordinated national surveys, surveillance, and evaluations on health systems, nutrition, and disease control programs; supervised doctoral and master’s students from Ethiopia and Europe; and examined graduate theses.
Executive Director, International Institute for Primary Health Care (2015–2016): Founded the institute in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, developed its organizational structure, and recruited its inaugural staff.
Director of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation, Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office, Ethiopia (2010–2013): Designed and implemented monitoring and evaluation systems for Ethiopia’s multisectoral HIV/AIDS response, and coordinated national strategic and operational plans.
Director of Medical Services, Federal Ministry of Health, Ethiopia (2008–2010): Led health system reforms, including hospital and primary care restructuring and the establishment of a national emergency medical services program.
Head of the Health Programs Department, Federal HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (2006–2008): Directed the health sector response to HIV/AIDS and other STIs, developing national guidelines, training manuals, and mentorship programs.
Medical Director, Humera District Hospital, Ethiopia (2002–2005): Oversaw hospital operations, service delivery, and health outcomes.
General Medical Practitioner, Humera District Hospital, Ethiopia (2001–2005): Delivered clinical services across outpatient and inpatient departments.
Research, Publications, and Global Engagement
Dr. Alemu has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and played a leading role in the development of 10 national guidelines and training manuals on HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. He has also contributed to more than five WHO global guidelines, including the WHO consolidated antiretroviral therapy (ART) guidelines. His work has significantly shaped Ethiopia’s and other resource-limited settings’ responses to HIV/AIDS and is frequently cited in WHO global policy documents.
He has held influential positions on international expert panels, including:
WHO Consolidated Guidelines for ARV Use (2015)
Technical Evaluation Reference Group, Global Fund (2012–2015)
Core Group for WHO Patient Monitoring System for ARV Use (2013–2014)
WHO Advisory Group on Task Shifting for HIV Treatment (2007)
Through his leadership, teaching, and research, Dr. Alemu continues to shape policy and practice in global health, health systems, disease control, and primary health care, advancing the global agenda for equitable and sustainable health.
Affiliate of Centre for Neurorehabilitation, Ageing and Balance Research
Centre for Neurorehabilitation, Ageing and Balance Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Conjoint Research Fellow in Consumer and Community Involvement
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Lisa is a speech pathologist and conjoint research fellow with Metro North Health and The University of Queensland and works with the Queensland Aphasia Research Centre (QARC). Her research focuses on examining experiences, determining priorities, and co-designing meaningful solutions with lived-experience experts, and improving consumer partnerships. Lisa’s PhD used a novel application of Experience-Based Co-Design, to co-design aphasia services for QARC, who have adopted her findings as a future focus of the centre.
Affiliate of Centre for the Business and Economics of Health
Centre for the Business and Economics of Health
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Director of Rural Health
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Higher Degree by Research Scholar
School of Public Health
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Associate Professor Geoff Argus is the Director of Rural Health for the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. He is a nationally recognised leader in rural health with a career spanning over 20 years as a clinician, health leader and academic. A/Prof Argus has served as a Board Director with the Australian Rural Health Education Network and the National Rural Health Alliance.
From 2017 to 2025, A/Prof Argus led the establishment, growth and expansion of Southern Queensland Rural Health (SQRH), a University Department of Rural Health, that operates as a partnership between UQ, the University of Southern Queensland, Darling Downs Health and South West Hospital and Health Service. In 2022, SQRH was awarded $5M under the Rural Health Mutlidisciplinary Training Program to establish a rural allied health training hub in St George Queensland and an aged care training hub in Chinchilla, Queensland.
A/Prof Argus holds qualifications in Clinical Psychology and Public Health with research interests in rural health workforce planning and development, rural health education and training strategies, innovative rural health service delivery models and health issues directly impacting rural communities.
Affiliate of Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHeR)
Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of RECOVER Injury Research Centre
RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Centre for Online Health
Centre for Online Health
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Senior Research Fellow
RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Nigel is public health and health services researcher with interests and expertise in quantitative research methods, epidemiology, evidence-based health care, clinical trials, and digital health. He is a member of the Improving health outcomes after musculoskeletal injury group at the RECOVER Injury Research Centre, and is a chief investigator of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Better Outcomes for Compensable Injury. His work focusses on the epidemiology and burden of minor to moderate injuries, longitudinal data analyses of intervention trial data, population studies of health-related quality of life and chronic pain, and the potential of digital heath for assessment and intervention following injury.
Nigel has particular interests in new innovations in healthcare, and has previously worked in minimally-invasive surgical trials in gynaecology, and clinical trials assessing the feasibility, efficacy and effectiveness of clinical telemedicine in paediatric healthcare. His doctorate work (Awarded 2011, UQ School of Medicine) involved the design, development, and clinical/cost/acceptability evaluation of real-time telemedicine for acute consultation between a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit and four peripheral referring hospitals in Queensland. He maintains an active research interest in telemedicine, and more broadly in digital health. Between 2004 and 2015, Nigel was involved in the telepaediatric service at the Royal Children's, and the Lady Cilento Children's hospitals in Brisbane where he also co-ordinated an Indigenous Ear Health Screening Program. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare and an academic editor for PLOS ONE.
Nigel regularly participates in national and international grant review panels, and is an active HDR and occupational-trainee supervisor. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH), a member of the Australian Epidemiological Association (AEA), International Epidemiological Association (IEA), the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), the Association for Interdisciplinary Meta-Research and Open Science (AIMOS), and is a qualified Justice of the Peace, JP (qual).
Affiliate of ARC COE for Children and Families Over the Lifecourse
ARC COE for Children and Families Over the Lifecourse
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Senior Research Fellow
PA Southside Clinical Unit
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Urska Arnautovska is an early career clinical academic, working as a Research Fellow at the University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine and as a general psychologist in private practice. Following her professional training in Slovenia, she focused her research on suicide which led her to receiving an appointment at the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP), a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention and, since 2008, a National Centre of Excellence in Suicide Prevention. In addition to her research work, she acted as a research coordinator of the Life Promotion Clinic and was involved in the management and analysis of clinical data pertaining to the patients of the clinic, which presented with complex mental health problems and suicidal thoughts and behaviour. Her subsequent research remained focused on mental health, and in more recent years, become dedicated to improving health outcomes in people with severe mental illness. Her PhD, for which she received a competitive Griffith University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (2012-2016), investigated the motivational processes underlying physical activity in older adults and was awarded the Australian Psychology Society (APS) Award for Excellent Higher Degree Thesis in Health Psychology. She has 48 peer-reviewed publications and has over $8.5 million in competitive research funding, with leading (CIA) roles on projects related to digital health interventions for people living with schizophrenia.
Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Richard Bade is a Senior Research Fellow and ARC DECRA fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland. He obtained his PhD from the University Jaume I, Castellon, Spain in 2016, which focussed on analytical tools for the investigation of licit and illicit drug residues in water before joining the Population Health Chemistry Group at the University of South Australia in 2017, where his research focussed on the development of quantitative and qualitative methods for the determination of illicit drugs in wastewater. He is involved with the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program, funded by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, in collaboration with the University of South Australia.
His research interests are associated with the surveillance, detection and identification of new psychoactive substances in wastewater and other matrices as well as exploring the impact of chemical and pathogen exposure during mass gatherings. Dr Bade currently leads an expanding international consortium exlporing the prevalence of new psychoactive substances worldwide (currently from 23 countries, 60 sites). He is a strong supporter of collaborative research, with ongoing projects involving academic and industrial partners in Australia and around the world.
Emma is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Business, The University of Queensland. She is a primary care researcher, focussing on the use digital technologies in the delivery of healthcare services, clinical decision-making, and antimicrobial stewardship. She is concurrently a registered community pharmacist, and has experience teaching undergraduate pharmacy students and postgraduate medical students. She is also Deputy Chair for the Early-Career Researchers Subcommittee at the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care (AAAPC) and was heavily invovled in the development and implemention of the AAAPC's first mentorship program.
Emma completed her Bachelor of Pharmacy (Honours) in 2017, and completed her PhD in 2024 at The University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine, General Practice Clinical Unit. Her thesis explored antibiotic prescribing by early-career general practitioners and the impact of telehealth on the diagnosis of acute infections and antibiotic decision-making. She has experience with qualitative, quantitative and systematic review methodologies.
Affiliate of Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate Professor of Mater Research Institute-UQ
Mater Research Institute-UQ
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre
Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Centre Director of Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing
Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor in Community Health and Wellbeing
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor in Community Health and Wellbeing
School of Public Health
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
My vision for Australia’s future is that knowledge creators are embedded and intertwined within the communities they serve. Discovery and understanding come from listening, genuine connection and enrichment. I creatively blend research excellence, leadership and strategy to create new knowledge for a better world.
As a researcher, my work shapes how communities thrive through health and wellbeing. I am Professor of Community Health and Wellbeing at The University of Queensland. Together with my team, we are internationally acclaimed with several awards and accolades for research excellence.
As a leader, I inspire people and organisations to imagine a more prosperous future. I bring people together and harness their collective ability to create innovative solutions to solve complex challenges.
As a strategist, I have a fresh and engaging approach to developing a shared vision, mapping the path, celebrating achievement and transforming improbable goals into realistic expectations.
The cornerstone of my work is leading the Springfield Living Lab. Living labs use geographical boundaries and systems thinking approaches to examine whole-of-city implementation and innovation mechanisms. They leverage infrastructure and partnerships to enable codesigned, pragmatic solutions in health and other disciplines that drive knowledge translation to benefit other contexts and regions. Springfield exemplifies the defining features of a living lab through its integrated urban design, strong local governance, and commitment to innovation across health, education, and technology. As Australia’s largest master-planned city, Springfield offers a contained, yet complex, real-world environment to co-create, test, and refine solutions to contemporary issues facing society. Living labs are increasingly recognised as effective models for place-based research, characterised by multi-stakeholder collaboration, iterative development, and embeddedness within everyday community life.
I have an international reputation for research excellence in primary care, community care, hospital services, allied health, health promotion and health policy. I use this expertise to drive improvements to the way community members are supported in pursuing their health and wellbeing. I am always looking to work with people, teams and organisations who share my vision. Together, we have the power to inspire, connect and deliver on new opportunities that will open doors to innovation and exemplify how communities prosper and thrive.
Please get in touch to explore how we can work together.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Lizzie Beadle is a clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist, and researcher. Her research is focused on neuropsychological rehabilitation, changes to self-awareness and identity after brain injury, and use of technology in rehabilitation. She has practiced as a psychologist from acute through to community services. She is experienced in translation of research in to clinical practice. She is passionate about supporting a lifelong love of learning in students and clinicians. She is also passionate about supporting greater medical and lifestyle choice and control for individuals with disabilities.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Dr. Borg is a translational scientist with a career spanning both Germany and Australia. She has amassed extensive expertise in cellular biology in regenerative therapies, as well as molecular biology, biochemical, and preclinical methodology in diabetes research. Her leadership in coordinating the newest Queensland longitudinal birth cohort has honed her skills in multidisciplinary teamwork, scientific communication, databank governance and epidemiological study design.
Passionate about innovation, Dr. Borg excels in leveraging communication, engagement, and partnerships to address persistent challenges in clinical research. As a Principal Research Fellow in the Women-Newborn-Children's Services at Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, she is dedicated to workforce capacity building and integrating clinical expertise with academic knowledge. Her efforts are focused on enhancing research implementation and improving health service evaluation within cross-disciplinary teams, to prioritise healthcare improvement.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Katie a health and disability researcher and the Research Lead at the Queensland Centre for Excellence in Intellectual Disability and Autism Health (QCEIDAH). Katie leads research to improve experiences and outcomes for people with intellectual disability and autistic people in the health system.
Katie’s research spans preventive care, primary care, and hospital settings. Katie’s work uses co-design and has strong consumer input across all stages of her research. Katie is driving a research program to transform primary and preventive health. She is currently driving a transformative research program in primary care and preventive health.
Affiliate Research Fellow of School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Research Fellow/Senior Research officer
PA Southside Clinical Unit
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Claudia Bull is a Research Fellow in psychiatric epidemiology at the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research (QCMHR), University of Queensland. She holds a Bachelor of Nutrition with First Class Honours (2017) and a PhD in Health Services Research from the Griffith University School of Nursing and Midwifery (2022). Claudia's research largely focusses on undertaking complex data analysis using large, linked, population-based administrative datasets to understand equity, patterns of health service use, and outcomes in vulnerable Australian populations. She is particularly interested in the intergenerational and lifetime effects of child abuse and neglect in Australia, as well as understanding how health services can better support Child Protection efforts.
Claudia is also well-versed in the development, psychometric evaluation and implementation of PROMs and PREMs for health systems performance measurement. She is internationally recognised for her research related to PROMs and PREMs, having published several seminal and highly cited papers, as well as pioneering methods for consumer engagement in deciding what questions are relevant and important in PROMs and PREMs. Claudia is an inaugural member of the South Australian Commission on Excellence and Innovation in Health's Generic PROM Selection Subcommittee, and is currently collaborating internationally with researchers in The Netherlands, Iran, France and Spain to cross-culturally validate an Emergency Department PREM.
Claudia's expertise in population-based linked administrative health data analysis, as well as PROMs and PREMs, positions her as a well-rounded and capable researcher. Claudia's international collaborations underscore her ability to work across cultural and geographical boundaries, enriching her research with a global perspective. Moreover, her track record of published research, practical involvement in healthcare initiatives, and ongoing projects reflect a proactive and influential presence in the field.
Affiliate of ARC COE for Children and Families Over the Lifecourse
ARC COE for Children and Families Over the Lifecourse
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Affiliate of Child Health Research Centre
Child Health Research Centre
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Research Fellow
Queensland Brain Institute
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Dr Laetitia Coles is a health sociologist whose research focuses on improving health and developmental outcomes for children with disability by embedding lived experience into research design, policy, and practice. Her work spans sociology, education, and health, with a strong emphasis on early childhood inclusion, family wellbeing, and workforce development.
Laetitia leads transdisciplinary research projects that centre the voices of children, families, and educators. She leads the Workforces component of the Thriving Queensland Kids Brain Builders Initiative (https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain-builders) in support of the generation, translation, and application of knowledge from neurosciences into policy and practice, as well as leading the award-winning project entitled Families in Focus: Amplifying the voices of children with disability and their families (https://child-health-research.centre.uq.edu.au/event/5632/families-focus), in collaboration with Queensland Children's Hospital.
She was recently awarded a HERA Collaborate grant for the project Early childhood inclusion in focus, which co-develops tools and priorities to support inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC). She is also the Workforces Lead for the $3 million Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership – Brain Builders Initiative.
With over $3.5 million in research funding and a portfolio of peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and policy reports, Laetitia’s work has informed strategic planning at Children’s Health Queensland and contributed to national policy evaluations. She sits on the Foundational Supports 0–9 Working Group (Autism Queensland) and serves on editorial boards for Health Sociology Review and Community, Work and Family.
Laetitia welcomes collaboration with researchers, policymakers, and community organisations committed to inclusive, impact-driven research.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Queensland Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation and Research Centre
Queensland Cerebral Palsy Rehabilitation and Research Centre
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professorial Research Fellow
Centre for Health Services Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Professor Tracy Comans, a UQ Amplify Fellow at the Centre for Health Services Research, University of Queensland, and an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, is renowned for her innovative application of economics in multifaceted health services contexts. Her pioneering work involves the creation of comprehensive models that extend beyond traditional economic models, enabling a broader assessment of benefits and costs.
In addition to her model development, Professor Comans applies these economic models to explore the cost-effectiveness of various health care interventions. She spearheads and cultivates health services research with a particular focus on older individuals, allied health, and rehabilitation services.
With a solid academic foundation in both physiotherapy and economics (Hons), Professor Comans brings a unique perspective to her research. Her clinical background as a physiotherapist, specializing in aged care, dementia, and rehabilitation, further enriches her work. Her expertise was recognized with a NHMRC Boosting Dementia Fellowship, which she held from 2017 to 2021.
Currently, Professor Comans is making significant strides in measuring the quality of care for older individuals. This work holds substantial potential for impacting the health and aged care industry. As our population ages, the demand for high-quality health care services tailored to the needs of older individuals is escalating. Despite this, there is a lack of agreement on what constitutes quality care for this demographic, and existing measures may not fully capture the aspects of care most important to them. Professor Comans’ work is instrumental in addressing this critical issue.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
I am a motivated and enthusiastic Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Sports Dietitian. I am interested in building sustainable foodservices worldwide, sports nutrition for recreational runners and seperate entrepreneurial ventures. I have a passion for clinical research and quality improvement projects in hospital dietetic services. Currently I want to help build sustainable foodservice systems for public/private entities that consider the future of human and planetary health. I am an ambitious individual who loves networking and who is eager to collaborate, please reach out.
My PhD research has focussed on the measurement and management of food waste in hospital foodservices through aggregate food waste audit activities and diverting food waste from landfill.
Affiliate of Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Centre for Cardiovascular Health and Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Centre for Extracellular Vesicle Nanomedicine
Centre for Extracellular Vesicle Nanomedicine
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor and Director of UQ Advanced Cell Therapy Manufacturing Initiative
School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
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Available for supervision
Professor Simon Cool is Professor of Bioengineering and Director of the UQ Advanced Cell Therapy Manufacturing Initiative in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland.
Professor Cool began his scientific career at the University of Queensland more than 20 years ago. He received his BSc (hons) and PhD degrees from the University of Queensland, where he subsequently held a faculty position in the School of Biomedical Sciences. His areas of studies have included age-related changes in the structure of bone and teeth and the extracellular matrix compartment of skeletal tissue that guide stem cell behaviour and wound repair. Professor Cool was invited to join the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore in 2003 as a Principal Investigator. He then joined A*STAR’s Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) in 2008, shortly after its inception, to further his research in regenerative medicine, serving as Senior Principal Investigator of the Glycotherapeutics Group. In October 2020, Professor Cool re-joined the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) as a Research Director, Glycotherapeutics, where he focused on developing novel glycosaminoglycan biomolecules that enhance wound repair and control adult human mesenchymal stem cell activity.
Professor Cool has 117 patent applications across 26 families with 51 granted in the fields of glycosaminoglycan biochemistry, regenerative medicine and stem cell science. He has more than 150 publications and continues to foster strong strategic collaborations both nationally and internationally with academic and industry groups. He has a strong biomanufacturing and translational focus with experience in taking glycosaminoglycan-based devices through discovery RnD on to pre-clinical and clinical testing. Professor Cool also has an entrepreneurial and licensing background having successfully spun-off some of his technology to a US-based regenerative medicine start-up company, SMC Biotechnology Ltd. Professor Cool holds a Visiting Professor appointment at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB), A*STAR, Singapore and an Adjunct Professor (Research) appointment in the Orthopaedic Department at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Prior to his move back to UQ, he previously held the position of Treasurer, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, Asia Pacific Chapter (TERMIS-AP) and Treasurer, Stem Cell Society Singapore (SCSS). He also held senior leadership positions in several Singapore-based R&D programmes, notably as Director, Allogeneic Stem Cell Manufacturing (ASTEM) and Theme Leader in Advanced Manufacturing for Biological Materials (AMBM). Prof Cool currently serves on the Editorial Board of the journals Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, and is Asia-Pacific Regional Editor for Stem Cells and Development.
Affiliate of Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHeR)
Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Senior Research Fellow
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Nathalia Costa is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland's cLinical TRials cApability (ULTRA), located within the Centre for Clinical Research in Herston. Her career goal is to enhance the evidence base from clinical trials and deepen the understanding of healthcare issues through qualitative and mixed methods, with a focus on theoretically grounded, critical, reflexive and collaborative approaches. She is passionate about bringing different types of knowledge and stakeholders together to generate perspectives that create change and make research, practice and education more inclusive and nuanced. She advocates for pluralist inquiries and believes research should go beyond the dualism “quantitative/qualitative” to achieve the intersubjective understandings needed for impactful collective action. Her methodological expertise includes:
Systematic, scoping and rapid reviews
A range of qualitative methods and methodologies including but not limited to interviews, photo-elicitation, ethnography, Delphi studies, surveys, focus groups, document and policy analysis, thematic analysis, content analysis, and discourse analysis
Embedding qualitative research in feasibility trials to inform large-scale clinical trials
Conducting qualitative research to inform the development of implementation strategies
Use of systems-thinking frameworks to identify opportunities for interdisciplinary and intersectoral action to target health problems
Applying social theory to deepen understanding of healthcare and health more broadly
Participatory and collaborative research with key stakeholders (e.g., patients, clinicians, academics, policymakers)
Her publications (55+) span a diverse range of themes, including musculoskeletal conditions, pain, policy, sociology and culturally responsive care. She has also taught across a range of disciplines, including research methods, musculoskeletal physiotherapy, sociology applied to health, fundamentals of physiotherapy, fundamentals of health care, health policy, health economics and health systems finance.
Her research focuses on aspects of low back pain - from exploring ways to navigate uncertainty in low back pain care to identifying avenues to improve it within the Australian healthcare system. She is currently investigating how to optimise recruitment within the FORENSIC trial, which aims to evaluate if lumbar fusion surgery is more beneficial than continuing with best conservative care for patients with persistent severe low back pain who have already undergone non-surgical treatment.
Alongside collaborators, Nathalia has garnered grants (AUD$7.5M) and awards, including an international award for one of her PhD studies, awarded by the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine – the 2021 ISSLS Prize for Lumbar Spine Research (Clinical Science).
Prior to her current appointment, she was a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (UQ - 2021), a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the Sydney School of Public Health (The University of Sydney, 2021-2022), and a Lecturer in Physiotherapy at the Sydney School of Health Sciences (The University of Sydney, 2023). Nathalia serves as an Associate Editor for Qualitative Health Research and the Journal of Humanities in Rehabilitation.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Dr. Adam Craig is an infectious disease epidemiologist and global health system researcher. He has more than 25 years of experience in health, having worked across and with Australian, Asian and Pacific health authorities. Among other areas, his research explores the use of digital technology to support health information collection and exchange and how technology may support improved health system function. Other projects Adam is involved in include the development of policy advice for Pacific leaders related to enhanced early warning disease surveillance, the use of digital technology to support health care delivery and community participation in disease vector tracking. In addition to his academic roles, Adam is a senior advisor to the Australia-Indonesia Health Security Partnership and a researcher for the Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
Affiliate of Centre for the Business and Economics of Health
Centre for the Business and Economics of Health
Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
Centre Director of University of Queensland Centre for Hearing Research (CHEAR)
Centre for Hearing Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Professor
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
My research concerns i) understanding causes and impacts of hearing impairment, particularly in the context of multimorbidity in older age, ii) prevention and treatment of hearing impairment, and iii) hearing service development and evaluation. My research involves epidemiological modelling with population data sets, clinical trials and hearing health policy. I have authored over130 publications in peer reviewed journals and books, and I frequently present invited and keynote addresses at international conferences. I have received the British Society of Audiology’s TS Littler prize for services to audiology and a prestigious US-UK Fulbright award.
I have been awarded 10 grants as principal investigator in the last 5 years totalling >AUD$14.5 million from competitive sources including the NHMRC, the NIHR, the Alzheimer’s Society UK, the European Commission, industry and charity funders. This funding includes an EU Horizon 2020 grant of €6.2 million (as joint PI for “Ears, Eyes and Mind: The “SENSE-Cog Project” to improve mental well-being for elderly Europeans with sensory impairment”), and two NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund awards ($1.2 million as CI for “SENSEcog aged care: Hearing and vision support to improve quality of life for people living with dementia in residential aged care”; AUD$1.3 million for "Home hearing and vision care to improve quality of life for people with dementia and carers"; and an AUD$0.9 million NHMRC targetted hearing research award (as CI for "Improving access to the hearing services program for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds"). I have strong links with hearing industry partners and have received research funding (total >AUD$500,000) from major hearing aid companies Starkey, Oticon, Phonak and the hearing industry research consortium. I have a position at the University of Manchester with on-going involvement (as CI and co-I) in projects funded by the NIHR, the ESRC, the Alzheimer’s Society and the RNID.
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of Centre for Online Health
Centre for Online Health
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Lecturer
Centre for Health Services Research
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
I am an early career researcher with <3 years post-PhD and estimated research time relative to opportunity of 20 months. Currently, I am a Research Fellow and Lecturer at The University of Queensland’s (UQ) Centre for Online Health (COH). I have years of study and work experience, including consumer and community involvement, in various healthcare settings in Brazil (2009-2019), the UK (2003-2008) and Australia (2019-present). I came to Australia in December 2019 for a 12-month PhD research placement at UQ after winning a highly competitive scholarship from the Brazilian Government. I have a Bachelor of Pharmacy, a Graduate Certificate in Project Management, a Master of Philosophy in Public Health, a Diploma of Higher Education in Youth and Community Studies and an OCN Level 3 Certificate in Community Development. I completed my PhD in Public Health in 2021.
I have a proven track record for delivering high-quality projects, with national significance, including policy change and integration into the national strategy in Brazil, and the implementation of a digital model of care developed in Australia. My track record demonstrates a rising career trajectory. My research interests are telehealth, virtual care and digital health, including digitally disrupted models of care for chronic conditions, trust and confidence in telehealth and digital health, digital health literacy, health services research, including implementation and evaluation strategies, mixed-methods, cross-sectional studies, co-design and qualitative inquiry, community and consumer involvement in research and service redesign.