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Dr Jonathan Davies is a chronic pain researcher working to improve how pain is understood, assessed and treated. His research focuses on pain phenotyping, precision pain care, and the psychological, physiological and contextual factors that shape pain and treatment response.

At UQ’s Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research, he contributes to DISCERN, an NHMRC Synergy-funded multidisciplinary research program developing and validating new approaches to pain assessment. A major focus of his work is DECIPHER PAIN, a standardised, multimodal tool designed to characterise the relative contributions of nociceptive, neuropathic and nociplastic pain and support more personalised care.

His research integrates clinical assessment, quantitative sensory testing, experimental pain methods, psychophysiology, digital health and population data. He is particularly interested in how physiological signals, behaviour, language, psychosocial context and real-world health data can be combined to better understand individual differences in pain and treatment outcomes.

His broader expertise includes placebo and nocebo effects, mindfulness, mental health, quality of life, health outcome measurement and population health. His work aims to support more precise, scalable and patient-centred approaches to pain research and care.

Dr Eban Escott is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at The University of Queensland. His work connects software engineering, artificial intelligence and education, with a particular focus on how people direct, evaluate and collaborate with increasingly capable AI systems.

His research interests include model-driven engineering, software development automation, human-in-the-loop AI and graduate readiness for changing workplaces. He explores how automation can support software development while keeping people responsible for judgement, quality and decisions.

Eban brings extensive industry experience as a software engineer, entrepreneur and technology leader. He has translated research into commercial software tools and delivery practices applied in government and enterprise projects. His experience spans software architecture, legacy system modernisation, product development and the leadership of engineering teams.

At UQ, he teaches software innovation and contributes to curriculum development, drawing on industry experience to connect theory with practical engineering work. He also serves on UQ’s Computer Science Curriculum Advisory Board, contributing to discussions about graduate capabilities and the changing demands of the software profession.

Eban holds a PhD in software engineering from UQ. He welcomes collaboration on software engineering, AI-supported development and preparing students for professional practice.