Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Associate Professor
School of Mathematics and Physics
Faculty of Science
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Sally Shrapnel is an internationally recognised interdisciplinary scientist whose research spans quantum physics, artificial intelligence, digital medicine, and philosophy. With a unique career trajectory bridging clinical medicine and cutting-edge quantum technologies, Dr Shrapnel is committed to solving foundational and applied problems that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.
A registered medical practitioner and Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, she brings over two decades of clinical experience in Tasmania, Queensland, and the UK. After earning an MSc in Bioengineering from Imperial College London, she pursued a PhD in Quantum Artificial Intelligence—focusing on quantum causal inference—which launched her second career as a quantum physicist.
Currently, Dr Shrapnel is Associate Professor of Physics at The University of Queensland and Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (EQUS). Her research addresses two fundamental questions:
What does quantum theory reveal about the nature of reality?
Can quantum resources be harnessed to design faster, more efficient AI algorithms?
These inquiries drive her leading contributions in Quantum Foundations and Quantum Machine Learning, where she develops novel theoretical frameworks and algorithms that aim to unlock the quantum advantage in emerging technologies. As Program Lead for Quantum Technologies for Health at the Queensland Digital Health Centre, Dr Shrapnel is also preparing the state’s healthcare ecosystem for the next technological revolution—bringing quantum tools into real-world applications in health and medicine.
A passionate advocate for interdisciplinary research, Dr Shrapnel continues to publish widely across quantum physics, computer science, digital health, and the philosophy of science. Her work exemplifies the power of rigorous, cross-disciplinary thinking to address some of the most profound and practical challenges of our time.
Dr Walters has published on Cavendish, Shakespeare, Milton, and Renaissance women in relation to gender, science, philosophy, sexuality and political thought. She welcomes research proposals relating to these topics.
She is author of Margaret Cavendish: Gender, Science and Politics (Cambridge University Press, hardback 2014, paperback 2017) and is editor of The Blazing World and other Writings, Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press, 2025), which is the first edition to modernise the spelling and grammar of Cavendish’s prose fiction.
Her co-edited volume, Margaret Cavendish: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (2022), was published by Cambridge University Press and won Co-Honorable Mention for the 2022 Collaborative Project Award from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender.She is also co-editor of the Restoration section of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Early Modern Women’s Writing (2021-2026); the General Editors won the 2025 Digital Scholarship, New Media, & Art Award from the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender. In addition, she is co-editor of Cavendish and Milton, which is forthcoming with Oxford University Press. Currently, she is co-editing Cavendish's Philosophy of Literature, which is under contract with Routledge.
Dr Walters is the managing and founding editor of Margaret Cavendish: A Multidisciplinary Journal. Currently, she serves on the Editorial Board of ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews, Anthem Press, and was President of the International Margaret Cavendish Society.
Dr Walters is also Deputy Chair of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) and is the Honours Thesis Coordinator for the Western Civilisation Centre.
She obtained her doctorate and masters degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and her BA from the University of California Santa Cruz. Previously, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at Ghent University, Belgium. She has also held academic positions in England, America, and Scotland and was a visiting professor at Université Catholique de Lille, France. Between studies, she worked in Tokyo, Japan.
Books
Lisa Walters. Margaret Cavendish: Gender, Science and Politics (Cambridge University Press, hardback 2014, paperback 2017)
Lisa Walters and Brandie Siegfried, eds. Margaret Cavendish: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2022).
Lisa Walters, ed. The Blazing World and other Writings, Oxford World's Classics (Oxford University Press, 2025)
Suzanne Trill, Natasha Simonova, and Lisa Walters, eds. "Restoration."Palgrave Encyclopedia of Early Modern Women's Writing (Palgrave 2020-2025).
Ann Coiro, Lara Dodds, and Lisa Walters, eds. Cavendish and Milton (Oxford University Press, forthcoming)
Daniel Whiting and Lisa Walters, eds. Cavendish's Philosophy of Literature (under contract with Routledge)
