Director Teaching and Learning of School of Biomedical Sciences
School of Biomedical Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Associate Professor
School of Biomedical Sciences
Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Stephen is a physiologist with expertise in endocrinology whose research examines how hormones regulate metabolism, growth, appetite, and reproduction. He works closely with animal nutritionists and veterinary clinicians on challenges in animal health and production, with current research focused on phosphorus deficiency in Australian cattle.
Alongside his scientific work, Stephen is a recognised educational leader with strengths in teaching strategy, curriculum renewal, and student success. As Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Biomedical Sciences (2019–2024), he led the School’s response to COVID-19, receiving a UQ Service Excellence commendation and the Faculty of Medicine Academic Leader of the Year award. He has guided the renewal of the UQ Bachelor of Biomedical Science, shaping a future-focused program that strengthens student engagement, belonging, and graduate capability. His leadership has also influenced biomedical science education nationally and internationally through school–university pathways, curriculum reviews, science communication projects, and the development of physiology MOOCs. He was recently awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
Stephen’s educational leadership is grounded in extensive teaching experience. He has taught physiology to more than 40,000 students across biomedical, health, animal, and veterinary programs, earning multiple teaching awards including a national ALTC Citation. His educational research focuses on how students learn complex concepts in physiology, particularly in contexts involving uncertainty and integration. Reappointed in 2025 as Director of Teaching and Learning in Biomedical Sciences, he also serves as interim Deputy Associate Dean (Academic) for Student Experience and Success in the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences.
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
Availability:
Available for supervision
Kieren McCosker has expertise in tropical beef production. Kieren completed an Agriculture Science - Animal Science degree (University of Queensland) and later a PhD (School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland) deteriming the factors associated with reproductive performance in northern Australia beef cows, otherwise known as the Cash Cow project while working in the Agriculture Division of the Northern Territory Government's Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade. In 2021, Kieren commenced working with the Centre of Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture, Food and Innovation and comes with approximately 20 years of experience investigating production issues across many facets of the northern beef production system and south-east Asia. Some of his current projects examine the impact of shade and paddock infrastructure on calf mortality, and utilising remote technologies to remotely detect key production events, such as calving and associated maternal behaviours.
Rebeka R. Zsoldos is an animal biomechanist who graduated at the Animal Science Faculty of the University of Kaposvar/Hungary (2008). In Vienna/Austria, she then completed her PhD on the biomechanics of the equine cervical vertebral column at the Movement Science Group at the Veterinary University (2011), followed by her own collaborative research project titled “Generic Motion Models based on Quadrupedal Data” at the University of Natural Resources together with the Veterinary University and the University of Bonn/Germany (Multimedia, Simulation and Virtual Reality Group). During this time, she taught Animal Biomechanics to undergraduate and graduate students. Having completed the project, she continued work with her collaborators at the University of Bonn in Germany. After that she worked on a mathematical approach to the elastic behaviour and shape of the equine spine as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Computational Sciences Group, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.