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I am a medicinal chemist and postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Queensland, Australia, where I obtained my BSc (Hons) with a major in organic chemistry in 2011. Following this, I worked at the Institute for Future Environments and later the Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities at QUT, where I gained experience in analytical chemistry, as well as molecular biology and genetics. In 2015, I returned to UQ to begin my PhD in the design and synthesis of novel antifungals targeting invasive infection under the supervision of Prof. Craig Williams and Prof. Luke Guddat, which I completed in 2019. My combined experience in synthetic chemistry - particularly in the synthesis of heterocyclic small molecules - and molecular biology has since led to my current position at UQ under the supervision of Prof. Avril Robertson, where my focus is once again on the design and synthesis of novel antifungals. Broadly, my research interests lie in the pursuit of drug design and development campaigns addressing difficult or under-researched clinical concerns, and in particular, the use of novel bioisosteric approaches to improve drugability and drug efficacy.

More recently, I have developed an interest in Australian mushroom species. Very little recorded knowledge on our endemic mushrooms species exists. My research in this space seeks to characterise the genetic and molecular features of Australian wood rot mushrooms, which are critical players in maintaining and restoring the health of our unique forests ecosystems. With this information we aim to better understand our fungal biodiversity and the ecological roles they play, and to explore their potential uses in several industries. We are also investigating the biological activity of extracts and molecules derived from these mushrooms against models of human diseases, such as Alzheimer's, cancer, and drug-resistant microbial infections.

Dr. Yahia Ali serves as a research fellow and lecturer within the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering at the University of Queensland, Australia. His primary research focus centers on applying scientific principles to address industrial challenges. He earned his PhD from the University of Queensland, while his MSc and BSc were obtained from the German University in Cairo. Throughout his career, he has amassed extensive expertise in areas such as alloy design, solidification, tribology of materials, and characterization techniques.

In conjunction with his academic responsibilities, Dr. Ali collaborates closely with the UQ Materials Performance (UQMP) consulting group. This interdisciplinary interaction between research and consulting significantly shapes his research direction, particularly in tackling industrial issues. As an illustration, Dr. Ali and his team have developed a distinctive range of devices for evaluating the performance of wear-resistant materials against abrasion and fracture. In Australia, Dr. Ali and his team holds a pivotal role in advancing the mining sector, providing innovative materials solutions, spanning from failure investigation to the development of novel materials. Through consecutive endeavors, they have influenced substantial business decisions for renowned companies like Rio-Tinto, Bradken, Molycop, IXL Metal Casting, Trelleborg, and others, often involving multi-million-dollar investments.

In 2023, Dr. Ali was honored as an Advance Queensland Industry Fellow, with a specific focus on developing sustainable alloys tailored for Queensland's agricultural and mining sectors. Additionally, he leads several projects concentrated on devising new testing techniques that can be conducted in the laboratory while preserving the authentic complexity of the industrial field environment.

Dr. Pratheep Annamalai is a polymer and nanomaterials scientist with a keen interest in engineering materials for sustainable living. He is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences. He has extensive expertise in both translational and fundamental research using nanotechnological tools towards sustainability. Currently, he is interested in alternative proteins and valorisation of agricultural crops and food waste into reactive, building blocks for improving the performance and utility of bioproducts. Thematically, his research focuses on

• Food Processing (plant-based food products)
• Bioproducts (from agri-food waste)
• Sustainable building blocks (for advanced materials).

Before joining UQ, Pratheep studied Chemistry in University of Madras, received PhD in Chemistry from University of Pune (India), then went on to work as a postdoctoral researcher on hydrophobic membranes at the Université Montpellier II (France), and on ‘stimuli-responsive smart materials’ at the Adolphe Merkle Institute - Université de Fribourg (Switzerland).

Upon being instrumental in the discovery of ‘spinifex nanofibre nanotechnology’ and establishing Australia’s first nanocellulose pilot-plant, he has been awarded UQ Excellence awards for leadership and industry partnerships for 2019. Recognising his contribution to the nanomaterials, polymer nanocomposites, polymer degradation and stabilisation regionally and globally, he has been invited to serve as a committee member for ISO/TC229-WG2 for characterisation of nanomaterials (2016), a mentor in TAPPI mentoring program (2018), guest/academic editor for various journals (Fibres, Int. J Polymer Science, PLOS One). He has served as a member of the UQ-LNR ethics committee for reviewing the applications (2017-) and a member of the AIBN-ECR committee in 2014.

Marlize completed BSc (Industrial Chemistry), BSc Hons (Chemistry) and MSc (Chemistry) degrees at Stellenbosch University (South Africa). In 2010, she completed a PhD (Chemistry) at the same university, focussed on natural product chemistry and the identification of volatile pheromones used in mammalian semiochemical communication. After her studies, she joined the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) from 2011 to 2023, where her research was focused on unravelling the factors that negatively impact wine aroma and flavour, with a specific focus on the formation and fate of undesirable sulfur compounds; as well as elucidating the formation pathways of compounds associated with premium sulfur aroma characters in wine. Her group also developed innovative tools used to remediate undesirable aromas from wine.

Marlize then joined the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, UQ, as a Senior Lecturer in Food Chemistry in 2023. Her research interests include fermented food and beverages. Specifically, evaluating the formation, fate, and function of key aroma and flavour compounds in these food and beverage products, and examining the impacts of processing on these compounds. Marlize is also interested in the isolation and identification of important flavour and aroma compounds from natural Australian Bush foods and the development of new products. Her research relies heavily on the application of chromatographic techniques.

In addition to her research, Marlize coordinates and teaches Food Chemistry to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Marlize is a Review Editor for the Frontiers in Nutrition - Food Chemistry journal.

Active projects:

• A Deadly Solution: Combining Traditional Knowledge and Western Science for an Indigenous-led Bushfood Industry (ARC Discovery-Indigenous)
• Identifying heirloom sugarcane varieties with high sugar and unique flavour profiles (UQ’s Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (AFIA) Industry Kickstarter Grant program)
• Identifying the desirable flavour, aroma, and sensory profiles of novel Australian native lime hybrids (UQ’s Agri-Food Innovation Alliance (AFIA) Industry Kickstarter Grant program)
• Maximising flavour throughout the vanilla production process (Faculty of Science BIRRST Partner 2024 funding scheme)

Dr Craig Bell is an Industry Fellow with the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and the Centre for Advanced Imaging. Since obtaining his PhD in 2011, he has been the recipient of two international fellowships, a prestigious Newton International Fellowship (2013-2014) funded by the Royal Society, and the NHMRC CJ Martin Early Career Fellowship (2014-2018). He has contributed scientific articles to various leading journals in his field, and is the co-inventor on two patents. His current research focus is on the development of degradable polymer devices for imaging and tracking of disease and cellular processes by using a tool-kit of controlled polymerisation techniques along with polymer and molecular coupling methodologies. The incorporation of degradable moieties into these constructs not only allows for enzymatic and hydrolytic degradation for complete body clearance of these constructs but also allows for tracking of these devices in vivo upon degradation to help elucidate cellular processes. Dr Bell currently engages with Aegros, a membrane fabrication and human serum fractionation company based in Sydney.

After completing my undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the University of Newcastle, I held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Basel (Switzerland) from 1990-2. I returned to Australia in 1993 to take up an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Australian National University (Canberra) from 1993-4. I joined The University of Queensland in 1994.

Biography:

Suresh Bhatia received a B.Tech. degree in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and Master’s as well as PhD degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. He worked for a few years in industry in the USA, and for two years at the University of Florida, before joining the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, in 1984, and subsequently The University of Queensland in 1996. His main research interests are in adsorption and transport in nanoporous materials and in heterogeneous reaction engineering, where he has authored over two hundred and eighty scientific papers in leading international journals. He has received numerous awards for his research, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Engineering Sciences from the Government of India, and the ExxonMobil Award for excellence from the Institution of Chemical EngineersHe has held an Australian Professorial Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, and is a Fellow of two major academies – the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and the Indian Academy of Sciences. He served as the Regional Editor of the international journal Molecular Simulation between 2009 and 2015. He has held visiting positions at leading universities, and between 2007 and 2009 he was the Head of the Division of Chemical Engineering at UQ.

Research:

Bhatia’s main research interests are in the modelling and simulation of adsorption and transport in nanoporous materials, and in heterogeneous reaction engineering, in which he pursues both applied and fundamental research on a variety of topics. One of the current subjects is the development of models for the reaction kinetics and transport processes in the green electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide, as part of the research activities of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence. This is a novel route to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by converting it to useful chemicals and fuels, that is rapidly gaining increasing interest. In this technique, a porous electrode of complex structure is coated with nanoparticles of an electrocatalyst, on the surface of which carbon dioxide is reduced. Carbon dioxide (either pure gas or as part of flue gas) is fed into the electrolyser and must diffuse through the electrode’s structure to react with hydrogen ions in a liquid-phase electrolyte at the surface of the electrocatalyst. An added complexity is the intrusion of the electrolyte into the electrode, leading to its flooding and to a reduction in gas-phase transport rates. Bhatia’s research aims to gain an understanding of the complex interplay between gas-phase and electrolyte transport, and interfacial reaction kinetics, combining nanoscale models of transport and electrocatalytic kinetics with macroscopic electrode level models, and develop a comprehensive approach useful for process design and scale-up.

A second stream of activity relates to the modelling of mixed matrix membranes, particularly for carbon dioxide separation from flue gas and other industrial gas streams. These are a new class of membranes comprising a nanoporous adsorbent filler such as a zeolite or metal-organic/zeolitic imidazole framework material dispersed in a polymer matrix. Such composite membranes combine the high flux capabilities of the adsorbent with the selective properties of the polymer to overcome the established Robeson upper bound for polymers. Bhatia has developed novel effective medium theory-based models for transport in finite-sized composites, which overcome limitations of existing theories that are applicable only to large systems and therefore overlook particle and system size effects. At a more molecular level, Bhatia is investigating the nanoscale interfacial structure of the polymer in the vicinity of the solid, and its influence on the interfacial transport resistance using molecular dynamics simulation methods. When the polymer-filler interaction is strong, there is local densification of the polymer, which hinders gas transport, and when this interaction is weak interfacial nano-voids are formed which reduces selectivity. Both of these distinct effects deteriorate membrane performance, and a current focus of our research is the functionalisation of the polymer to improve polymer-filler compatibility and reduce interfacial defects. The synthesis of nanoscale and macroscopic approaches holds promise for the development of a virtual tool for the De Novo design of mixed matrix membrane specific to a given separation application; and is a key goal of this research.

Another thrust of his research relates to the transport of fluids in nanopores and nanoporous materials, where he is developing practical models of transport in nanoporous materials in conjunction with simulation and experiment. Among the achievements is a new theory of transport in nanoscale pores, which leads to an exact new result at low densities superseding the century-old Knudsen model. A current focus of the research is the interfacial resistance to transport in nanpororous materials, using molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical techniques. His results have shown that interfacial resistance dominates at nanoscales and can be very significant even at microscales. The results will have importance for a range of nanotechnologies involving the infiltration of fluids in nanoporous materials, including catalysis, gas storage, adsorption, and membrane-based separations, as well as nanofluidics.

In another stream of activity, he has developed atomistic models of disordered carbons using hybrid reverse Monte Carlo simulation methods, in conjunction with neutron scattering experiments. These atomistic models have been used to investigate the adsorption and transport of adsorbed fluids in the carbon nanostructure for a variety of applications. Among the carbons examined are carbide-derived carbon-based adsorbents for carbon dioxide capture from moist flue gases and CH4/CO2 separations. The co-adsorption of water has been shown by him to have a critical influence on both equilibrium and transport properties in these applications, and strategies for mitigating this influence are being investigated by means of simulation.

An area of recent activity is the study of carbon supercapacitors, where he is developing advanced simulation-based models for the equilibrium and flow of ions in porous carbon electrodes. These models will enable the optimisation of carbon structure for maximising capacitance and enhancing charging/discharging rates.

Teaching and Learning:

Bhatia has teaching interests in chemical reaction engineering, and applied mathematics, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Projects:

1. Simulation of the kinetics of electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. The electrocatalytic transformation of carbon dioxide to useful chemicals and fuels is a subject of much current interest to the goal of a net zero carbon economy. This project aims to develop a model of the kinetics of the electrocatalytic reaction and use it to optimise the structure and loading of the electrocatalyst layer on the surface of the electrode. A combination of Quantum calculations and kinetic Monte Carlo simulations will be performed to determine the reaction kinetics for the carbon dioxide reduction to specific products such as ethylene and urea. Machine learning will be used to correlate intrinsic reaction kinetics with ionic concentrations in the electrolyte. Subsequently, reaction-diffusion modelling in the electrolyte will be performed to determine the optimal properties of the catalyst layer for maximising production rates. Validation of the models will be conducted using experimental data from other groups in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Green Carbon Dioxide Transformation.
2. Multiphase transport in packings of nanospheres. Numerous materials comprise packings of nano-sized particles. Examples are catalytically active layers of metals deposited on surfaces, layers of carbon nanoparticles in electrodes, and extrudates of catalyst and adsorbent particles comprised of aggregated nanoparticles. Current models of transport through such materials often simplify the structure by appealing to an idealised cylindrical pore model, which is often inaccurate and requires the use of empirical fitting parameters. In addition, such models frequently overlook fluid-solid interactions that become important at nanoscales. This project will investigate simultaneous gas and liquid electrolyte transport in packings of nanospheres, while considering fluid-solid interaction and phase equilibrium between gas and liquid, using molecular dynamics simulations, to determine multiphase transport properties as a function of interaction parameters, packing structure, packing density and particle size, and the results corelated using machine learning models. The models developed will be useful in the design of catalyst and adsorbent particles, and of electrodes in electrochemical processes.
3. Modelling transport in diffusion electrodes. Numerous electrochemical systems, such as fuel cells and electrocatalytic reactors use electrodes of complex structure, comprising a fibrous gas diffusion layer, a conductive carbon particle layer and a catalytic layer. The electrode separates gas and liquid electrolyte, both of which infiltrate the electrode from opposite sides. A reliable model of the electrode behaviour is essential for process design. This project will model the interplay between gas and electrolyte transport and their phase equilibrium in the electrode, as well as the reaction-diffusion process in the catalytic layer facilitated by the charge transport in the electrode. Joule heating of the electrode will also be considered. The particular process targeted is the electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide. The outcome will be a comprehensive model of reaction and transport in the electrode that can be used in process design and scale-up of the electrochemical cell for electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction.
4. Synthesis and modelling of mixed matrix membranes. Mixed matrix membranes comprising a zeolite, metal-organic framework material, or other suitable adsorbent dispersed within a polymer matrix are attracting considerable attention because they combine the good mechanical properties of the polymer matrix with separation properties of the adsorbent. Here, we will perform molecular dynamics simulations of the separation of CO2 from flue gas using mixed matrix membranes and investigate their transport properties in this application. Suitable functionalisation of the polymer will be performed in silico to alleviate interfacial defects. Machine learning will be used to correlate transport properties with fundamental molecular level polymer and filler properties. Mathematical models of permeation through the membrane will be developed and validated against experimental data.
5. Dynamics of mixture adsorption in nanoporous materials. This project focuses on understanding the diffusion of gases in nanoporous materials, which is challenging both from a fundamental and applications viewpoint. Existing models frequently overlook fluid-solid interactions and require fitting parameters. In this connection, we have already performed molecular dynamics studies with single component systems and developed a novel new theory of diffusion and transport of adsorbates in nanoporous materials. The new studies now proposed focus on gas mixtures, and the theory developed will be extended to multicomponent systems in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulation. A system of particular interest is the separation of carbon dioxide from flue gas using nanomaterials and membranes.

​Associate Professor Blakey is a group leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and the Centre for Advanced Imaging. During his appointment at UQ he has been a recipient of a Vice Chancellor’s Research and Teaching Fellowship, an ARC Future Fellowship, a Linkage Projects International Fellowship, and a Queensland Government Smart State Fellowship. Prior to joining UQ he worked at Polymerat, a materials biotechnology startup company now listed on the ASX as AnteoTech.

Natural Products from Traditional Medicines and drug development.

My group focuses on isolating bioactive natural products from plants and organisms used in traditional and herbal medicines in cultures across the globe. We screen extracts and purified compounds for biological activity and for bioavailability using cell techniques. We are also involved in synthesising analogues of natural compounds and components of subunit vaccines. We also work with first responders to develop methods for detection and decompostion of dangerous chemicals.

Professor Mark Blaskovich is an antibiotic hunter and Director of Translation at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland. He is co-founder and former Director of the Centre for Superbug Solutions at IMB.

A medicinal chemist with 15 years of industrial drug development experience prior to his academic career, Mark has been developing new antibiotics to treat drug resistant pathogens and using modified antibiotics to detect bacterial infections. He is a co-founder of the Community for Open Antimicrobial Drug Discovery, a global antibiotic discovery initiative, and has led a number of UQ-industry collaborations focused on antibiotic development. An inventor on eleven patent families, Mark has developed drugs in clinical trials, published more than eighty research articles, and received over $10m in grant funding.

My research group specializes in the detection, isolation, identification and evaluation of biologically active small molecules from Nature (natural products). We acquire valuable knowledge on how and why natural products are made, and apply this knowledge to better understand living systems, and solve important scientific and societal challenges.

To achieve these goals we have established specialist capabilities that extend across;

Microbiology – the isolation, characterization and cultivation of bacterial and fungal strains.

Chemistry – the extraction and fractionation of natural extracts, the purification, chemical and spectroscopic characterization, and structure elucidation of natural products, and the use of synthetic and medicinal chemistry to explore bioactive scaffolds.

Biology – to evaluate extracts and natural products against an array of bioassays, leading to new human pharmaceuticals that target such indications as infectious and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, pain and epilepsy, as well as new animal health products and new crop protection agents.

Dr Fernanda Cardoso is a Brazil-born Australian researcher interested in venom peptide-based biodiscovery and therapeutics development. Cardoso was awarded an MSc in Molecular Pharmacology and a PhD with an emphasis in Biochemistry and Immunology and is part of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, where she develops novel therapies for complex neurological diseases. Cardoso has interdisciplinary training in the fields of neuropharmacology, medicinal chemistry and chemical biology and a strong background in drug discovery, which provides the skills to identify naturally occurring or synthetic bioactive molecules and to study their effects in human physiology with applications in neurologic disorders such as chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and motor neuron disease (MND). Please see Dr Cardoso’s Grants and Publications list for more details.

Before joining the University of Queensland, Dr Cardoso was part of the Queensland Institute for Medical Research, holding a prestigious CAPES Postdoctoral Fellowship. During this period, Cardoso developed unique high-throughput screen platforms for discovering protein and peptide targets of novel therapies to combat infectious diseases and novel helminth-derived bioactives with anti-inflammatory properties. Please see Dr Cardoso’s Publications list for more details.

Dr Cardoso is currently part of the Centre for Drug Discovery and manages several industry and academic projects studying ion channel modulators derived from natural repertoires, particularly venoms, and developing novel, effective drugs to treat neurological disorders.

Keith is Molecular Virologist and group leader with a dual appointment within the Australian Bioengineering and Nanotechnology Institute and the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences. His research is focused on vaccine development and the understanding of medically and environmentally significant viruses. Keith is one of the inventors of a UQ’s molecular clamp platform and is the co-leader of a program to produce a vaccine for COVID-19 at UQ. Keith has played a leading role in designing and implementing an epidemic response vaccine pipeline which enabled the progression of UQ’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate from sequence information to clinical trial dosing within 6 months.

Keith completed his PhD at the University of Queensland in 2007 on the structure and function of flavivirus NS3 protease. Subsequently, he spent three years (2007-2010) as a post-doctoral researcher at one of Spain’s most respected research institutes, Instituto Salud Carlos III, where I conducted research on the fusion protein of Respiratory Syncytial viurs as a target for conformationally specific neutralizing antibodies. Keith returned to UQ in 2011 and his research has focused on understanding of many medically and environmentally important viruses and bacteria, particularly focussing on Influenza, Respiratory Syncytial virus (RSV), SARS-CoV-2, Koala Retrovirus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.