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).
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.
I am an accomplished research leader capable of building multidisciplinary teams that develop innovative solutions to complex problems. I have an international reputation for improving health of communities by creating knowledge, translating it into real life scenarios and evaluating improvements for people, health care providers and funders. My work spans primary care, community care, hospital services, allied health, health promotion and wellbeing and health policy.
I have a clinical background as an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist, which has provided me with an understanding of the way health professionals and their services enable heatlh and wellbeing in people, groups and communities. My research career to date has been exemplary, as evidenced by multiple awards and accolades, including two NHMRC fellowships, a national award for excellence in PhD supervision, fellowships of learned societies and several awards for research excellence.
I am a collaborative, ambitious worker with a strong ability to bring people together and generate large-scale research endeavours that have maximum impact for health and wellbeing.
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.
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.
Keshia is a postdoctoral research fellow at The University of Queensland, School of Pharmacy. She is concurrently a senior research pharmacist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Her research focuses on hospital pharmacy services, digital health applications, and applied economics. Keshia is a registered pharmacist with clinical experience in hospital and community settings, and has educational experience in both hospital and university settings.
Keshia completed her Master of Epidemiology in 2020, and completed her PhD in 2023 at The University of Queensland, Centre for Online Health. Her thesis evaluated the economic factors and clinician drivers influencing telehealth uptake and sustainability in Australian general practice settings. Keshia employs quantitative and qualitative approaches in her research, and has expertise in health economic methods. She strongly advocates for technological innovation in healthcare, and aims to drive research translation into clinical practice.
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Available for supervision
Dr Chelsea Dobbins is a Senior Lecturer within the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at The University of Queensland. Before relocating to Australia, Dr Dobbins was a full-time continuing Senior Lecturer within the Department of Computer Science at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) in the UK (2013-2018). She has a background in Software Engineering and expertise in Digital Signal Processing, Applied Machine Learning and Human-Computer Interaction. Her research focuses on the detection of emotion using smartphones/wearable sensors and personal informatics. This includes areas such as lifelogging, affective computing, pervasive computing, digital health, human computer interaction, machine learning, mobile computing, mobile/wearable sensors, human digital memories, signal processing, and physiological computing. Her research has been supported by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for work related to developing a mobile lifelogging platform to detect negative emotions during real-life driving. In 2016 she received an ACM Computing Review Notable Article award for work related to mining multivariate temporal smart mobile data.
Dr Kristiana Ludlow is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, the University of Queensland, and an Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University. She completed her Bachelor of Psychology with first class Honours in 2015, her Master of Research in Medicine and Health Sciences in 2017, and her PhD in in Health Innovation in 2020. Dr Ludlow has expertise in co-design, qualitative research and Q methodology. Her research interests include co-designing interventions and digital health tools with end-users, frailty, education, aged care, person-centred care, the role of family caregivers in care, missed care/unfinished care, and care prioritisation. She is passionate about collaborating with consumers, service users and health professionals to improve the delivery of healthcare and mental health services.
Dr Anton Pak is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for the Business and Economics of Health, The University of Queensland. Anton is an applied economist by training and his research interests focus on the behaviour of patients and their choices, utilisation of emergency department services, waiting time modelling, and the economics of digital health. Anton examines empirical questions by utilising health economics theory and concepts and by analysing large panel and cross-sectional datasets (including linked data) using classical econometrics techniques, as well as machine learning methods.
Anton is currently co-leading an Emergency Medicine Foundation funded project “ED waiting time predictions in real-time: development of data acquisition system and performance evaluation of advanced statistical models.”, which is being undertaken in partnership with Princess Alexandra Hospital. Anton has worked extensively on interdisciplinary research with statisticians, mathematical modellers, clinicians, epidemiologists, and public health experts.
Prior to joining the Centre, Anton worked as a Research Fellow in Applied Economics and Data Scientist at James Cook University. His previous experience also includes working as a management consultant and university lecturer.
Anton has a PhD (Economics) from The University of Queensland.
Nalini has more than 25 years’ experience in innovative design and delivery of medicine and health programs in several countries. Her medical education research focusses on curriculum and assessment design, digital and inclusive education, and integration of biomedical sciences into health professional programs. She has a particular interest in educational technologies (including AI) and cognitive load, and curricular approaches that support positive learning behaviour, wellbeing, critical thinking and professional development. Nalini's research also includes medical imaging diagnositics and the use of AI.
Nalini is the co-founder of the Health Universities Initiative, which frames a whole-of-university approach to student success and wellbeing. She has several awards (Faculty, Vice-Chancellor, Australian Award for University Teaching) for her contributions to higher education. Nalini is the Chair of the International Program for Anatomical Education (FIPAE) of the IFAA, and an Associate Editor of Anatomical Sciences Education (Impact Factor, 7.2). Nalini is a Board Member and Fellow of ANZAHPE, Fellow of the Scientia Education Academy, and Fellow of HERDSA.
Nalini currently supervises 5 PhD students in the following topics:
Health Advocacy in Medical Education: Evaluation of current practice and implications for medical programs
Cosmetic female surgery: A consumer-driven evaluation of demand and its implications for medical education
Fetal and Embryological Collections: A paradigm to examine the ethical practice of informed consent
Anatomical Education: The role of digital-based pedagogies in future practice
Liver and Gallbladder Imaging in Paediatric Patients: Developing a pipeline for diagnostic automation
Nalini currently supervises 4 reseach honours students on the following topics:
Relationship-based support interventions in medical programs
An evaluation of intersex education in medicine programs in Australia
Left ventricular compaction: evaluation of MRI diagnostic criteria
VR in biomedical sciences education: current scope of practice
Jason D. Pole is the Deputy Director of the Queensland Digital Health Centre (QDHeC) and a Professor in the Centre for Health Services Research (CHSR) within the Faculty of Medicine. Jason provides academic and research leadership within QDHeC. Relocating from Toronto, Canada in early 2020, Jason's program of research utilises clinical and surveillance data linked with real-world administrative data to answer health questions in several areas.
Jason has a background in epidemiology, health services research and digital health with an emphasis in the use of real-world data and complex survey instruments.
Currently, Jason has research interests in the areas of digital health applications to improve system performance including patient safety, health care utilization among childhood cancer survivors, the effects of childhood cancer treatment specifically on the development of second cancers and education achievement and has interests in the financial impact of a childhood cancer diagnosis on the family and the long-term financial health of the survivor. More recently, Jason has developed an interest in adolescent and young adult oncology (AYA) survivors and the specific long-term needs of this unique cancer population.
Jason also maintains appointments as an Associate Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto and an Adjunct Scientist with the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute and an Adjunct Senior Scientist with ICES, Toronto.
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
Availability:
Not available for supervision
Javad Pool is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The University of Queensland. He completed his PhD in Business Information Systems at UQ Business School in 2022, with a focus on data privacy and the effective use of information systems, specifically in the digital health context. By employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, Javad has conducted studies in a wide range of organizational and technological contexts, including healthcare, artificial intelligence, digital health, and social media. His work includes the development of inductive and theory-driven models, contributing to the existing body of knowledge on the effective use of information systems and health informatics research. Passionate about collaboration, Javad seeks to engage with diverse stakeholders, encompassing multidisciplinary researchers, industry professionals, and government partners, to advance research on information resilience and data protection practices. His research endeavors to better understand and address socio-technical challenges within information systems use, including data governance, privacy risks, cybersecurity, data breaches, data protection, misinformation, and responsible use of data.
Centre for Neurorehabilitation, Ageing and Balance Research
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Affiliate of RECOVER Injury Researc
RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Research Fellow
RECOVER Injury Research Centre
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
Dr Megan Ross (she/her) is a titled research physiotherapist and postdoctoral research fellow at RECOVER Injury Research Centre, The University of Queensland. She is part of a research team, led by Professor Trevor Russell, which focuses on developing more effective and efficient health services supported by technology innovation. Megan’s current research projects include exploring consumer perspectives of the telerehabilitation service delivery model, factors that influence the uptake and utilisation of telerehabilitation, and exploring the acceptability and usability of digital health innovations. Megan has a broad range of research skills that span both quantitative and qualitative methods and co-design approaches, including systematic reviews, cross-sectional and longitudinal study designs and data analysis, discrete choice experiments, interviews and focus group discussions and thematic analysis.
Dr Ross received a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (with First Class Honours) in 2012 and a PhD in Physiotherapy in 2020 from The University of Queensland. Megan is the inaugural Chair of the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee, is Deputy Chair of the Australian Physiotherapy Associations’ National Advisory Committee and sits on the Queensland Gender Affirming Network Steering Committee. Dr Ross leads a program of research in the area of LGBTQIA+ experiences of, and access to healthcare with a focus on physiotherapy and allied health. Megan is passionate about ensuring safe and affirming access to healthcare for people with diverse gender identities, sexual orientations and sex characteristics and has received over $1M AUD in funding, including a CIA MRFF grant to co-design, implement and evaluate an LGBTQIA+ affirming model of primary care. The overarching objective of Dr Ross’s work is to improve access to, provision of, and experiences with health care and ultimately contribute to improved health and wellbeing for the LGBTQIA+ communities.
Professor Anthony Smith is the Director of The University of Queensland’s Centre for Online Health (COH), and Adjunct Professor at the Hans Christian Anderson Children's Hospital and University of Southern Denmark, in Odense, Denmark.
Professor Smith is also the Editor in Chief for the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare (Sage Publishers, London; 5y Impact Factor 4.9).
Professor Smith has more than 20 years of research experience, resulting in the planning, implementation and evaluation of a broad range of telehealth (virtual care) services around Australia. Specific research interests include the feasibility, effectiveness and sustainability of telehealth services in the public health system; genuine consumer engagement; and novel strategies to support our health workforce and telehealth adoption. His research has led to the development of pioneering virtual care services in Australia, including prominent statewide hospital-based telehealth programs in Queensland, wireless (robot) videoconference systems for remote consultations; and a community-based (and telehealth supported) health screening programme for Indigenous children in Queensland. Current projects focus on the integration of telehealth and virtual care services in residential aged care settings; evaluation of community-led First Nations health services; the delivery of video-based rehabilitation services to children in rural and remote primary schools; telementoring services for health professionals in primary care; and discipline specific clinical telehealth services.
Professor Smith chairs the annual International Conference on Successes and Failures in Telehealth conference. He was the former President of the Australasian Telehealth Society (ATHS) [2013-2015]; and ATHS committee member [2008-2024]. In the field of telehealth and virtual care, Prof Smith has over 230 publications, including 210 peer-reviewed journal papers, three edited books and 13 book chapters on related topics. Whilst the field remains highly specialised in comparison to other disciplines, his work is cited over 2000 times each year.
Professor Smith also provides an extensive range of consultancy services for government agencies and corporate industry partners in the field of telehealth, digital health and virtual healthcare.
Recent Awards:
1. Public Engagement and Community-led Research (including Citizen Science) Award, The University of Queensland Research Culture Awards, 2024.
2. Top Researcher in the field of "Medical Informatics"- for work involving telehealth, digital health and virtual care. The Australian Research Awards, 2023
3. Commendation, Academic Leader of the Year, UQ Faculty of Medicine Excellence Awards, The University of Queensland, 2023
4. Excellence in Indigenous Engagement Award - for "enhancing access to specialist health services through the use of telehealth for First Nations people. Engagement Australia Excellence Awards, 2021
5. Spirit of Reconciliation Award - for building research and community partnerships in Queensland. UQ Faculty of Medicine Excellence Awards, The University of Queensaland, 2021
Wubshet is a registered pharmacist, lecturer, and course coordinator in Medicines Management and Pharmacy Practice at the University of Queensland’s Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences. He also holds an Affiliate Research Fellow position at the University of Sydney School of Pharmacy.
He completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania, focusing on ‘Medication appropriateness and regimen complexity in chronic kidney disease’ in December 2019. Following that, he held postdoctoral researcher roles at the University of Canberra and University of Sydney, where he coordinated multiple government- and industry-funded clinical trials.
Wubshet's research primarily centres around understanding medication and patient outcomes in individuals with chronic diseases, with a special emphasis on kidney diseases. In collaboration with several researchers and stakeholders in Australia, Wubshet has attracted ~2.1 million in grant funding. Currently, he is actively involved as an investigator in a large-scale cluster randomised trial (ACTRN12622000329763) funded by the Medical Research Future Fund and led by the University of Sydney. This trial aims to investigate the effectiveness of a community pharmacy-led point-of-care screening in improving the detection of kidney disease and quality use of medicines.
Dr George Thomas is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow in the Health and Wellbeing Centre for Research Innovation at the University of Queensland and a member of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child. George has a PhD in behavioural sciences and his research has focused on better understanding digital technology use among children and how such engagement impacts on their health, wellbeing, and development. He has worked in public health and behavioral sciences for over 10 years, starting with a government taskforce on Weight Management, providing healthy lifestyle programs for school children and families. He has taught research methods and public health to undergraduate paramedic and sport and exercise science students and received excellent student ratings. He has supervised over 10 student research projects. George is a passionate advocate for the promotion of healthy behaviours and is committed to translating evidence into community settings.
Centre for Research on Exercise, Physical Activity and Health
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
NHMRC Principal Research Fellow
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Availability:
Available for supervision
Media expert
A/Prof Sarah Wallace is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2020-24; 2025-29) and Certified Practising Speech Pathologist. Her research interests include communication disability in ageing and enabling and measuring meaningful change in post-stroke (language/communication impairment following stroke) aphasia. Sarah uses qualitative and participatory methods to understand the lived experience of communication disability. She works in partnership with people with lived experience, clinicians and community members to co-produce interventions, systems and standards that improve quality of care and outcomes.
Sarah's research themes include: (a) Design and implementation of a national audit system to drive quality improvement in post-stroke aphasia services; (b) Development and implementation of methodological standards to improve aphasia research quality and reduce research wastage; (c) Development of technology-enhanced interventions to support self-management, promote equitable access to information and services, and empower people with aphasia; (d) Development of fit-for-purpose training and resources for aged care workers to help older Australians have better conversations about aged care.
Sarah leads four current MRFF-funded projects:
Bridging the Digital Divide: Building Health Self-Efficacy through Communication-Accessible Online Environments
Unspoken, Unheard, Unmet: Improving Access to Preventative Health Care through Better Conversations about Care
The Right Treatment for the Right Person at the Right Time. Driving High-Value Aphasia Care through Meaningful Health System Monitoring
Measuring, Monitoring, and Motivating Adherence to Self-Managed Aphasia Treatment
Recent publications can be viewed on my ORCID page: 0000-0002-0600-9343