HDR projects - Faculty of Medicine - University of Queensland

The University of Queensland has supported over 15,000 students in their academic pursuit to attain a Higher Degree by Research (HDR). With over 2000 research experts and a reputation world-wide as an elite research institution, choosing to undertake a higher degree by research at UQ will provide you with every advantage.

Find out about how to apply to our HDR programs. Review the entry requirements to enrol in a HDR program:

Living Stipend and Tuition Scholarships are available.

Best parts of doing a PhD?

We caught up with the finalists of the 2021 3MT competition to ask them what their favourite parts were from their PhD.

Find a project

Browse the list of available projects offered within the Faculty of Medicine below. Use the search bar to search by research topic or theme (e.g. infectious diseases, cancer etc), supervisor’s name or organisational unit (School or Research Centre).

Active Strides: Intensive rehabilitation for children with moderate to severe cerebral palsy to improve gross motor function, habitual physical activity and participation in physically active leisure

Dr Leanne Sakzewski, Child Health Research Centre
Adult neurogenesis

Professor Michael Piper, School of Biomedical Sciences
An integrated systems model for antimicrobial resistance under changing climate

Associate Professor Simon Reid, School of Public Health, antimicrobial resistance, modelling, climate change
Applying an ‘implementation science’ lens to evaluating a frailty program

Dr Adrienne Young, Centre for Health Services Research
Artificial intelligence combined with novel data sources to improve the public health response to infectious diseases

Dr Amalie Dyda, School of Public Health, infectious diseases, machine learning, surveillance
Biomarkers in gynaecological cancer

Professor Andreas Obermair, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, gynaecological cancer, biomarkers
Breastfeeding and factors for success

Associate Professor Kym Rae, Mater Research Institute-UQ, perinatal health, breastfeeding, lactation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
Bridging the mental health gap after childhood brain injury

Professor Karen Barlow, Child Health Research Centre, traumatic brain injury, children, mental health, behavioural, health
Characterising medication usage and chronic disease relationships in pregnant women and their partners

Dr Meng-Wong Taing, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Creating a synthetic population for trialling spatial sampling strategies for eliminating infectious disease

Associate Professor Benn Sartorius, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, infectious disease, lymphatic filariasis, survey data, spatial distribution, synthetic population, evaluation, sampling strategies
Developing and testing a mental health indicator tool for residential aged care

Dr Deborah Brooks, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, mental health, residential aged care, quality indicators
Developing clinically translatable nano-systems to break down immune barriers

Dr Sherry Wu, School of Biomedical Sciences, nanotechnology, exosomes, cancer biology
Developing National Infrastructure for Federated Learning in Digital Health - NINA

Professor Clair Sullivan, Centre for Health Services Research, Queensland Digital Health Centre,
Development of neural activity in the cerebral cortex

Dr Rodrigo Suarez, School of Biomedical Sciences, calcium imaging, wide-field microscopy, neural networks
Distrupting malignant cell niches to improve anti-cancer treatment outcomes

Dr Ingrid Winkler, Mater Research Institute-UQ, cancer, stem cells, niches, therapy, preclinical, medicine, research, inflammation, TRI
eConsultant: improving equity and access to specialist care

general practice, eConsult, equity, access, health service, Professor Claire Jackson, Mater Research Institute-UQ
Enhancing interprofessional feedback practices: a video-reflexive ethnography study

Dr Christy Noble, Office of Medical Education
Enhancing sustainable interprofessional collaborative practice in medical programs

Professor Nalini Pather, Academy for Medical Education, medical programs, interprofessional practice, interprofessional collaborative practice, interprofessional education
Epidemiology and nephrology

Associate Professor Nicholas Osborne, School of Public Health, epidemiology, nephrology, spatial
Evaluating the effectiveness of relationship-based support in medical programs

Professor Nalini Pather, Academy for Medical Education, medical programs, learning support, inclusion, relationship-based learning, wellbeing, student success, programmatic assessment
Frailty in severe mental health disorders

Professor Ruth Hubbard, Centre for Health Services Research
From home to hospital and hospital to nursing home

Dr Emily Gordon, Centre for Health Services Research
Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectories of Youth (Youth-GEMs)

Dr Enda Byrne, Child Health Research Centre, genetics, mental health, risk factors, polygenic risk scores
Harnessing the immune system to battle cancer

Dr Sherry Wu, School of Biomedical Sciences, cancer, immunology, therapeutics
Health and wellbeing of men during the perinatal period

Associate Professor Kym Rae, Mater Research Institute-UQ, Men’s health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, perinatal period
Hypothalamus development and disease

Professor Stefan Thor, Professor Michael Piper, School of Biomedical Sciences, sleep neurons, hypothalamus
Identifying and managing people at risk of frailty in general practice – an implementation evaluation

risk of frailty, general practice, implementation, Professor Claire Jackson, Mater Research Institute-UQ
Identifying how abnormal neural stem cell biology contributes to disease

Professor Michael Piper, School of Biomedical Sciences
Identifying individuals at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Associate Professor Michelle Lupton, QIMR Berghofer
Implementation of a co-designed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander QLD cohort across Queensland

Associate Professor Kym Rae, Mater Research Institute-UQ, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, perinatal health, implementation analysis
Improving outcomes for women experiencing gynaecological cancer

Professor Andreas Obermair, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, gynaecological cancer, endometrial cancer, clinical trial, quality of life, PROMs, lymphoedema, biomarkers
Innate cells in protective immunity

Professor Gabrielle Belz, UQ Diamantina Institute, infection, immunity, virus, RNAseq, temporospatial mapping
Integration of AI-driven tools and platforms in medical and health professional curricula, focusing on their ability to provide personalized learning experiences

Professor Nalini Pather, Academy for Medical Education, medical programs, health professional programs, assessment, AI, personalised learning, technology-enabled learning
LEAP-CP: Learning through Everyday Activities with Parents study

Dr Kath Benfer, Professor Roslyn Boyd, Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, Cerebral palsy, Indigenous studies, Indigenous health, mental wellbeing, physiotherapists, medicine, public health, occupational therapist, speech pathologist, psychologist
Life course approach to women's health

Professor Gita Mishra, School of Public Health, preconception care, child health, endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS, menopause, record linkage, reproductive health, infertility, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), health service use, sex hormones
Making cancer therapy safer - new strategies to alleviate cancer therapy side-effects

Dr Ingrid Winkler, Mater Research Institute-UQ, cancer therapy, chemo, malignancy
Making multicomponent frailty programs sustainable: understanding costs, barries and enablers to scale up and adoption

Dr Natasha Reid, Centre for Health Services Research
Mechanisms for differential GPCR:effector coupling

Dr Sebastian Furness, School of Biomedical Sciences
Modelling and mapping current and future distribution and transmission pathways of Australian mosquito-borne diseases

Associate Professor Benn Sartorius, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, mosquito-borne diseases, distribution, climate change
Modelling and mapping vaccine preventable disease dynamics (incidence, immunity, and vaccine coverage) in Samoa

Associate Professor Benn Sartorius, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, vaccine preventable diseases, disease dynamics, spatial-temporal, immunity, vaccine coverage
Molecular regulation of innate immune receptor functions in infection and inflammation

Professor Antje Blumenthal, Frazer Institute, inflammation, infection, innate immunity
Mothers and their children's health

Associate Professor Leigh Tooth, School of Public Health, Maternal health, child health, children's health and development, women's health, health service use
Muscle coordination in health and disease

Associate Professor Kylie Tucker, School of Biomedical Sciences
Neurobiology of Anxiety in Older Persons: fMRI study

Dr Jihyun Yang, UQ Centre for Clinical Resesarch, ageing, anxiety, neuroscience
New approaches to measuring single-molecule protein dynamics

Dr Sebastian Furness, School of Biomedical Sciences
Optimising movement throughout the lifespan: exploring the neuromuscular and biomechanical mechanisms of impaired and healthy locomotion

Dr Taylor Dick, School of Biomedical Sciences
Overcoming Metabolic Reprogramming by Non Hodgkin Lymphoma to Improve Adoptive Cellular Immunotherapies

Professor Maher Gandhi,Mater Research Institute-UQ, Cancer, Immunology, Lymphoma, Adoptive T-Cell Therapies
Paediatric Cancer Survivorship

Professor Jason Pole, Centre for Health Services Research, Paediatric; Oncology; Survivorship; Real-World Data; Health Services Research
Personalised assistive technology to improve balance and mobility

Dr Taylor Dick, School of Biomedical Sciences
Personalising Epilepsy Regimes with Stem cells and artificial Intelligence models for Superior Treatment outcomes (PERSIST)

Professor Ernst Wolvetang, Associate Professor Lata Vadlamudi, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, epilepsy, organoids, artificial intelligence
Pharmacological management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia in hospital

Dr Emily Gordon, Centre for Health Services Research
Physical activity epidemiology

Dr Gregore Mielke, School of Public Health, physical activity, exercise, life course, cohorts
Post-traumatic headaches in children after a concussion and the role of non-invasive brain stimulation

Professor Karen Barlow, Child Health Research Centre, TMS, concussion, brain stimulation, headaches, treatment, trauma
Primary melanoma project

Dr Lena Von Schuckmann, Frazer Institute, melanoma, skin cancer, epidemiology, dermatology, cancer prognosis
Profiling the expression of active genes and adaptive immune receptors on cancer cells to develop a deeper understanding of paediatric cancer

Dr Zewen Kelvin Tuong, Child Health Research Centre, Frazer Institute
Projects related to psychiatric epidemiology and global burden of disease

Dr Alize Ferrari, School of Public Health, burden of disease, epidemiology, prevalence, mental disorders, anxiety disorders
Running for health (Run4Health CP): a multi-centre, assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial of 12 weeks of twice weekly Frame Running training versus usual care to improve cardiovascular health risk factors in children and youth with cerebral palsy

Dr Leanne Sakzewski, Child Health Research Centre, cerebral palsy, para athletics, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, physical activity, adapted sports, disability
School Readiness: helping children with cerebral palsy prepare for school

Professor Roslyn Boyd, Associate Professor Leanne Sakzewski, Dr Koa Whittingham, Dr Stina Oftedal, Queensland Cerebral Palsy Research and Rehabilitation Centre, School Readiness, cerebral palsy, cognition commuication, behaviour, nutrition, physical activity, gross and fine motor development, physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, nutritionists, dieticians
Skin cancer diagnosis study

Dr Lena Von Schuckmann, Frazer Institute, skin cancer, epidemiology, early diagnosis, dermatology, cancer prognosis
Sleep enhancement in acquired brain injury using non-invasive brain stimulation

Professor Karen Barlow, Child Health Research Centre, sleep, brain, non-invasive brain stimulation, acquired brain injury, trauma, memory, learning, recovery
Spatial-temporal modelling and mapping of discrete and shared hotspots/clusters for Dengue, zika and chikungunya in Samoa

Dr Benn Sartorius, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, spatial-temporal, modelling, arboviruses, Samoa
Targeting the ‘wave of death’ check-points of chronic kidney disease (CKD)

Dr Andrew Kassianos, QIMR Berghofer, Royal Brisbane Clinical Unit, kidney disease, inflammation, fibrosis, cell death
Telehealth use in Voluntary Assisted Dying

Dr Helen Haydon, Centre for Health Services Research, telehealth, videoconsultations, voluntary assisted dying, legislation
The Tobacco Endgame - How can we end the cigarette epidemic?

Associate Professor Coral Gartner, School of Public Health, tobacco, smoking, health policy, regulation, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping, nicotine, health economics, smoking cessation, simulation modelling, health communication, health promotion
Transcriptional profiles of the developing neocortex

Dr Rodrigo Suarez, School of Biomedical Sciences, transcriptome, RNA sequencing, multiomics, brain diversity
Treatment of brain injury in growth restricted newborns

Dr Julie Wixey, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, brain, baby, neuroprotection
TRIP Clinical Trial: Uncovering a novel therapeutic target to reduce dementia risk in Parkinson’s disease

A/Prof Nadeeka Dissanayaka, UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Parkinson’s disease, clinical trial, memory
Understanding the drivers of neural stem cell differentiation

Professor Michael Piper, School of Biomedical Sciences
Understanding the malignant cell environment – to improve anti-cancer treatment outcomes

Dr Ingrid Winkler, Mater Research Institute-UQ, cancer malignancy treatment niche environment
Understanding the role of exosomes in cancer progression

Dr Sherry Wu, School of Biomedical Sciences, cancer biology, exosomes, tumour immunology
Understanding women's choices regarding the management of heavy menstrual bleeding in midlife

Professor Jenny Doust, School of Public Health, women's health, decision making
Vaccination in pregnancy-establishing a surveillance system

Dr Lisa McHugh, School of Public Health, Maternal vaccination, Influenza, pertussis, COVID-19, RSV, pregnancy
Vaccine Effectiveness for COVID-19 vaccines against infection, hospitalization and death in Queensland

Dr Amalie Dyda, School of Public Health, vaccination, data linkage, epidemiology
Virtual Integrated Practice (VIP) - supporting a sustainable rural workforce using telehealth

general practice, telehealth, implementation, Professor Claire Jackson, Mater Research Institute-UQ