QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.

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Found 52 matching student topics

Displaying 25–36 of 52 results

Leader transgressions in organisations

Broadly, this research theme looks into the effects of leader transgressions (e.g., misconduct, misbehaviour, deviance) on workers within organisations.More specifically, adopting a social identity approach, projects within this theme may examine the following questions:How does the organisational level of the leader influence the effects of their transgression on workers?How do workers'  identity configurations affect whether they respond to leader transgressions?How does the type and target of the leader transgression influence the way workers respond to the transgression?

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
School
School of Management

Leadership destabilisation in organisations

Research and practice often focus on how leadership is successfully developed or built. Little attention is given to the factors that may undermine leadership. Understanding these factors may help shed light on how effective leadership is sustained through challenges and setbacks.Taking a social identity approach to leadership, this research may investigate:the potential destabilisers of leadership within teams and organisationsthe lifecycle of leadership within groupsthe factors that turn followers away from their leader.

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
School
School of Management

Intergroup leadership in polarised groups

The adage “united we stand, divided we fall” has frequently guided leadership practice – that is, for one to lead others effectively, one first needs to unite them. However, large groups of people often comprise smaller subgroups with distinct identities. How, then, does the leadership process look like when these smaller subgroups are polarised into conflicting factions that cannot simply be united under a common superordinate identity?This research broadly examines the process of leadership within teams and organisations where there …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
School
School of Management

Determining the response to PARP inhibitor treatment of ovarian cancer in mouse xenograft model

Our cellular DNA is constantly under threat from both exogenous and endogenous factors. DNA repair pathways function to maintain genomic stability, preventing deleterious mutations that may ultimately lead to cancer initiation. When a tumour forms, it becomes genetically unstable, allowing environmental adaptation. This genetic instability can also result in gene mutations and protein expression alterations that can be targeted to induce cancer-specific cell death (phenomenon also known as synthetic lethality). For example, it has been shown that cells deficient in …

Study level
Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Biomedical Sciences

Characterise a novel DNA repair protein as a target for cancer therapies

Data generated in the lab has identified a novel DNA repair protein previously described as a key protein in HSP70/90 complexes. Many pathways of tumourigenesis are mediated by Heat Shock Proteins and HSP70/90 are found significantly upregulated in ovarian cancers. The targeting of HSP70/90 are an emerging therapeutic avenue for the treatment of ovarian cancer. Supporting this, an inhibitor of HSP90 has been shown to sensitise breast cancer cells to PARP inhibitors and paclitaxel.Our preliminary data indicates that this new …

Study level
Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Biomedical Sciences

Characterising the role of PARPs in DNA repair and cancer therapy

The genome of our cells is damaged multiple times each day, by various factors including sunlight and reactive oxygen species. In order for the DNA damage response to be efficient, our cells utilise highly coordinated repair pathways that function accurately and rapidly throughout the damaged cell. Cells that do not repair DNA damage correctly will accumulate damage and display increased genomic instability, which is a key hallmark of cancer cells, promoting their survival and rapid growth. DNA repair pathways are …

Study level
Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Biomedical Sciences

Gender, leadership and performance in higher education industry

Institutions of higher learning are essential for supplying any economy with high-quality labour and innovations. Also, these institutions are crucial to actively achieving the objectives of inclusive and sustainable development. These organisations have adapted more inclusive and sustainable development practices over time; particularly, the leadership team now has a higher percentage of female members. Rarely is there literature on how adjustments to these strategies and leadership have an impact on institutional performance. This study fills in this knowledge gap to …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Economics and Finance

Digital Leadership Competencies for AI Adoption

Identify the specific competencies and skills that leaders need to effectively lead AI adoption initiatives in organisations. Research can focus on areas such as data literacy, AI literacy, critical thinking, decision-making, and the ability to manage and interpret AI-driven insights. Develop frameworks for assessing and developing these competencies in leaders.

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Science
School
School of Information Systems
Research centre(s)

Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology

The Impact of AI on Leadership Roles and Structures

Examine how the introduction of AI technologies reshapes traditional leadership roles and organisational structures. Investigate the evolving nature of leadership in decentralised, AI-driven decision-making processes and explore how leaders can effectively adapt to new leadership paradigms.

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Science
School
School of Information Systems
Research centre(s)

Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology

Identification and functional characterisation of genetic modifiers of iron overload

Iron is an element essential for virtually all life forms; aberrant iron metabolism is linked to many diseases. These include cancers, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, iron overload and iron deficiency disorders, iron-loading anaemias, and the anaemia associated with chronic disease. Central to proper iron regulation is the appropriate expression and activity of the liver-expressed regulatory peptide, hepcidin, and the iron exporter, ferroportin (FPN). Modulating the expression and activity of hepcidin and FPN, and their interaction is …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Biomedical Sciences

Ecosystem responses to climate change and human impacts on sub-Antarctic islands: a context for conservation

Sub-Antarctic islands have unique ecosystems and landscapes under increasingly pressure from climate change. In many cases this is compounded by the introduction of invasive species since their discovery by humans in the 1800s.Understanding ecosystem and environmental responses to climate change and separating them from human-induced causes of change is essential for their future protection. To do this requires quantifying long-term, natural rates and variability of change, establishing the ‘baseline’ status of ecosystems and the environment prior to human arrival, and …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Science
School
School of Biology and Environmental Science
Research centre(s)

Centre for the Environment

Teaching and learning entrepreneurial capabilities in diverse educational contexts

Projects may address entrepreneurial skills, behaviours and attributes as learnable human capabilities across a diverse range of educational contexts. Sub-topics may include entrepreneurial alertness, risk taking and productive failure, values formation and creation,  agency-passivity, emancipatory entrepreneurialism, antifragility, entrepreneurial leadership, global mindset, emotive experiences and interplay with learning for entrepreneurial capabilities, opportunity creation.

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy
School
School of Teacher Education and Leadership

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