Student topics

As AI systems become increasingly prevalent in medical applications, the need for explainable AI (XAI) has become crucial. This research investigates the critical issue of explainability in medical artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This project investigates methods for improving the interpretability and transparency of AI models used in medical diagnosis, treatment planning, and prognosis prediction. Understanding the reasoning behind AI-driven decisions is essential for building trust among healthcare professionals and ensuring patient safety.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Public Health and Social Work

Every person harbours a unique collection of microorganisms - the majority of which reside in the gastrointestinal tract - that influences nearly every aspect of human health. As such, the gut microbiome is emerging as a potential tool for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of diseases.However, microbiome studies yield vast amounts of data, and the complexity of the microbiome makes it difficult to decipher interactions between microorganisms, host cells and environmental factors.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Biomedical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Microbiome Research

The molecular process that leads to multiple mRNA transcripts being produced from the same segment of DNA (aka gene) is known as alternative splicing (AS). This is a common form of regulation in higher eukaryotes, enabling the production of novel protein isoforms, which in turn are known to have a big impact on phenotype. Understanding the regulatory factors involved in AS, including epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, will offer key insights into important biological phenomena (health disease, behaviour, production). …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Biology and Environmental Science

Optimising the application rates of organic amendments in agricultural soils is one of the most promising and practical solutions to reduce nitrogen (N) losses into the environment while maintaining an economically-adequate crop production.Organic amendments alone often don't meet the crop's needs. Consequently, a supplementary application of N synthetic fertiliser is needed in conventional farming systems to meet perceived production needs.Accounting for the amount of plant-available N (PAN) released by organic amendments and combining this with N-fertiliser will:ensure N demands of …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Biology and Environmental Science

Research centre(s)

Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy

The training of a specialised community and public health nutrition (CPHN) workforce assumes they are optimally placed to address food and nutrition issues at a population and community level. However, concomitant with the rise of diet as the leading risk factor contributing to the burden of disease in Australia, has been a dramatic disinvestment in this workforcePermanent, full time nutritionist positions embedded in communities or population settings are few. If an organisation invests in a nutrition intervention it is increasingly …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences

Professor Ben Mathews is an internationally recognised expert in multiple legal areas connected with child abuse and neglect. These include sexual abuse generally, physical abuse and corporal punishment, domestic violence, civil claims for child abuse, statutes of limitation, mandatory reporting laws, institutional child abuse, child protection systems, criminal prosecution, prevention, regulation and oversight, public health and public health law analyses, and children's rights. Ben welcomes all enquiries about topics connected with these themes.In addition, he is currently leading the Australian …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Law

Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability, with 300 million globally suffering from it while fewer than half of those affected receive treatment. New Apps aim to help users manage their mental state, from meditation apps to more therapeutic platforms like Joyable. And a new Facebook Messenger chatbot called Woebot tries to help people with depression and other mental disorders through education and mood tracking. The focus of this research is to investigate consumers’ …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations

Many human diseases are thought to involve interactions between the gut microbiome and the immune system which shape the nature and function of immunity. These interactions between host and environment are thought to be critical regulators of health and disease.In autoimmune diseases many studies have associated presence or absence of particular microbial species with diseases and some studies have shown influence of disease-related genetics on the composition of the gut microbiome. However, no studies to date have formally addressed the …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Biomedical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Microbiome Research

In 2015, the United Kingdom legalised a form of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) therapy known as ‘three-parent IVF’ and, less colloquially, mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT). This IVF procedure is aimed at enabling women who have mitochondrial diseases that would normally be passed down to their offspring to have a healthy child instead. The technique involves removing faulty mitochondria from the intended mother’s egg and replacing them with mitochondria from a generically unrelated woman (by transferring the intended mother's nucleus to …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Law

Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

Tina Cockburn is interested in supervising PhD students in the area of patient safety law — focusing on medical litigation and compensation for medical negligence, communication of information to patients (including consent and post treatment open disclosure), regulation of health care professionals and the regulation of innovative medical treatment and new technologies.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Law

Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

Dr Kelly Purser is interested in talking to students who wish to undertake research on the topics of capacity, wills, enduring powers of attorney, advance health directives, estate planning, equity and trusts, succession, or therapeutic jurisprudence.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

School

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Research centre(s)

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Chronic wet cough is among the commonest symptoms of chronic lung disease. In Australia, the most common cause of childhood chronic wet cough is protracted bacterial bronchitis (PBB), a clinical entity we first described. It has now been shown to be a precursor to bronchiectasis, which causes substantial morbidity and mortality, especially from acute respiratory exacerbations. Lung inflammation in children with persistent chronic wet cough is an important driver of ongoing and progressive tissue damage, leading to bronchiectasis, highlighting the …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Public Health and Social Work

Research centre(s)

Centre for Healthcare Transformation
Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation