Student topics

We are seeking an enthusiastic and dedicated individual to join the Empathic Machines project as an HCI/HMI PhD Researcher. This interdisciplinary research project, conducted in collaboration with Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Seeing Machines, aims to explore the concept of empathic machines in the context of driver monitoring systems (DMS) and automated driving. The successful candidate will contribute to advancing the understanding of human-machine interaction, interface design, and attention sharing to enhance safety and user experience in automated vehicles.A …

Study level

PhD

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Psychology and Counselling

Research centre(s)

Centre for Future Mobility

Nutrition-impacting symptoms contribute to decreased quality of life and food intake, and subsequent malnutrition and decreased willingness to commence or complete cancer treatment, which all compromise survival. Evidence exists to support the role of dietary counselling for malnutrition during cancer treatment; however, less is known about the role of dietary counselling for nutrition-impacting symptoms that lead to the development of malnutrition.This systematic review project will synthesise available evidence on the effect of dietary counselling interventions on nutrition-impacting symptoms (e.g., fatigue, …

Study level

Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Nursing

Research centre(s)

Centre for Healthcare Transformation
Cancer and Palliative Care Outcomes Centre

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is highly prevalent and clinically problematic, occurring in up to 60–80% of people receiving chemotherapy. Despite the high prevalence and significant patient and healthcare burden of CIPN, treatment options are limited.This project will explore the association between medication and dietary supplement use and symptom severity of CIPN to identify factors that might worsen or improve CIPN symptoms.

Study level

Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Nursing

Research centre(s)

Centre for Healthcare Transformation
Cancer and Palliative Care Outcomes Centre

Dementia exhibits the presence of Lewy bodies in the cerebral cortex, which are composed of α-synuclein (αSYN) or Amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques, as well as hyperphosphorylated tau (P-tau) tangles in various forms of dementia. The exact pathological mechanisms underlying this disease are not well understood; however, there is evidence suggesting the involvement of inflammatory activity. Microglia, macrophage cells residing in the brain responsible for clearing external pathogens and dead cells, are of particular interest.Our study aims to investigate whether Lewy bodies …

Study level

Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Biomedical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Microbiome Research

The teaching profession is a rewarding yet intensive occupation, with teachers being at increased risk of mental health disorders. Poor mental health does not only affect the wellbeing of teachers but can also have ramifications on the health and wellbeing of students with whom teachers interact (Harding et al., 2019). Although there is a large body of research that focuses on student mental health and wellbeing, less attention has been given to understanding mental health interventions targeting teachers. Furthermore, despite …

Study level

Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Public Health and Social Work

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease continue to impact the quality of life of a significant number of Australians, yet they remain untreatable. If we focus on how human neural stem cells behave normally and compare them to similar cells from Alzheimer’s patients, we will likely gain a better understanding of what has gone wrong and potentially how to stop it or fix it.

Study level

PhD, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Biomedical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health

Sonographers, highly skilled healthcare professionals responsible for essential diagnostic ultrasound services, are currently facing a severe nationwide shortage. The Australasian Sonographers Association reported a deficit of at least 3,000 sonographers in 2019. Training new sonographers involves comprehensive work-integrated learning (WIL), which blends academic knowledge with structured real-world experiences to develop vital clinical skills. However, due to escalating workforce demands, concerns have arisen about potential exploitation of students within workplaces. This exploitation could involve assigning tasks exceeding their capabilities or subjecting …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

School

School of Clinical Sciences

Machine learning cluster methods are common classification methods, but methods for assessing performance are limited as are methods for explaining how they work.  Exploring methods for both assessing and explaining performance are the subject of this research with application to real-world contexts with the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science

Outliers are anomalous observations in a data set that are "outside the norm" of what would be expected. Identifying outliers is an important part of exploratory data analysis and data analysis in general. It is often a challenging problem and calls for advanced methods and approaches, including machine learning-based tools. As methods become more and more complex, their explainability becomes more difficult and more important. This research project will look at all aspects of explainability and explore new approaches and …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Mathematical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science

The archaeal lineage Methanoperedenaceae are anaerobic methanotrophs with a key role in mitigating the atmospheric release of the potent greenhouse gas methane. The metabolic diversity of these microorganisms directly links methane with several key biochemical cycles and suggests a remarkable ability of these microorganisms to adapt to diverse environmental conditions.These microorganisms have never been grown in a laboratory and have only been studied in enrichment cultures with several other partner microorganisms. How these microorganisms grow and interact with these bacterial …

Study level

Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Biomedical Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for Microbiome Research

This project aims to determine the relationship of childhood social-emotional competencies (particularly those developed by school-based social-emotional learning programs) with adolescent health, education, and justice outcomes. The project uses data from the NSW Child Development Study, a longitudinal study following the development of 91,597 children in NSW from birth.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Psychology and Counselling

Aerosols, tiny solid or liquid particles, play an important role in global climate regulation, firstly, by scattering and absorbing incoming solar radiation and, secondly, by their ability to take up water vapor from the atmosphere and serve as nuclei for cloud droplet formation (Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN)).With oceans covering 71% of the Earth’s surface, marine aerosols present a significant proportion of the global aerosol budget. Production of particles in the marine environment occurs via 2 pathways: 1) wave breaking and …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Science

School

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

Research centre(s)

Centre for the Environment