Our Research

Cells are the fundamental building blocks of life. Investigations into the molecular mechanisms controlling cell structure and physiology is enabling scientists in the Faculty of Science to understand tissue and organ function in both health and disease. Our researchers are also making major contributions to global efforts to identify the organising principles underlying development of the vertebrate embryo. This research is driving the next generation of therapeutic treatment which will stimulate the growth and regeneration of damaged and diseased tissues.

 

Ecology focuses on the interactions between organisms and their environment at physiological, behavioural, population, community, landscape and ecosystem scales, studied through field experiments, quantitative analysis and molecular tools. Environmental Management is the application of ecology with other disciplines, like ecological economics, to the practice of sustainability, environmental impact assessment and audits, Cleaner Production, environmental law and policy, eco-tourism, natural resource management, wildlife conservation and pest management in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. UQ has several researchers investigating ecophysiology and behavioural ecology: how organisms cope with different sorts of physiological stress and interact with each other. The abundance and variety of spatial data and increased computational power have enabled quantitative ecologists to provide regional scale advice on landscape management and monitoring. Staff conduct research consulting on a wide range of local, national and international issues including the impact of, and adaptation to, climate change.

Insects and parasites have had an enormous impact on human health, the environment and world economies for many centuries. Our work is strongly focused on the study of insects and parasites as model organisms to enhance fundamental understanding in their ecology, behaviour and neurobiology.  Research within this theme seeks to understand the biology of diverse insects and other arthropods that are pests of crops or carry diseases. There are numerous applications in biodiversity, plant protection and the development of alternative pest control strategies.

The current focus of research projects is in the areas of systematics, ecology and pest management, behaviour, physiology, morphology and development, insect virus interactions, and medical entomology. Insect systematics is supported by The University of Queensland Insect Collection, a research collection of about one million specimens.

Marine science research in the Faculty is diverse and includes programs in:

+ Marine biology, with research ranging from coastal resource managament, marine vertebrate physiology and neurobiology through to coral reef ecology and genomics;

+ Marine chemistry, to identify novel natural products with therapeutic potential and to determine the molecular basis of interactions between organisms;

+ Aquaculture, one of the fastest growing industries in Australia, includes projects in marine and freshwater aquaculture and marine parasitology;

+ Marine ecology including research on mangroves, the ecophysiology of seagrasses, larval ecology and the longterm ecological dynamics of reef corals.

Members of the Faculty collaborate with national and international colleagues in climate change research, marine biodiversity, biocomplexity and coastal zone management. World class research stations on Nth Stradbroke and Heron Island provide marine scientists at UQ with the dual advantages of close proximity to a large urban bay (Moreton Bay) and ready access to pristine coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef.

Plant science research in the Faculty seeks to understand structure-function relationships in diverse plants and microorganisms using molecular, cellular, developmental, genetic, genomic, physiological and computational modeling approaches. This research has demonstrated that plant metabolism, development and genetics share many components and sophistication with those seen in animals and humans. The effects of the research will be seen in the predictability of plant performance and adaptation, relevant to maintenance of biodiversity, plant protection and biotechnology including improved production systems for foods, biomaterials and bioenergy. Addressing one of the world’s greatest challenges the plant researchers at UQ work on the development of renewable energy and globally sustainable food sources while maintaining biodiversity and a clean environment. Current areas of interest are plant physiology and development, plant pathology and plant protection, and plant molecular genetics. Programs in legume research, on yield improvement in sugar cane and on disease resistance in tropical fruits have attracted strong industry and Government support. Scientists at UQ’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research (CILR) currently conduct research on legume signaling networks, having led to the discovery of a new class of plant hormones involved in plant architecture, and novel peptide signaling molecules involved in plant stem cell control. Technology transfer in legume science led to the discovery of oil seeds from the legume tree Pongamia pinnata which have the potential to make a significant contribution to mitigating future energy and fuel shortfalls.

Neuroscientists in the Faculty of Science are leading initiatives to decipher the mechanisms underlying the formation and function of the nervous system.  This is a gargantuan task in light of the complexity of the human brain, which consists of more than 100 billion neurons and one-thousand times as many interconnections. The brain remains the last frontier in modern biology and our scientists are probing diverse problems associated with stem cells, motoneuron disease, vision, neuromuscular physiology, neural control of coughing, spinal cord regeneration, axon growth and guidance, and the sense of smell.

Research into the molecular mechanisms of the action of drugs is of major importance in the biomedical sciences.  Scientists in the Faculty of Science are helping to discovery new drugs and to make better use of existing drugs for the treatment of human diseases. Our pharmacologists are focused on a variety of areas including the action of anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular drugs, neurotransmitter release and transport, toxicology of nanoparticles, as well as drug metabolism. Professor Rod Minchin in the School of Biomedical Sciences is the Director of Toxicology for TetraQ, a University Centre which provides integrated preclinical drug development services to biotechnology companies engaged in human therapeutics development.

Population, housing and regional analysis is concerned with the patterns and processes of human activity including population dynamics, economic processes, human settlements and governance mechanisms at a variety of scales. UQ research in this area is underpinned by strong quantitative analysis and spatial modelling, supplemented by cultural and qualitative methods. The work encapsulates development of theory and methods, and application of this knowledge to issues of national and regional strategic significance. Key research areas include: population mobility and population forecasting; population ageing; regional economic development; urban quality of life; socio-economic disadvantage; Indigenous environments and shelter; housing policy and affordability; human spatial behaviour in cities; urban governance; planning in developing country settings; the collection and analysis of survey data; the development of cutting edge analytical tools and statistical methods.

Spatial Information and Earth Systems Science (SIESS) integrates biophysical remote sensing, spatial analysis/modelling, geomorphology, climatology, biogeography and spatial ecology. This research aims to understand and solve environmental problems, such as measuring changes to the nation’s vegetation cover and climate and to direct resource management activities from local to continental and global scales.

Spatial information sciences (SIS) concern the development and application of techniques for mapping, monitoring and modelling environmental and human processes, such as forest growth and urban development. They are rapidly becoming an essential component of information onfrastructure and ubiquitous technology in areas of science, business, governance and education e.g. Google-maps, car and mobile phone navigation systems. Earth systems science (ESS) is a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding and managing natural environments that relies heavily on SIS, plus expertise in physical geography, environmental management, and human population dynamics and behaviour.

Current research in this area focuses on monitoring and modelling change in both natural and built environments, and involves strong interactions with management activities of local, state and federal government agencies within Australia.

 

The School of Mathematics and Physics excel in research in the areas of Quantum Information Science, Quantum Atom Optics including Quantum Optics and Laser Science.

Quantum Information Science exploits the counter-intuitive properties of quantum mechanics to develop a new generation of information processing devices with properties far beyond “classical” devices. The power of quantum information processing will impact our daily lives including unbreakable cryptography systems, classically impossible measuring devices such as a teleporter, and quantum computers capable of solving computational problems that are difficult, to near impossible, to solve with classical computing devices. Currently, there are theoretical and experimental research projects on novel quantum algorithms, quantum communication protocols, control of quantum technologies, and understanding and applying entanglement.

Quantum Atom Optics combines quantum optics—the science of laser—together with atom optics—the new science of ultra-cold atoms (Bose-Einstein Condensates, BECs, and atom lasers). As well as being important fundamental science, quantum atom optics has applications in nanotechnology, gravity surveying, and precision measurements. Theoretical research projects include “super-chemistry” (atomic-molecular BECs) and computational techniques for dynamical many-body quantum systems; experimental research focuses on studying the dynamics of BECs using the first “atom chip” in Australasia capable of making and manipulating a BEC, as well as qualitative studies of the BEC superfluid critical velocity in ring traps. 

UQ’s expertise in these areas includes the nodes of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computer Technology; the ARC Centre of Excellence for Quantum Atom Optics; four Federation Fellowships; two ARC Professorial Fellowships; numerous ARC Discovery Projects; the Australian nodes of the US MURI for Photonic Information Systems; the US QCCM for Optical Quantum Computing; the UQ Quantum Information Science Initiative; and the Quantum Science Laboratory.

Mathematical and statistical modelling is a powerful tool for studying diverse complex systems such as the Internet and other communications networks, climate, the economy, biochemical processes and ecosystems. These models can be analysed using mathematical analysis or computational methods, and the results are used to predict system behaviour and to optimise system performance.

The School of Mathematics and Physics encompasses pure and applied research strengths in each of Computational mathematics that includes Mathematical Modelling, and Mathematical Physical and Statistical Modelling.

Pure research areas include:

·       design and graph theory, with a focus on defining sets, graph-decomposition problems, and computational generation of designs,

·       mathematical analysis and stochastic processes encompassing ordinary and partial differential equations, variational problems, Markov processes, and cross-entropy methods,

·       algebraic structures within mathematical physics that include symmetry algebras and their representations in the description of quantum systems,

·       statistical methods, covering cluster and discriminate analysis, mixture models, experimental designs, and bioinformatics.

Applied research areas include

·       DNA sequencing and drug design,

·       Ecosystems

·       financial mathematics

·       porous materials and telecommunications

·       integrable and exactly solvable models of many-body quantum systems, conformal and quantum field theories

·       image analysis data mining, pattern recognition and pharmacokinetics.

 

Infectious Diseases

Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of infection is central to the treatment of old and emerging diseases of both plants and animals.
+ Bacterial pathogenicity research focuses on major pathogens including Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae and pathogenic E. coli as well as agriculturally important plant pathogens. Projects include cell surface antigen expression, biofilms and disease, bacterial resistance to oxidative stress and the interaction of pathogens with host cells.
+ Molecular virology research focuses on the flaviruses with a particular emphasis on Dengue, West Nile and Kunjin viruses. Molecular approaches to target recognition are being used to develop improved diagnostics, vaccines and anti-viral therapeutic control strategies.
+ Parasitology research focuses on protozoan parasites, the genomics of ticks and lice and the biology of marine parasites, especially trematodes.
+ Host defence response research examines the responses to viral and bacterial infection using invertebrate models and mammalian systems.

Molecular Biology & Biotechnology

Research in this theme uses genetic, genomic, gene expression and proteomic analysis to characterise fundamental processes in animals, plants and microorganisms, often leading to biotechnological applications.
Current research covers:
+ Molecular genetics of disease and development especially breast cancer, skin cancer, diseases associated with alcohol abuse and Alzheimer’s disease.
+ Microbial diversity research includes the molecular analysis of bacteria involved in oxidation of manganese ions and the cell biology of Planctomycetes, deepbranching bacterial taxa that possess a nuclear body.
+ Development of therapeutic agents, vaccines and diagnostics. Recent successes in this area include the first diagnostic test for West Nile virus, DNA methylation as a biomarker for diagnostics and the licensing of a meningococcal vaccine.