QAEHS PhD Scholarships

Advisory team

Principal Supervisor - Professor Kelly Fielding

Associate Supervisor - Dr Jagadish Thaker

Project description

There is growing recognition of the fundamental threat that climate change poses to human health. Increases in extreme weather and climate events such as storms, extreme heat, floods, droughts and bushfires will affect health both directly and indirectly. International agencies like the World Health Organisation forecast that climate change will be associated with increased risk of morbidity, noncommunicable diseases, infectious diseases and health emergencies. Although the impacts of climate change for health is garnering research attention, little is known about the communication of this issue and how the public perceive and responds to it. The current PhD project therefore applies a communication lens to the health impacts of climate change. The PhD project will provide important information that could help to develop community resilience and adaptive responses to the health effects of climate change.

Research Environment 

This PhD project is within UQ’s defined strength of environmental science (the top 20 in the world). QAEHS has student support programs such as scholarship top-up. The PhD student will be situated in an interdisciplinary environment and will have the opportunity to collaborate with students from a range of disciplines.

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history.

A working knowledge of social science quantitative and/or qualitative methods would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the fields of social science including communication, psychology, sociology, or public health and the potential for scholastic success.

Contact

Questions about this project should be directed to Professor Kelly Fielding k.fielding@uq.edu.au

Advisory Team

Principal Supervisor - Professor Jianhua Guo

Associate Supervisor - Dr Casey Huang

Project description

Opportunistic pathogens (OPs) such as Legionella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are major causes of waterborne disease outbreaks. These pathogens are particularly concerning as a cause of hospital and healthcare facility acquired infections and disease outbreaks, linked to the persistent biofilms that present in premise plumbing systems (i.e. taps and showerheads). The project will involve developing and applying a range of antimicrobial agents/treatments to assess their effectiveness for the selective removal of opportunistic pathogens in biofilms, such as Legionella spp. and NTM. These will be applied on various biofilm models, ranging from constructed biofilms in reactors to real mature drinking water pipe biofilms. This project expects to further improve the understanding of OPs, their occurrence and microbial ecology in drinking water systems. Findings from this project would improve on existing water treatment strategies and management in healthcare facilities

Research Environment 

This multi-disciplinary project intersects the reserach fields of microbiology, environmental engineering, and environmental biotechnology. These are areas of research strength at UQ. In all three ERA assessment rounds, UQ was ranked first in the nation in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Biotechnology.

The successful applicant will be based at the Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology, located at The University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus. ACWEB at UQ is one of the top research centres worldwide in innovative water science and technology. ACWEB has an annual budget of $8-10M with the majority of funding sourced from competitive schemes including the ARC. ACWEB publishes 100+ papers annually in high quality international peer-reviewed journals, including Science and Nature.

The successful applicant will have access to the research facilities in ACWEB’s PC2-certified Environmental Microbiology Laboratory. They will also have access to complementary facilities at St Lucia, such as flow cytometry, confocal laser scanning microscopy and electron microscopy.

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history.

A working knowledge of practical experience in bacterial or protozoan cultivation skills and techniques, molecular biology, microbial ecology, environmental engineering would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the fields of environmental microbiology, microbiology, molecular biology, environmental engineering or science and the potential for scholastic success.

A background or knowledge of microbiology is essential, and a background or knowledge of environmental microbiology with a focus on water is highly desirable.

Contact

Questions about this project should be directed to Professor Jianhua Guo j.guo1@uq.edu.au

Advisory Team

Principal Supervisor - Associate Professor Gilda Carvalho

Associate Supervisor - Associate Professor Sarit Kaserzon

Project description

Freshwater harmful cyanobacteria are a growing concern in Australian drinking water supply, which is mostly obtained from surface water sources. Global warming and extreme heavy rainfall events increase water temperature and nutrient inputs, increasing the frequency and extent of cyanobacteria blooms. Cyanobacteria produce toxins that, if present in drinking water can expose the population to a range of adverse health effects, including kidney and liver damage. Conventional drinking water treatment plants are able to remove cyanobacteria and low concentrations of cyanotoxins, but higher concentrations require adjustment of the treatment conditions or the introduction of additional treatment steps. This project aims at investigating the presence of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins detected in Queensland surface waters and their fate in conventional drinking water treatment processes. In addition, novel and advanced treatment processes will be investigated to improve the efficiency and reliability of cyanotoxins removal in drinking water treatment plants. 

Research Environment 

This PhD project is within UQ’s defined strength of environmental science (the top 20 in the world). QAEHS has a particular strength in environmental monitoring, analytical chemistry, and human exposure risk assessment. QAEHS has student support programs such as scholarship top-up. QAEHS has a newly equipped and well-maintained PC2 laboratory with all the advanced equipment and other resources this project needs. These include 13 state-of-the-art mass spectrometers – five Sciex LC-MS triple quadrupoles (QQQ), two LC-MS QTOFs, a GC-Orbitrap, a HRGC-HRMS and a GC-triple quadrupoles, and an NCI-GC-triple quadrupoles. ACWEB is one of the top research units worldwide in the field of water and environmental biotechnology. ACWEB has excellent experimental and analytical  facilities, including lab- and pilot-scale reactors and advanced analytical and monitoring tools. ACWEB fosters a thriving research environment and provides exciting opportunities for professional development, both academically and with industry.  

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the field(s) of water chemistry, chemical engineering, biotechnology and the potential for scholastic success.

Contact

Questions about this project should be directed to Professor Gilda Carvalho g.carvalho@uq.edu.au

Advisory Team

Principal Supervisor - Dr Richard Bade

Associate Supervisor - Dr Jake O'Brien

Project description

In the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is important to understand how large gatherings can impact on the population and the environment. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) or wastewater surveillance has been a crucial tool for assessing community-level chemical and pathogen exposure for more than a decade. As sewage (wastewater) contains the urine from entire communities, WBE extends urine testing of individuals to whole communities. Large events, such as international sporting competitions, festivals or COVID-19, can lead to changes in human activity and use of various substances, resulting in temporary changes in chemical discharges into wastewater. Moreover, an increase in international visitors can also lead to changes in the pathogens, to which the community is exposed. Monitoring this through WBE helps identify potential health risks so that interventions can be implemented and monitored for their efficacy. The student will establish methods for for chemical/pathogen exposures, using samples collected during events. 

Research Environment

This PhD project is within UQ’s defined strength of environmental science (the top 20 in the world). QAEHS has a particular strength in environmental monitoring, analytical chemistry, and human exposure risk assessment. QAEHS has student support programs such as scholarship top-up. QAEHS has a newly equipped and well-maintained PC2 laboratory with all the advanced equipment and other resources this project needs. These include 13 state-of-the-art mass spectrometers – five Sciex LC-MS triple quadrupoles (QQQ), two LC-MS QTOFs, a GC-Orbitrap, a HRGC-HRMS and a GC-triple quadrupoles, and an NCI-GC-triple quadrupoles.

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history.

A working knowledge of wastewater based epidemiology would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the fields of environmental science, analytical chemistry, or forensic chemistry and the potential for scholastic success.

A background or knowledge of wet chemistry sample preparation techniques and use of analytical instruments is highly desirable.

Contact

Questions about this project should be directed to Dr Richard Bade r.bade@uq.edu.au

Advisory Team

Principal Supervisor - Associate Professor Nicholas Osborne

Associate Supervisor - Dr Darsy Darssan

Project description

A high incidence of asthma, COPD and allergic rhinitis in the Queensland community has the risk of putting high pressure on the Queensland health system on days when exposure to environmental factors is high. These include viral infection, days with high PM2.5 and high pollen days (>50 particles per m3). In the 2022/23 financial year, there were more than 7,300 hospitalisations in Queensland with a principal diagnosis of asthma. This project is multidisciplinary in nature and relates to air quality and health and epidemiological data analysis. In collaboration with the University of Melbourne and AirHealth we will use data collected over the last 10 year to make better predictions on air quality. Potential questions to probe this valuable data set include how grass pollen exposure influences symptoms and hospital admittance, how grass pollen differs from other pollens, how app users respond differently in drought and flood years and how different regions in Queensland and Australia have different responses to high pollen exposure.

Research Environment

This PhD project is within UQ’s defined strength of environmental science (the top 20 in the world). QAEHS has a particular strength in environmental monitoring, analytical chemistry, and human exposure risk assessment. QAEHS has student support programs such as scholarship top-up. QAEHS has a newly equipped and well-maintained PC2 laboratory with all the advanced equipment and other resources this project needs. These include 13 state-of-the-art mass spectrometers – five Sciex LC-MS triple quadrupoles (QQQ), two LC-MS QTOFs, a GC-Orbitrap, a HRGC-HRMS and a GC-triple quadrupoles, and an NCI-GC-triple quadrupoles.

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history.

A working knowledge of biostatistics; epidemiology; public health; data analysis; mathematics would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the fields of environmental health sciences, public health, biostatistics, spatial statistics and the potential for scholastic success.

A background or knowledge of epidemiology; environmental health and biostatistics is highly desirable.

Contact

Questions about this project should be directed to Associate Professor Nicholas Osborne n.osborne@uq.edu.au

Advisory Team

Principal Supervisor - Dr Ji Lu

Associate Supervisor - Professor Jianhua Go

Project description

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global challenge, yet its spread in environments outside clinical settings and the impact of associated micropollutants are poorly understood. Our current knowledge is primarily based on single-species responses to individual micropollutants. However, in natural environments, microbes are exposed to multiple micropollutants simultaneously. These combinations may produce effects that are equal to, stronger than (synergistic), or weaker than (antagonistic) the sum of their parts. Understanding these effects is crucial for assessing ecosystem health and recommending pollution mitigation strategies. This PhD project aims to investigate the complex impact of environmental micropollutants on the spread of antimicrobial resistance in environmental microbial communities. By including non-model species that better represent natural microbial communities, we will gain a deeper understanding of micropollutants-microbes interactions.

Research Environment

This PhD project is within UQ’s defined strength of environmental science (the top 20 in the world). QAEHS has a particular strength in environmental monitoring, analytical chemistry, and human exposure risk assessment. QAEHS has student support programs such as scholarship top-up. QAEHS has a newly equipped and well-maintained PC2 laboratory with all the advanced equipment and other resources this project needs. These include 13 state-of-the-art mass spectrometers – five Sciex LC-MS triple quadrupoles (QQQ), two LC-MS QTOFs, a GC-Orbitrap, a HRGC-HRMS and a GC-triple quadrupoles, and an NCI-GC-triple quadrupoles.

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

• previous academic record
• publication record
• honours and awards
• employment history.

A working knowledge of bioinformatic analyses, bacterial culturing, bioreactor operation, molecular biology techniques would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the fields of microbiology, molecular biology, environmental engineering and microbial ecology and the potential for scholastic success.

A background or knowledge of antimicrobial resistance  is highly desirable.

Contact

Questions about this project should be directed to Dr Ji Lu j.lu2@uq.edu.au 

More information and how to apply