College of Science & Engineering

Sophia Love

Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
sophie.love@jcu.edu.au

Romain Vaucher

Senior Lecturer, Sedimentology
romain.vaucher@jcu.edu.au

Jenny Fisher

Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching
jenny.fisher@jcu.edu.au

Ambili Narayanan

Doctor of Philosophy (Natural and Physical Sciences)
ambili.narayanan@my.jcu.edu.au

Sarfaraz Ali

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
sarfaraz.ali@jcu.edu.au

Mikaeylah Davidson

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
mikaeylah.davidson@jcu.edu.au

Rafael Cabral Carvalho

Lecturer, Marine Geoscience
rafael.cabralcarvalho@jcu.edu.au

Tom Lloyd

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Ecosystems
tom.lloyd@jcu.edu.au

Mohamadreza Chalak Qazani

Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering
mohamadreza.chalakqazani@jcu.edu.au

CVI Roros

Jon Day

01 Jul 2024 - 31 Dec 2026

Climate change poses an existential threat to global heritage. With rising sea-levels, more extreme weather events and aridification, the extensive impacts of climate are evident at heritage sites globally and the pace of this change is startling. In most parts of the world the rate of loss is exceeding adaptive capacity and this deficit is only getting worse. This includes in Europe, for which climate change is becoming more and more of an issue, requiring more knowledge and skills to help address the management options. Decisions on conservation and preservation begin with a detailed understanding of a place's vulnerability. The choices made will directly impact that ability to effectively integrate the goals of safeguarding heritage, adapting and mitigating climate change, and driving sustainable activities. This project will apply the Climate Vulnerability Index process to assess the vulnerability of the Roros Mining Town and the Circumference World Heritage property.

CVI Curonian Spit

Jon Day

01 Jul 2024 - 31 Dec 2026

Climate change poses an existential threat to global heritage. With rising sea-levels, more extreme weather events and aridification, the extensive impacts of climate are evident at heritage sites globally and the pace of this change is startling. In most parts of the world the rate of loss is exceeding adaptive capacity and this deficit is only getting worse. This includes in Europe, for which climate change is becoming more and more of an issue, requiring more knowledge and skills to help address the management options. Decisions on conservation and preservation begin with a detailed understanding of a place's vulnerability. The choices made will directly impact that ability to effectively integrate the goals of safeguarding heritage, adapting and mitigating climate change, and driving sustainable activities. This project will apply the Climate Vulnerability Index process to assess the vulnerability of the Lithuanian component of the Curonian Spit World Heritage property.

Investigating shellfish and mite allergen cross-reactivity and the effect of protein diversity on allergenicity

Ludwig Lopata

05 Feb 2025 - 05 Feb 2027

Shellfish allergy increases in prevalence with age and is often a life-long condition. However, the mechanism of this persistence is largely unknown. Persistence of shellfish allergy may be due to cross-reactive interactions between evolutionarily related species, which may initiate and sustain allergen sensitisation. Cross-reactivity results from shared allergen amino acid sequences between species, causing individual IgE-binding to both. Amino acid diversity may predict sensitisation to shellfish and/or mites, e.g., mite-sensitised individuals may be more at risk of developing shellfish allergy. Other large-scale forms of protein diversity may also influence allergenicity (e.g., environmental changes). Understanding allergen cross-reactivity and diversity will inform prevention and treatment strategies. This project aims to explore immunological and clinical cross-reactivity between shellfish and mite allergens and the effect of environmental temperature on allergen diversity in muscle tissue. This project will be conducted under a postgraduate research top-up scholarship with the Centre for Food Allergy Research (CFAR), which grants $10,000 p.a. top-up to an existing PhD scholarship.

Investigating shellfish and mite allergen cross-reactivity and the effect of protein diversity on allergenicity

Shaymaviswanathan Karnaneedi

05 Feb 2025 - 05 Feb 2027

Weed impacts on ten of the most threatened plant species of the Australian wet tropics

Daniel Montesinos Torres

01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2027

One commonly stated threat to plant species conservation is displacement by invasive plants. However, very little quantitative information is available about the actual presence, abundance, and impact of invasives on individual threatened plant species. We have selected ten of the most threatened plant species of the wet tropics for which there are anecdotal reports of threats by invasives, as reported by the Species Profile and Threats Database. This project will remove or minimise immediate weed threats for ten of the most threatened species in the wet tropics, it will also establish a baseline for measuring impacts of invasive plants on plant conservation, for which there is currently a dearth of quantitative information, and it will develop a weed risk assessment tool to prioritize management interventions for weed threats.

Decoding the genomic basis underpinning Southern Ocean ecosystem resilience to change

Sally Lau

01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2025

This project applies traditional and latest genome sequencing technologies to advance the knowledge of nature's natural evolutionary solutions against climate changes. Expected outcomes of this project include uncovering novel genome structures and gene functions that underpin Southern Ocean species’ adaptation capabilities to climate changes.

Restoration Grassroots ACRN

Nathan Waltham

20 Dec 2024 - 30 Jul 2025

Working with community groups to examine restoration outcomes and approaches by grass root groups

Restoration Grassroots ACRN

Nathan Waltham

20 Dec 2024 - 30 Jul 2025

Working with community groups to examine restoration outcomes and approaches by grass root groups

New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant - China Chemistry Practicum and Research

Yang Liu

01 Jan 2025 - 31 Dec 2026

Sustainable REE extraction from Australian ores using environmentally friendly reagents, advanced characterisation techniques and geological knowledge