College of Science & Engineering

Sophia Love

Sophia Love

Romain Vaucher

Romain Vaucher

Jenny Fisher

Jenny Fisher

Ambili Narayanan

Ambili Narayanan

Sarfaraz Ali

Sarfaraz Ali

Mikaeylah Davidson

Mikaeylah Davidson

Liuxin Chen

Liuxin Chen

Rafael Cabral Carvalho

Rafael Cabral Carvalho

Tom Lloyd

Tom Lloyd

Mohamadreza Chalak Qazani

Mohamadreza Chalak Qazani

Machine learning approach to restoration, prediction and quality control of oceanographic data from IMOS Moorings (Old ID 24926)
Ickjai Lee
12 Mar 2018 - 22 Mar 2022
This project investigates a machine learning approach to increasing the value of oceanographic data. The full collection of IMOS Moorings data will be available for use in developing and training algorithms. Much of this data has already been flagged by heuristic quality control routines, and manually annotated by domain experts.
GBRF Burdekin Irrigation Project. (Old ID 27063)
Bronson Philippa
15 Jan 2020 - 01 Jun 2024
Increasing Industry Productivity and Profitability Through Transformational, Whole of Systems Sugarcane Approaches that Deliver Water Quality Benefits.
Development of multi-layered scaffolds to promote bone healing responses in non-union fractures
Elsa Antunes
01 Feb 2024 - 31 Dec 2025
In 2022 FNQ had an estimated 18,000 people living with osteoporosis with on the rise. Sufferers are susceptible to complex or large bone fractures which take longer to heal or result in a non-union fracture. Bioactive ceramic structures can promote bone healing responses but, currently, these lack the required mechanical strength. We have used 3D printing to create multi-layered structures that contain the required mechanical strength but their ability to promote the correct healing response needs to be assessed. Information from this project can be used to create new treatment alternatives for those at risk of non-healing fractures.
Utilising drone-based thermal remote sensing technology to accurately estimate Spectacled Flying-Fox abundance and model population trajectories.
Susan Laurance
11 Mar 2024 - 11 Sep 2027
This project aims to address knowledge gaps in our understanding of the abundance and population trajectory of the spectacled flying fox, a keystone species in tropical rainforest ecosystems that is currently listed as Endangered. The research will focus on applying novel remote sensing technologies such as drone-based thermal imagery to estimate the current population size of spectacled flying foxes, and develop a standardised monitoring protocol specifically for use by Indigenous rangers. Additionally, the project will seek to test and adapt theoretical models for predicting species population trajectories using spectacled flying foxes as a case study. This work aligns with national conservation priorities and is crucial to understand whether conservation management actions are having the intended impact of mitigating spectacled flying fox population declines. Moreover, the project supports broader efforts to conserve tropical fauna globally by developing widely applicable field- and desktop-based methods for assessing population declines.
Innovative Therapeutic Strategies Targeting Aberrant Gene Regulation in Aggressive Breast Cancer
Thaddeus Wu
01 Jul 2024 - 30 Jun 2025
This grant will allow the generation of important preliminary data for an NHMRC Ideas grant application that was a near miss (score: 5.5) in the last round. In the proposed project we determine the impact of inefficient gene regulation on breast cancer survival and therapy resistance. The results of our project will open new avenues for (breast) cancer therapies with gene regulation as a therapeutic target.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures (Old ID 27585)
Alana Grech
01 Jul 2024 - 30 Jun 2031
ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures. The proposed Centre aims to generate a new direction in knowledge creation based on Aboriginal- and Torres Strait Islander-led approaches to managing Land and Sea Country. The Centre expects to make a legacy contribution by developing complementary Indigenous and Western knowledge frameworks for modelling environmental, cultural, and historical change in Australia over the last millennium and into the near future. Expected outcomes focus on sustainable Indigenous land and sea management planning for future decades. Benefits include improved forecasting of the trajectory of environmental change, an increase in the capacity of Indigenous research, creation of a pipeline for Indigenous students into research, and evidence-based policy-making.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures (Old ID 27585)
Michael Bird
01 Jul 2024 - 30 Jun 2031
ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures. The proposed Centre aims to generate a new direction in knowledge creation based on Aboriginal- and Torres Strait Islander-led approaches to managing Land and Sea Country. The Centre expects to make a legacy contribution by developing complementary Indigenous and Western knowledge frameworks for modelling environmental, cultural, and historical change in Australia over the last millennium and into the near future. Expected outcomes focus on sustainable Indigenous land and sea management planning for future decades. Benefits include improved forecasting of the trajectory of environmental change, an increase in the capacity of Indigenous research, creation of a pipeline for Indigenous students into research, and evidence-based policy-making.
Conserving riverine elasmobranchs in Borneo, focusing on threatened river sharks (Glyphis sp.) (Old ID 27129)
Naomi Gardiner
01 Jun 2021 - 30 Jun 2027
By 2050 the capital of Indonesia will be relocated to East Kalimantan, Borneo, increasing human population density and pressures on Borneo’s river environments through small-scale fishing and commercial developments. In March 2020, we obtained evidence of what is likely an undescribed Glyphis species persisting in southern Borneo. Additionally, there are four poorly known endangered ray species in freshwaters of Borneo’s rivers. In collaboration with Hasanuddin University, this projects aims to survey major river systems in East, North, and West Kalimantan to locate and taxonomically describe the southern Borneo Glyphis species, and fill knowledge gaps on the distribution and status of Borneo’s freshwater rays.
Saltmarshes Connectivity in Tropical Seascapes: An Ecohydrological Perspective (Old ID 27438)
Nathan Waltham
01 Jul 2021 - 30 Jun 2022
Saltmarshes are among the most threatened coastal ecosystems on the planet. Yet, our understanding of their functionality and ecosystem value as productive coastal habitat is derived from only a small number of studies in temperate and subtropical zones, with almost nothing known about tropical saltmarshes. The proposed research aims to address this knowledge gap by providing insights into the importance of seascape connectivity and configuration on saltmarsh patches. The relationships between saltmarsh hydroperiod (frequency, duration and depth of saltmarsh flooding) and elevation on saltmarsh plants are first investigated. This information will then be used to examine the effects of hydroperiod and seascape configuration on the diets of saltmarsh crabs and their role as trophic subsidies supporting broader estuarine food webs. This study also attempts to investigate the vulnerability of saltmarshes to sea level rise and anthropogenic changes. Together, this research will quantitatively assess the importance and mechanisms of some of the drivers of saltmarsh connectivity in tropical seascapes, thus directly contributing to an ecologically meaningful understanding of these virtually unstudied, though under threat, ecosystems.
Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (Old ID 27718)
Nico Adams
01 Apr 2022 - 31 Aug 2024
The TNQ Agricultural Innovation Hub is anchored as part of the established TNQ Drought Hub and will sit within the JCU ideas Lab in Cairns – on the traditional land of the Yirrganydji people. Under the TNQ Agricultural Innovation Hub (as part of the broader TNQ Drought Hub) JCU will bring together producers, agriculture companies, supply chain businesses, innovators, start-ups, investors, and researchers to drive agricultural innovation in Northern Australia. The TNQ Agricultural Innovation Hub can also leverage the expertise of JCU’s Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC) and Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) as/when required to support new project concepts.
Title: JCU reef scientist goes global after plumbing the depths, Townsville Bulletin
Reseracher: Gemma Galbraith (AIMS@JCU Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Reef Connectivity)
Start Date: 10 Nov 2024
Title: Deep dive: How I use robots to survey coral reefs, Nature
Reseracher: Gemma Galbraith (AIMS@JCU Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Reef Connectivity)
Start Date: 31 Mar 2025
Title: Bengali
Reseracher: Khandakar Faisal Ibn Murad (Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering and Related Technologies))
Title: English
Reseracher: Khandakar Faisal Ibn Murad (Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering and Related Technologies))
Title: Wet Tropics Management Authority - Scientific Advisory Committee
Reseracher: Nathan Waltham (Associate Professor, Blue Carbon)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
Title: Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF), Australia
Reseracher: Simon Das (Research Fellow - Grouper Nutrition)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
End Date: 01 Jan 2027
Title: ARC Future Fellow ($680,000), Global Change: Rainforest responses to experimental drought
Reseracher: Susan Laurance (Professor, Personal Chair)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2014
Title: American Society of Naturalists
Reseracher: Megan Higgie (Associate Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2003
Title: PhD, James Cook University
Reseracher: Alana Grech (Professor)
End Date: 01 Jan 2010
Title: Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours), The University of Adelaide
Reseracher: Alana Grech (Professor)
End Date: 01 Jan 2003