General enquiries
Office: I.2.05B
Tel: +61 7 5459 4813
Email: bioinnovation@usc.edu.au
Street address
UniSC Sunshine Coast
90 Sippy Downs Drive
SIPPY DOWNS QLD 4556
AUSTRALIA
Postal address
Centre for Bioinnovation (ML12)
UniSC
PO Box 5280
SUNSHINE COAST MAIL CENTRE QLD 4560
AUSTRALIA
Our people
Director
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Professor Abigail Elizur
Professor in Aquaculture Biotechnology | Director, Centre for Bioinnovation
Deputy Directors
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Associate Professor Joanne Macdonald
Lead, Science | Associate Professor, Molecular Engineering | Deputy Director, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Professor Peter Timms
Deputy Director, Centre for Bioinnovation; Professor of Microbiology
Theme Leaders
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Professor Scott Cummins
Professor, Molecular Biology | Theme Leader, Aquaculture Biotechnology, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Associate Professor Volker Herzig
ARC Future Fellow | Theme Leader, Biodiscovery, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Associate Professor David McMillan
Associate Professor in Microbiology | Theme Leader, Applied Microbiology -
Associate Professor Erin Price
UniSC Senior Research Fellow | Theme Leader, Human and Animal Health and Disease, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Associate Professor Tomer Ventura
Associate Professor, Science | Theme Leader, Conservation and Biodiversity, Centre for Bioinnovation | School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Core Members
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Dr Asmaa Boufridi
Research Fellow | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Gabriel Conroy
Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science and Ecology | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Lochlan Fennell
Senior Lecturer | School of Health | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Shaodong Guo
Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellow | Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Science, Technology and Engineering | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Professor Robert Harvey
Professor in Pathophysiology | Associate Dean, Research | School of Health | Affiliate Member, Thompson Institute and Centre for Bioinnovation | ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5956-6664 -
Dr Nguyen Hong Nguyen
Senior Lecturer, Genetics | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation | Deputy Honours Coordinator | School of Science, Technology and Engineering -
Dr Martina Jelocnik
Lecturer in Microbiology | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation | School of Science, Technology and Engineering -
Associate Professor Mohammad Katouli
Associate Professor, Microbial Ecology | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Anna Kuballa
Senior Lecturer, Biomedical Science | Program Coordinator, Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Accelerated) | School of Health | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Jude Maher
Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics | School of Health | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Associate Professor Nicole Masters
Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching | Associate Professor in Bioscience | School of Health | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Dominique Potvin
Senior Lecturer, Animal Ecology | Lead for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion | School of Science, Technology and Engineering | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Associate Professor Fraser Russell
Discipline Lead, Biomedicine | Associate Professor, Biochemical Pharmacology | School of Health | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Derek Sarovich
Senior Research Fellow, Advance Queensland | Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Renfu Shao
Senior Lecturer, Science | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Associate Professor Alison Shapcott
Associate Professor, Vegetation and Plant Ecology | Program Coordinator, Bachelor Environmental Science | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Sankar Subramanian
Senior Lecturer, Genetics | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation | Honours Coordinator | School of Science, Technology and Engineering -
Dr Trong Tran
Senior Lecturer in Organic Chemistry | School of Science, Technology and Engineering | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Dr Tianfang Wang
Senior Lecturer, Chemical Sciences | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation -
Professor Catherine Yule
Professor of Ecology | School of Science, Technology and Engineering | Member, Centre for Bioinnovation
| Graduate Research Candidate | Principal Supervisor | Program Name | Thesis Title |
| Paul Wright | Abigail Elizur | Doctor of Philosophy | Molecular investigation of reproductive processes in the sea cucumber, Holothuria leucospilota. |
| Derek Johnson | Alison Shapcott | Doctor of Philosophy | Recovery response of Koala habitat after fire |
| Linda Moss | Alison Shapcott | Doctor of Philosophy | Molecular level community analysis of wood decay fungi on field exposed construction wood |
| Marion Howard | Alison Shapcott | Doctor of Philosophy | |
| Matthew Mooney | Alison Shapcott | Doctor of Philosophy | Rainforest resilience at the frontiers of fire: Post-fire response of Australia’s subtropical rainforests |
| Nathan Wellington | Anna Kuballa | Doctor of Philosophy | Genetic Biomarkers of Ketamine on PTSD |
| Elysia Toh | Catherine Yule | Doctor of Philosophy | Conservation biology of peat swamps across the tropics and subtropics |
| Jessica Gibbs | David McMillan | Master of Science | Identification and Characterisation of Antimicrobial Molecules in Sydney Rock Oysters |
| Rickyle Balea | David McMillan | Doctor of Philosophy | Development and pre-clinical evaluation of a low resource reliant diagnostic platform for Arbovirus detection and surveillance |
| Kellie Strickland | Derek Sarovich | Doctor of Philosophy | Mitigating antimicrobial resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa |
| Thanh Cuong Le | Erin Price | Doctor of Philosophy | Application of next-generation sequencing to study nocardiosis in fish |
| Tiana Davey | Erin Price | Doctor of Philosophy | Unveiling the lung cancer microbiome using high-throughput sequencing |
| Timothy Baird | Erin Price | Doctor of Philosophy | Exploring Microbial 'Meta-Omics' in Respiratory Disease |
| Lisa Randall | Fraser Russell | Doctor of Philosophy | Defining signalling pathways to characterise a novel anti-fibrotic agent. |
| Katie Roberts | Gabriel Conroy | Doctor of Philosophy | Risk, recreation, and respect: the sustainability of summit climbing behaviours in the culturally significant Glass House Mountains National Park |
| Paul Sprecher | Gabriel Conroy | Master of Science | Reproduction biology and ecology of Fontainea venosa |
| Amanda Lamont | Judith Maher | Doctor of Philosophy | Improving Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy among Adolescent Mothers: A Mixed Methods Study in the School Context |
| Dianne Seels | Mark Holmes | Master of Science | Slow Food, not fast food: Children, parents and teachers' perceptions and experiences with the Slow Food Snail Kids Program. |
| Behnoush Asgari | Mohammad Katouli | Doctor of Philosophy | Interaction of pathogenic Escherichia coli carrying T6SS with an improved model of gut epithelial cells |
| Christian O'Dea | Mohammad Katouli | Doctor of Philosophy | Application of Next-Generation Sequencing for detection of human and animal fecal pollution in surface waters. |
| Georgia Bradford | Mohammad Katouli | Doctor of Philosophy | The impact of selected probiotic strains on signalling pathways in gut epithelial cells |
| Samira Habibian | Mohammad Katouli | Doctor of Philosophy | Antiproliferative and antipathogenic activity of selected probiotic strains against adhesiveinvasive E. coli using an improved model of gut epithelium |
| Thi Mai Huong Tran | Nguyen Nguyen Hong | Doctor of Philosophy | Impact of nutrition on reproductive performance of Macquarie perch (Macquaria australacica) |
| Fiachra O Deasmhunaigh | Nicole Masters | Doctor of Philosophy | Clinical and Radiographic Outcome Score Study (CROSS) in Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty (RSA) |
| Skye Cash-Deans | Nicole Masters | Doctor of Philosophy | Fluoroscopy Guided Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation of the Knee – Considerations of Ablation zone morphology, genicular nerve anatomy and the accuracy of probe placement and treatment zone in relation to genicular nerve location. |
| Chioma Ojiako | Peter Timms | Doctor of Philosophy | The Development And Evaluation Of A Koala Chlamydia Vaccine Under Field Conditions |
| Cyrana Gallay | Robert Harvey | Doctor of Philosophy | Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Oral Ketamine Combination on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (TMS-OK PTSD) |
| Grace Forsyth | Robert Harvey | Doctor of Philosophy | Oral Ketamine Trial on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder |
| Kotaro Takano | Robert Harvey | Doctor of Philosophy | Controlling wombat mange by targeting scabies ligand-gated chloride channels |
| Leah Clyne | Robert Harvey | Doctor of Philosophy | Functional characterisation of neurocognitive disorder genes and therapies using cellular models. |
| Sean Fraser | Robert Harvey | Doctor of Philosophy | The role of the glycine receptor α2 subunit in neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Adam Hillberg | Scott Cummins | Doctor of Philosophy | Investigation of crown-of-thorns seastar pheromones |
| Inaliguyau Lutschini | Scott Cummins | Doctor of Philosophy | Reproductive molecular biology of invasive pest land snails |
| Jean Reichow | Scott Cummins | Doctor of Philosophy | Molecular investigation of the jellyfish chemosensory system |
| Jessica Webb | Scott Cummins | Doctor of Philosophy | Molecular analysis of bromoform biosynthesis in Asparagopsis taxiformis |
| MD Abu Zafar | Scott Cummins | Doctor of Philosophy | Molecular analysis of oyster reproduction |
| Phong Phan | Scott Cummins | Doctor of Philosophy | Molecular Investigation of Host-Parasite Interactions |
| Blake Lausen | Tianfang Wang | Doctor of Philosophy | A proteomic and functional investigation of “Blue fleet” organism venom |
| Peter Spencer | Tianfang Wang | Doctor of Philosophy | A potential new construction material synthesized from particulates and binding minerals found in common natural rock. |
| Stuart Smith | Tianfang Wang | Doctor of Philosophy | Identification and quantitative analysis of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish steroidal saponins and changes that occurs during stress. |
| Avani Bhojwani | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Using transcriptomics for cultivated seafood research on crustaceans |
| Gourab Chowdhury | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Molecular investigation into the regulation of ovarian development in the black tiger prawn, Penaeus monodon |
| Grace Smith | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Decoding the genetic landscape of Australian peatlands |
| Lisa Musgrove | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Developing Cellular and Molecular Tools for Cultivated Crustacean Meat Production |
| Nguyen Ai Hang Tran | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Comparative analysis of sexual development pathways in decapod crustaceans of commercial significance |
| Nickolis Black | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Unlocking Innovative Transgenerational Biotechnologies for Enhancement of Aquaculture Productivity in Decapod Crustaceans |
| Oshra Yosef | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Developing aquaculture biotechnology tools for reproduction capacity enhancement in the giant tiger prawn Penaeus monodon |
| Taslima Akter | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | Development of a nutritional approach for the reproduction and larvae robustness of giant tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon) as an alternative tactic to eye stalk ablation: an approach to prawn welfare |
| Thomas Banks | Tomer Ventura | Doctor of Philosophy | RNA Interference in Achelata - Finding the Missing Link in Systemic Gene Silencing |
| Dylan Ebner | Trong Tran | Doctor of Philosophy | An investigation into bioactive molecules from the Sydney Rock Oyster (Saccostrea glomerata) |
| Andrew Ahabh | Volker Herzig | Doctor of Philosophy | |
| Yachen Wang | Volker Herzig | Doctor of Philosophy | Arachnid venoms as a source of bee-friendly insecticides and treatments for honeybee parasites |
- Adjunct Professor Peter Davies, The University of Queensland
- Adjunct Professor Wayne O’Connor, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Port Stephens
- Adjunct Professor Peer Schenk, Research Director, Sustainable Solutions Hub
- Adjunct Professor Jung Tae Sung, Gyeongsang National University
- Adjunct Associate Professor David Midgley, CSIRO
- Adjunct Associate Professor Steven Ogbourne, QBiotics
- Adjunct Associate Professor Nicolas Smoll, Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
- Adjunct Fellow Dr Tomer Abramov, Provectus Algae
- Adjunct Fellow Dr Tim Baird, Sunshine Coast University Hospital, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
- Adjunct Fellow Dr Peter Karmen
- Adjunct Fellow Dr Daniel Powell, The University of Queensland
- Adjunct Fellow Dr Alex Ward, ARTA Bioanalytics
Membership application form
Email bioinnovation@usc.edu.au to receive the Membership Application Form.