Our Research TEAM
PROJECT LEAD
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Post-Doc Fellow
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Dr Bart Bolsterlee is a mechanical and biomedical engineer with specific expertise in imaging and biomechanical modelling of the human musculoskeletal system. During his PhD he developed and evaluated tools for computational modelling of the human upper limb. As a postdoctoral researcher at NeuRA, he pioneered methods to reconstruct and quantify the three-dimensional architecture of human skeletal muscles from magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging data.
Investigating team
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Post-Doc Fellow
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Eleonore Bolle is a mechanical engineer by education with added expertise in tissue culture. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland. Prior to joining the University of Queensland she undertook a Ph.D. in Tissue Engineering at the Queensland University of Technology. Her research interests lie in additive manufacturing techniques, biomaterials, drug delivery and the development of 3-dimensional tissue models. Specifically, her current research focusses on using novel biomaterials and additive manufacturing techniques to restore and maintain tendon function.
Investigating Team
Marco Branni
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Marco is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at QUT. His research aims at understanding the contribution to support of cortical and trabecular bone structures using high-resolution images of human femurs, microstructural finite-element modelling, and bone loads caused by physical activity. Before his PhD, he completed his B.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering and M.Sc. in Biomechanics Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy). Marco commenced researching in orthopaedics during his visiting student program at the Université libre de Bruxelles and Ghent University Hospital (Belgium), where he was actively involved in biomechanics projects working with horses, sheep, and human knees specimens.
Post-Doc Fellow
Laith Alzubaidi
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Laith Alzubaidi is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Mechanical, Medical, and Process Engineering.
He is currently also a Ph.D. candidate in his last year in the field of medical imaging analysis with deep learning at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Missouri (2016), USA. He has been awarded two scholarships: the Prime Minister of Iraq’s Outstanding Students Scholarship, received during his master’s degree, and a second scholarship awarded by the QUT for his Ph.D. He has published more than 40 refereed research papers. He is collaborating with other researchers around the world including USA, UK, Spain, Australia, and Malaysia, leading to more than 25 joint research publications.
He reviews papers for multiple journals more than 40 journals including PLoS ONE, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, and Cancers MDPI, etc. He has been chosen by a journal of electronics as a guest editor. For more about Laith’s publications and interests, please follow the link: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TqoZSacAAAAJ&hl=en
Post-DOC FELLOW
Dermot O’Rourke
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Dr Dermot O’Rourke has started as a Post-doctoral Fellow in Program 1 and brings expertise in orthopaedic biomechanics, primarily focused on the biomechanics of diseased and implanted bones. He received his PhD at Flinders University during which he developed computational tools for population-based studies of acetabular components in total hip replacement. Since, he has developed computer methods to quantify changes in hip BMD and strength in exercise, used statistical shape models to investigate the relationship between knee shape and motion, and used advanced experimental techniques to examine the contribution of ligaments to the mechanics of healthy and implanted knees.
Dermot is based at Gardens Point campus of QUT.
Post-Doc Fellow
Dr Wolbert Van Den Hoorn
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Wolly is Research Fellow at the ARC Training Centre for Joint Biomechanics, Queensland Unit for Advanced Shoulder Research, and part of the Movement Neuroscience and Injury Prevention groups within the School of Exercise & Nutrition Sciences at the Queensland University of Technology. His research aims to optimise shoulder rehabilitation after surgical interventions by analysing complex data sets that probe underpinnings of biomechanical and neuromotor changes in musculoskeletal disorders with shoulder issues.
Investigating Team
Marco Branni
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Marco is a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at QUT. His research aims at understanding the contribution to support of cortical and trabecular bone structures using high-resolution images of human femurs, microstructural finite-element modelling, and bone loads caused by physical activity. Before his PhD, he completed his B.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering and M.Sc. in Biomechanics Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin (Italy). Marco commenced researching in orthopaedics during his visiting student program at the Université libre de Bruxelles and Ghent University Hospital (Belgium), where he was actively involved in biomechanics projects working with horses, sheep, and human knees specimens.
Our Affiliate Researchers
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- Jashint is a clinical researcher with interest in Orthopaedic shoulder bio- and pathomechanics. He has a background in Medicine, Public Health and Clinical Education, and looks to further his interest in orthopaedic research. He is also the Research Co-ordinator of QUASR’s transdisciplinary team.
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Edmund’s background is in mechanical engineering, where he brings a wealth of experience in finite element modelling. Edmund’s research is in the field of mechano-adaption where he focuses on using highly automated numerical models to explore the link between load and the adaptive response in bone. Edmund is a member of the Biomechanics and Spine research group at the Queensland University of Technology.
AFFILIATE PHD STUDENT
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“Understanding Spinal Growth and Remodeling Under Healthy and Pathological Conditions Using a Combined Experimental and Computational Approach”
Natalia is currently working on a co-supervised thesis at the University of Paris-Est Créteil and Queensland University of Technology to contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms related to growth and remodeling of the spine by combining experimental, theoretical and numerical analyses. Ultimately, the study of variations in the healthy evolution of the spine may result in a better understanding of the development of pathologies and factors leading to pathological growth.
Prior to her PhD, she received a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from SIGMA Clermont Engineering School (France) and a Mechanical Engineering degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil).
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Edmund’s background is in mechanical engineering, where he brings a wealth of experience in finite element modelling. Edmund’s research is in the field of mechano-adaption where he focuses on using highly automated numerical models to explore the link between load and the adaptive response in bone. Edmund is a member of the Biomechanics and Spine research group at the Queensland University of Technology.
Our People
BID TEAM
PROGRAM 1
Marine Bio-products for Human Health and Nutrition
DEPUTY
Dr Michael Conlon
CSIRO
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- +61 8 8303 8909
- [email protected]
INDUSTRY CO-LEADER
Dr Damien Stringer
Marinova
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Damien is an avid supporter of value-added industry and has built a career working with innovative enterprises. Damien graduated with a BSc with 1st Class Honours at the University of Tasmania and worked with Botanical Resources Australia before completing a PhD in Chemistry at UTas, before joining Marinova Pty Ltd in 2008. As Marinova’s Operations Manager, Damien couples his technical expertise with his consultative approach to lead the laboratory, processing and research teams. Damien is a former President of the Tasmanian Branch of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and is a graduate of the Tasmanian Leaders Program.
- +61 3 6248 5800
- [email protected]
PROGRAM 2
Marine-Derived Agricultural Products
LEADER
Professor Ben Hankamer
University of Queensland
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- +61 7 334 62012
- [email protected]
DEPUTY
Professor Rob Capon
University of Queensland
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- +61 7 334 62372
- [email protected]
PROGRAM 3
Sustainable marine bioresources
LEADER
Professor Catriona MacLeod
University of Tasmania
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Associate Professor Catriona Macleod has a PhD in Aquaculture (UTAS, 2006). Her research focus is on sustainable development and science-based management and decision-making, with specific expertise in environmental, economic and social sustainability.
She is a member of both the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and College of Sciences and Engineering leadership teams within UTAS and is responsible for issues related to the sustainable development of salmonid aquaculture in Tasmania as part of a joint venture agreement with the Tasmanian State Government.
She has a demonstrated ability to connect research with industry, government and community priorities and a track record of delivering outputs on time, within budget and on target.
- +61 3 6226 8237
- [email protected]
DEPUTY
Professor Peer Schenk
University of Queensland
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Professor Peer Schenk completed his PhD in Microbiology at the University of Göttingen and the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, Germany in 1994. He has since worked for Queensland DPI, CSIRO Plant Industry and three CRCs as Project and Program Leader (CRCs for Tropical Plant Pathology, Tropical Plant Protection and Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology). He currently holds a CRC-P grant valued at $2.1 million on Translational R&D to develop large-scale omega-3 fatty acid production from microalgae.
Professor Schenk is a full-time Teaching & Research academic in the School of Agriculture and Food Sciences (SAFS) at The University of Queensland (UQ) and a Research Affiliate at the Centre for Marine Science and the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation. He leads the Algae Biotechnology Lab at UQ and is internationally recognised for his expertise in Plant Biotech and experience with transition from fundamentally new research concepts to industry. He was appointed as APEC representative for biorefinery concepts for Australia.
Schenk’s research pursues sustainable solutions to Food Security by applying cutting-edge biotechnology concepts to plants and microalgae.
He has commercialised technology from 7 patents leading to start-up companies Qponics, Nexgen Plants, Blue Quest and commercial IP in several companies, three of which are industry participants in MBB-CRC. His Australian crop varieties are commercially grown with annual sales >$10 million.
In the last 10 years Prof Schenk has focused on health products from Australian microalgae and pioneered commercial omega-3-rich oil production. In 2013, he established the Algae Energy Farm, a large-scale demonstration farm used regularly by industry as a testbed. It deploys new technologies to produce food, feed and fuel from microalgae. His new concepts for scalable low-cost cultivation, harvesting and processing have been successfully adopted by industry. He has provided training, guidance and technical assistance to the construction of a commercial Chlorella farm in Oman that started operation in March 2017 and is undergoing further upscaling. Similarly, he helped construct a commercial microalgae farm for Mohawk in Miles, (MBB-CRC participant in regional QLD) that commercially produces omega-3-rich Nannochloropsis for aquaculture and human health industries in Australia and Asia.
- +61 7 336 58817
- [email protected]
INDUSTRY CO-LEADER
Dr Graeme Barnett
Qponics
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- +61 7 3188 9086
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Connect educate train
(CET)
CET LEADER
Professor Kirsten Heimann
Flinders University
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AProf. Heimann obtained a PhD in botany/cell biology (University of Cologne, Germany, 1991).
Since 2008, she held lead roles in education and training (e.g. Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, 2014; AMCRC Science and Education Committee, 2012-2014) and is presently the Research Director of the Australia-China Joint Laboratory for Native Bioresource Industry Innovation (CANBI2).
Kirsten built and led the AMCRC and industry-partnered Microalgae Carbon Capture and Methane Remediation programs and served on the industry steering committee to implement research outcomes at industry level.
Kirsten has over 10 years of experience in managing IP and commercialising research outcomes.
