The power of partnering
The Graduate Research Academy is pleased to invite contributions for the 2026 Graduate Research Conference: The Power of Partnering: Innovation at the Interface of Academia, Industry and Entrepreneurship, running from Wednesday 4 to Thursday 5 November.
Innovation thrives where people, ideas and communities intersect - and where researchers themselves are supported to thrive. This year’s theme recognises that partnering extends beyond formal collaborations to include the networks of support - mentors, peers and communities - that shape and sustain a researcher’s journey.
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
We invite contributions for:
- Photography competition – capturing a day in the life of a researcher
Please see the details below for submission and presentation requirements.
REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN!
Register via the links in the program below or visit MyRDC.
PROGRAM
WEDNESDAY 4 NOVEMBER (online)
Time | Session |
9.00am – 9.15am | Welcome to day 1 |
9.15am – 10.45am | Masterclass: The community behind your research: beyond the acknowledgements We often hear that “it takes a village” - but in research, that village is deeply personal and often begins long before the PhD itself. This interactive masterclass introduces the Village Formation Tool, a research-informed visual mapping activity designed to make support networks visible and actionable. Through structured mapping, small group exchange, and facilitated discussion, participants will test and refine their “village” in real time. Developed through sector collaboration and tested with graduate research students, the workshop provides a practical framework for identifying gaps, strengthening connections, and more deliberately engaging the supports that enable research progress. Presenter: Dr Nick Baker, University of Otago |
10.45am – 11.00am | Break |
11.00am – 12.30pm | Masterclass: Partnering in practice: building research communities Strong communities don’t happen by chance - they’re built through clarity, trust and shared purpose. This interactive workshop takes you through some of our favourite techniques and experiences for community building, often developed around communities of practice and growing research networks. We’ll be sharing strategies for fostering collaborations across academia, industry and community contexts. By the end of the workshop, you will have developed practical steps towards building your own or cohort networks. Presenters: Associate Professor Tseen Khoo, Deakin University and Dr Jonathan O’Donnell, Deakin University, The Research Whisperer |
12.30pm – 1.00pm | Break |
1.00pm - 2.30pm | Masterclass: Maximising research relevance: taking your skills beyond academia Your research skills go further than you think! This engaging alumni panel explores how the capabilities you’ve developed - critical thinking, problem solving, communication and more - can translate into meaningful careers beyond academia. Using five key areas of impact as a guide (economic benefits; policy influence; society & cultural impact; scientific and academic advancement; and environmental & health improvements), you’ll learn to recognise your strengths, reframe your experience, and confidently position yourself for opportunities across industry, government and beyond. The session features a panel discussion with experts representing each impact area, offering practical insights into how research skills are applied in diverse professional contexts. It’s all about making your research training matter - wherever your career takes you. Presenters: TBC |
THURSDAY 5 NOVEMBER (on campus)
A shared day of research and connection
On Thursday 5 November, the Graduate Research Conference will run alongside the Department of Linguistics Conference. Both conferences will share the keynote, morning tea and networking lunch, with separate presentation sessions running in parallel.
All students are invited to attend presentations from either conference, providing an opportunity to explore research across a range of disciplines and connect with the broader research community.
Register for full day (includes lunch and morning tea)
Time | Session | |
9.00am – 9.30am | Registration and arrival coffee Poster presentations and photo competition | |
9.30am – 9:45am | Welcome to Day 2 | |
| 9.45am - 11.00am | Keynote Speaker: Dr Vanessa Pirotta Premier’s NSW Woman of Excellence 2025, Wildlife scientist, Author, Eureka Prizes 2025, AFR 100 Women of Influence, Vessel operator, Wild Sydney Harbour project, Tongan Whale Tourism Project | |
| 11.00am - 11.30am | Morning tea | |
11.30am –1.00pm | Graduate Research Conference Lightning presentations - session 1 Presenters: TBA | Department of Linguistics Conference Linguistics showcase - session 1
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1.00pm – 2.00pm | Lunch / Networking Session PLUS poster presentations and photo competition | |
| 2.00pm – 3.30pm | Lightning presentations - session 2 Presenters: TBA | Linguistics showcase - session 2
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| 3.30pm – 3.45pm | Light refreshments | |
| 3.45pm – 4.00pm | Awards & event wrap-up | Linguistics Awards + event wrap-up |
ABOUT OUR PRESENTERS
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
| Dr Vanessa Pirotta |
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Dr Vanessa Pirotta is one of Australia’s most renowned wildlife scientists, pioneering innovative technologies to transform wildlife conservation across marine (whale snot drones) and terrestrial environments (AI to detect illegal wildlife trafficking). A globally recognised science communicator, she is driven by a passion for making science accessible, influential, and inclusive- earning recognition as one of the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Women of Influence and Science & Technology Australia’s Superstars of STEM. Her leadership has been honoured through major accolades including the NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence, an Australian Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science, the Australian Institute of Policy and Science Young Tall Poppy Science Award, French-Australian Excellence Awards, and the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. Vanessa leads impactful, cross-generational research that empowers communities through wildlife, including the Tongan Whale Tourism Project in the Kingdom of Tonga and the creation of the Wild Sydney Harbour citizen science program collaborating with First Nations Gamay Rangers to unite Indigenous Knowledge with cutting-edge science. A celebrated author of acclaimed wildlife books for children and adults, a trusted media voice, and an invited MC for the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, Vanessa stands at the forefront of conservation, communication, and leadership - shaping how science is understood, valued, and used to protect our natural world. |
MASTERCLASSES
| Dr Nick Baker |
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| Dr Nick Baker works with the Graduate Research School at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, helping postgraduate researchers prepare for and thrive during their higher-degree research. He created the Village Formation Tool, a resource that helps doctoral candidates map the network of people, skills, and support around a research project — because no thesis is completed alone. Nick's work spans Otago's AI Literacy Programme, the Three Minute Thesis competition, GRS quiz and games nights, and researcher-development modules on writing, feedback, productivity, and motivation. |
| Associate Professor Tseen Khoo and Dr Jonathan O’Donnell |
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| Associate Professor Tseen Khoo and Dr Jonathan O’Donnell are researcher developers in the Researcher Development Academy, Deakin University. They research in the field of critical university studies and have published on early career researcher experiences, research funding, digital academic identities, and researcher communities. Tseen and Jonathan created and run the internationally recognised researcher development and research culture blog, The Research Whisperer. |
| Dr Aaron M. de Souza |
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| Dr Aaron de Souza is the Manager, Research at Museums of History NSW (MHNSW). This role sees him lead a team of Research Curators to generate and share new knowledge through collection-based research, as well as developing research partnerships with universities and other cultural institutions and creating engagement opportunities for students. Aaron was lead curator on the exhibition, Unearthed, drawing on his archaeological training to showcase artefacts excavated from the site of Australia’s first Government House. |
| Dr Melanie Li |
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| Dr Victoria Flanagan |
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| Dr Victoria Flanagan completed her PhD (which was awarded a Vice Chancellor’s Commendation) in 2005. She then worked as an academic at the University of Helsinki (Finland) before joining the English Department at Macquarie University, where she was Director of the Master of Children’s Literature program from 2008-17. She has published two books, Technology and Identity: The Posthuman Subject in Adolescent Fiction (2014) and Into the Closet: Cross-Dressing and the Gendered Body in Children’s Literature and Film (2008). She transitioned to a career in policy in 2018, where her work focuses on children’s rights issues. She was Senior Adviser to Australia’s first National Children Commissioner from 2018-20, and has also worked as a senior policy adviser for the NSW Department of Education and Uniting NSW.ACT. She is currently the Senior Policy Manager at the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia. |
| Abby Couture School of Psychological Sciences |
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| Abby Couture is a cotutelle PhD candidate in psychology at Macquarie University and the University of St Andrews, supervised by Professor Melissa Norberg and Professor Kay Bussey at Macquarie and Dr Barbara Dritschel at St Andrews. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she holds an MSc in Psychological Research from the University of Edinburgh and has a research background in the psychology of human–animal relations. Her doctoral research examines how emotional and cognitive processes shape pro-environmental behaviour and related outcomes. Today she presents a single-case experimental study assessing changes in key psychological outcomes targeted by Breaking Up with Belongings, an online eco-wellness program designed by her supervisor, Professor Melissa Norberg. |
| Ahmad Muaaz Hassan Butt School of Natural Sciences |
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| Ahmad Muaaz Hassan Butt is a final-year PhD scholar in Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences at the School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, supported by a joint HEC Pakistan–Macquarie University scholarship. His research focuses on advancing sustainable biocatalysis by developing catalytically active inclusion bodies (CatIBs) derived from Auxiliary activity 10 (AA10) Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenases (LPMOs). With a background in biotechnology, Ahmad aims to translate scientific innovation into sustainable industrial solutions that advance the circular bioeconomy and make enzyme technology greener, more affordable, and more accessible worldwide. |
| Alexandra Shevtsova Master of Design (exchange) |
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| Alexandra is a Master of Design student with an Industrial Design background, passionate about developing innovative and user-oriented design research interventions that can be applied in various fields for positive change. Her thesis is focused on developing data objects in sleep health procrastination contexts. Her work engages with broader implications for health standards, youth wellbeing, and the integration of emerging methods, such as data physicalization, into behavioral interventions. She has received multiple awards for her research, presented at the Human-Computer Interactions International Conference (2026), and been part of research projects in collaboration with IPAC Canada and the National Research Council. |
| Anna Grogan School of Education |
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| Anna Kell Applied Biosciences |
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| Anna Kell is a PhD candidate at the Department of Applied Biosciences at Macquarie University. Her research is focused on developing sustainable control methods for the native Australian insect pests, the banana- and fruit-spotting bugs. She has previously worked with native forestry pests, including stick insects and the eucalypt ring-barker longicorn causing tree dieback in the Australian Alps. Holding a degree of Environment and Sustainability (Hons) from Australian National University and Master’s degree from Macquarie, Anna is interested in insect behaviour, chemical ecology, and sustainable pest control. |
| Brendan Vouadec Applied Biosciences |
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| Brendan Vouadec is a PhD candidate in Applied BioSciences at Macquarie University with a background in plant–pathogen interactions and bioinformatics. His research focuses on how drought influences wheat, plant viruses, and the aphids that spread them. Before beginning his PhD, he worked on biological pest control and investigated how water stress can affect virus transmission in plants. Curious about how biology and data can be combined to address agricultural challenges, Brendan is particularly interested in understanding how changing environmental conditions may reshape crop disease. His research ultimately aims to support more resilient and sustainable approaches to crop protection. |
| Behnoosh Khodadadi School of Natural Sciences |
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| Behnoosh Khodadadi is a PhD candidate in Chemistry at Macquarie University, Australia. Her research focuses on the design and synthesis of organometallic complexes for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) applications, with particular emphasis on tuning ligand steric and electronic properties to control excited-state behaviour and emission. She holds a Master of Research degree in Organometallic Chemistry from Macquarie University and a Master’s degree in Organic Chemistry from Alzahra University, Iran. Her current PhD research builds on her background in organic and organometallic chemistry by developing gold(I) N-heterocyclic carbene–carbazolide complexes with tunable photophysical properties for efficient and deep-blue emission. |
| Chi Cuong Nguyen Department of Applied Finance |
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| Anthony (Chi Cuong) Nguyen is a Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Finance at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). He is also an Industrial PhD Researcher in Quantitative Finance and Market Microstructure at the Rozetta Institute (Australia), and a FX Benchmark Surveillance Specialist at FTSE Russell, an LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) business (UK). His research interests include market microstructure, quantitative finance, machine learning in finance, and time series analysis. He holds Master Degrees in Finance, Economics, Computer Information Systems, and Financial Engineering from multiple universities from the US. He has published several studies in the North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Business Strategy and the Environment, Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. |
| Diana Woo School of Psychological Sciences |
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| Diana Woo is a postgraduate research student at Macquarie University. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Central Michigan University, along with an undergraduate certificate in Cultural Competency. Her research is in forensic and social psychology, with a focus on biases and prejudices surrounding wrongful convictions, exonerations, and false confessions. Diana specifically researches how racial biases influence the interview tactics law enforcement use during suspect interrogations. |
| Fei Fan School of Education |
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| Fei Fan is a PhD candidate in Educational Studies at Macquarie University. Her research focuses on how people learn new written words through reading, with a particular interest in the spacing effect and how it is influenced by the sentence contexts in which new words are encountered. Using eye-tracking and behavioural measures, her PhD research investigates how spaced encounters with new words support the development of their spelling, sound, and meaning representations. Her broader research interests include word learning, reading, memory, and the cognitive processes that support vocabulary acquisition. |
| Fiona Wylie School of Psychological Sciences |
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| Fiona is a Bachelor of Laws / Psychology (Hon I) graduate and Master of Research student in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences. She conducts research into disordered eating - including the experience of 'food noise' - and the psychological impacts of taking a GLP-1 medication (e.g., Ozempic). Alongside her studies at Macquarie University, she is a research collaborator with Nepean Hospital's Family Metabolic Health Service, a specialist service for people living with chronic and severe obesity. She is passionate about amplifying the voice of lived experience in research and understanding the biopsychosocial influences on human eating and drinking behaviours. |
| Hamim Eazdam School of Engineering |
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| Hamim Eazdam is a Master of Research candidate in the School of Engineering at Macquarie University, based in the NanoTech Laboratory under Professor Dr Noushin Nasiri and Dr Jayden Chen. His research develops a low-cost, field-deployable chemiresistive gas sensor for real-time methane monitoring in livestock, a project sponsored through the Australian Research Council (ARC) and MOBIUS in collaboration with Agscent. A Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship holder, Hamim graduated from Macquarie University in 2026 with First Class Honours in Mechanical Engineering. Through this project, he is trying to bridge materials science and engineering with real-world sustainability challenges. |
| Haoyue Zhao Department of Humanities |
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| Haoyue Zhao is a PhD student working on bioarchaeology and paleoproteomics at Macquarie University. Her research explores demographic patterns, sex ratios, and disease ecology within Romano-British burial assemblages. Haoyue's current work focuses on validating non-destructive osteological methods against tooth enamel peptide data to improve biological sex assessment in non-adult remains. She also utilises proteomic analyses to investigate ancient pathogens and dietary patterns. By employing a multidisciplinary approach that combines statistical analysis, osteological examination, and proteomics, she aims to reconstruct the lived realities of Romano-British populations—revealing how they lived, what they suffered, and how they died. |
| Hoi Teng (Kathie) Lao Department of Linguistics |
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| Hoi Teng (Kathie) LAO is a Master of Research candidate at the Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University. She holds an MA in Translation (Research) from University College London, and received her BA in Translation from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2022 and worked as a research assistant at the Research Centre of Translation, CUHK. Her interest lies in audiovisual translation, subtitling and language variations. |
| Ian Donald Tasker School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
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| Jacqueline Collins Department of Linguistics |
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| Jacqueline Collins is a PhD candidate in Speech Pathology at Macquarie University, supervised by Associate Professor Rachael Unicomb. Her research explores cross-domain impacts in children with co-occurring stuttering and speech sound disorders, with the aim of strengthening the evidence base for clinical practice. Jacqueline holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Speech Pathology) from the University of Sydney and has published in the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. She also works in private practice on the Central Coast of New South Wales. |
| Jesse Wheeler School of Psychological Sciences |
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| Jesse Wheeler is a Master of Research student in the School of Psychological Sciences, supported by a Macquarie Research Excellence Scholarship. Her research asks whether medical invalidation can be measured, and whether Fricker's 2007 account of epistemic injustice can be operationalised for patient report. Her 2025 First Class Psychology Honours thesis posed that question; her current work answers them with the 3*I-H, an extension to the Illness Invalidation Inventory (3*I) that reaches beyond the clinical encounter to the structural and interpretive conditions around it. Her work sits at the intersection of psychology, philosophy and sociology. |
| Juliana Maria Nunes Batista School of Natural Sciences |
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| Juliana Batista is a wildlife disease ecologist and veterinarian with over seven years of research experience investigating bat conservation, zoonotic pathogens, and antimicrobial resistance at the wildlife–human interface. She holda a Bachelor’s in Veterinary Medicine and a Master’s in Experimental and Applied Epidemiology in Zoonoses from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. After five years as an exotic pet veterinarian, Juliana now investigates how pathogens and antimicrobial resistance move through bat populations. Her PhD research compares rehabilitation outcomes for flying foxes and wild insectivorous bats, focusing on enteric bacteria, protozoan parasites, and AMR across rehabilitation settings and urbanisation gradients. |
| Kadek Hendra Darmawan Department of Economics |
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| Kadek Hendra Darmawan is a PhD student at the Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy (MUCHE) with a focus on health policy evaluation, particularly in the areas of medicine use and economic outcomes. He previously worked as a Health Economics Analyst at Novartis Indonesia, focusing on HTA and market research, and as a Policy Researcher at the UGM Centre for Health Policy and Management in Indonesia. Kadek's research interests lie at the intersection of health, economics, and pharmaceuticals. For his PhD at MUCHE, Kadek is leveraging his understanding and experience to work with administrative data and explore causal inference in medicine choice, utilisation, and labour market outcomes. |
| Kazi Morshed Alom School of Natural Sciences |
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| Kazi Alom is a researcher with a background in bioanalytical chemistry and molecular diagnostics, with a particular focus on nucleic acid-based biomarkers. He is currently pursuing a PhD at Macquarie University, where his research focuses on analyzing cancer-specific DNA methylation and other epigenetic modifications using advanced analytical techniques, including surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). |
| Kunchhan Lama School of Computing |
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| Kunchhan Lama is a Master of Research candidate in the School of Computing at Macquarie University. Her research focuses on the design of conversational AI for emotionally sensitive contexts. Her current project, Kumora, uses co-design and Value Sensitive Design to explore how participant perspectives can inform the design of conversational AI for menstrual cycle reflection and emotional support. Her work examines how values identified through participant research can be translated into communication and interaction requirements for AI systems. Her research interests include conversational AI, human-centred AI, responsible AI, and the design of technology that respects individual experiences, autonomy, and emotional wellbeing. |
| Lin Wang School of Natural Sciences |
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| Lok Nath Aryal Applied BioSciences |
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| Lok Aryal is a iMQRES scholarship recipient and PhD candidate in Applied BioSciences at Macquarie University, with a background in agricultural entomology and sustainable pest management. My current research focuses on biological control of banana and fruit spotting bugs, with particular interest in egg parasitoids and their effectiveness under different environmental conditions. Lok previously completed a Master of Research at Macquarie University, where they investigated monitoring and mass-trapping strategies for the invasive serpentine leafminer. Lok also has over eight years of professional research experience as a Technical Officer (Entomology) at the Nepal Agricultural Research Council, where they worked on monitoring and management aspects of horticultural pests. |
| Mathew Miltonhardy School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
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| Mathew Miltonhardy is a research student in applied mathematics wanting to address real world problems. Ensuring protection for native ecosystems and conservation of biodiversity is one of the most important issues in our modern world and something that he is passionate about. Mathew has completed a research placement simulating invasive rabbit population models in Australia. He has also recently submitted a manuscript with a small group of collaborators across the country intending to inform the governance of international fisheries. Mathew believes that by leaning on each other, being supported and giving support in return, we as researchers can accomplish a great many things. |
| Mawella Kankanamge Sithumini Sankalpana School of Engineering |
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| Sithumini Sankalpana is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University, specialising in wireless communications and cognitive radio networks. Her research focuses on cooperative spectrum sensing, adaptive signal detection, and trust-aware decision-making for reliable use of radio spectrum. She has developed advanced sensing and belief-propagation methods designed to improve detection performance under challenging channel conditions and unreliable network participants. Her work has been published in IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, and she continues to investigate practical, adaptive approaches for next-generation wireless systems. Before commencing her PhD, she gained extensive professional experience in electrical engineering. She is passionate about translating rigorous research into robust real-world communication solutions. |
| Md Zizul Hoque School of Computing |
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| Michaela Cormack Australian Institute of Health Innovation |
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| Michaela Cormack is a PhD candidate at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation (Macquarie University) and a registered genetic counsellor and nurse with over 30 years' experience. She bridges clinical practice and academia to improve healthcare quality and safety. Her research examines the risks of waiting for specialist genetics care, aiming to strengthen equitable, high-reliability health systems through evidence-informed change. Michaela maintains clinical practice in paediatric genomic services and leads research translation through health service structures. She contributes to service redesign, organisational risk analysis and multidisciplinary committees, using governance frameworks to escalate safety concerns, influence decisions and embed system-level improvements. |
| Mst Sharmin Sultana Shimu School of Natural Sciences |
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| Sharmin Sultana Shimu is a PhD candidate under Australian Government’s RTP scholarship in the School of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University and a member of ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Facilitated Advancement of Australia’s Bioactives, Sydney, Australia. Her work focuses on R-phycoerythrin, a red protein derived from red seaweed, and its naturally occurring peptides for their potential bioactivities using biochemical, computational, and cell-based approaches. Her research aims to uncover the potential of marine bioactive peptides for future applications in treatment of chronic diseases, functional foods and nutraceuticals. She is passionate about translating marine resources into innovative health solutions. |
| Naotunnage Shanika Madushani Jayathunga Department of Economics |
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| Shanika Jayathunga is a second-year PhD candidate in the Department of Economics, Macquarie Business School. She holds an MPhil in Econometrics from the University of Sydney, Australia, an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and a First-Class Honours degree in Finance from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Her research interests focus on applying econometric and data-driven methods to address research and policy questions in economics, health economics, finance, and management. |
| Parnia Mokhtari Macquarie Medical School |
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| Parnia Mokhtari is a Master of Research student at Macquarie University's Medical School, Motor Neuron Disease Research Centre. Her research is focused on gene delivery approaches for motor neuron disease, with broader interests in gene therapy, molecular neuroscience and translational research. She has a background in medical science and is interested in developing research approaches that can improve our understanding of neurological disorders and contribute to future therapeutic developments. |
| Penelope Roxon School of Education |
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| Penny Roxon is a second-year PhD candidate in the School of Education. Her Master of Research, which looked at the 2022 Commonwealth Inquiry into school refusal, was completed at Macquarie in 2024 and awarded an HD. Her PhD research focuses on understanding school attendance from a student perspective. She is interested in learning what students can tell us about their lives and how schools could better support them. Penny first became interested in student voices and school attendance in her previous life as an English and History teacher in Sydney secondary schools and TAFEs. |
| Rebecca McNeil School of Psychological Sciences |
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| Rebecca McNeil is a Speech Pathologist, Lecturer and PhD Candidate with a strong interest in neurodiversity, inclusion, and evidence-informed practice in higher education. Across her professional career, she has over 10 years' experience working alongside neurodivergent communities. Rebecca’s current doctoral research explores how universities can better support neurodivergent students through meaningful inclusion, co-design and systems level change. Drawing on both academic expertise and lived-experience perspectives, she is committed to collaborative research that amplifies neurodivergent voices and translates knowledge into practical outcomes, fostering environments where neurodivergent people can thrive. |
| Renjie Tu Department of Chiropractic |
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| Renjie Tu is a PhD candidate in Department of Chiropractic at Macquarie University, supervised by Dr Aron Downie and Prof. Simon French. His research explores the use of generative AI in primary care for low back pain. His work includes reviewing existing evidence, examining clinicians’ intentions and perspectives, and evaluating the accuracy and usability of AI tools. |
| Sahar Sadeghimofrad Applied BioSciences |
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| Sahar Sadeghimofrad is a PhD candidate in Applied BioSciences at Macquarie University. Her research focuses on plant insect interactions and how environmental stress and plant defence signalling influence crop plants and insect pests. Her current research investigates the effects of drought and externally applied phytohormones, including salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate, on wheat physiology and the performance of the bird cherry–oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi). Through this research, she aims to better understand how plant defence responses and environmental conditions interact to influence crop pest relationships, with potential relevance to sustainable pest management in cereal production. |
| Samuel Carlson Australian Astronomical Optics |
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| Sara Habibian Australian Institute of Health Innovation |
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| Sara Habibian is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University’s Australian Institute of Health Innovation. Her research focuses on enhancing the quality of life of older adults in residential aged care. With a Master of Research in Musculoskeletal Health and clinical experience as physiotherapist, she combines academic and practical insights to improve person-centred care. Her interests include quality of life measurement, aged care innovation, and health system improvement. |
| Savindi Jayakody Department of Economics |
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| Savindi Jayakody is a Senior Advisor at NSW Treasury and an MRes Economics candidate at Macquarie University. Previously, she spent over a decade as an Economist at the Asian Development Bank, working on macroeconomic analysis, country economic assessments and development policy. Her current work focuses on fiscal strategy, budget analysis and sovereign credit ratings. Her research interests span macroeconomics, fiscal policy, public debt and fiscal sustainability, with a particular interest in subnational public finances. Her MRes research examines whether fiscal policy can support economic stabilisation while preserving long-term fiscal sustainability, using New South Wales as a case study. |
| Sophia Platthy School of Natural Sciences |
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| Sophia Platthy is a Master of Research candidate in Natural Sciences at Macquarie University, specialising in fauna ecology. Her fascination with microbats began when she noticed tiny bats darting over wetlands and learnt they are the most diverse mammal group in Sydney's suburbs. Her research focuses on the fishing bat, Myotis macropus. As a field-based environmental educator, she engages children and adults in ecology and their local wildlife, and she is passionate about protecting native forests. Her research on microbats is supervised by Dr Caragh Threlfall, Dr Leroy Gonsalves, and Associate Professor John Alroy. |
| Supachai Osakit Macquarie Law School |
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| Supachai (Korr) Osakit has lived as a member of the diaspora for more than twenty years, moving from Thailand to the UK for twelve years before settling in Sydney in 2016. He is a MRes student at the Macquarie Law School researching transnational unmet legal need. Admitted as a solicitor in 2019, he now runs his own practice serving diaspora communities. He helped build the Legal Clinic at the Royal Thai Consulate-General, Sydney, where he volunteers, and has volunteered at Kingsford Legal Centre and the NSW Legal Aid panel. He has spent his career trying to close that gap. |
| Thi Diem Phuc Duong School of Education |
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| Thi Diem Phuc Duong is a PhD candidate in the School of Education, Faculty of Arts at Macquarie University. She has more than 20 years of higher education experience, including teaching, academic advising, and student support. Her research focuses on graduate employability and lifelong learning, with particular emphasis on how graduates develop and use knowledge, skills and other forms of capital to navigate the transition from university to work. Her doctoral research examines the role of lifelong learning in addressing graduates’ employability in the ASEAN context, using mixed-methods research. |
| Xuanying Lin School of Education |
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| Xuanying Lin is a PhD candidate in Education at Macquarie University. Her research experience spans early childhood educators’ wellbeing and formative assessment in early childhood education. She has participated in several national-level research projects in China. Her doctoral research focuses on early childhood educators’ conceptualisations of wellbeing and interventions to support their wellbeing. She is interested in using quantitative, qualitative, and experimental methods to explore educators’ wellbeing. |
| Ziqin Liu School of Education |
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| Ziqin Liu is a PhD candidate in Early Childhood Education in the School of Education, Faculty of Arts, at Macquarie University. Her research explores how play materials shape toddlers’ play in early childhood education and care settings, with a cross-cultural focus on Australia and China. She completed a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education at Guangzhou University, where she researched maternal overprotection and preschoolers’ eating behaviours. Building on her broader interest in early childhood development, her doctoral research shifts the focus from family influences on children’s development to toddlers’ play and the role of play materials. She also has experience in early childhood teaching and research, including studies of parenting, approaches to learning, and peer relationships. |
| Zsombor Antal School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
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| Zsombor Antal is a first-year PhD student at Macquarie University, Sydney, specialising in astronomical instrumentation. His research focuses on high-resolution spectrograph design for atmospheric characterization of exoplanets primarily through LFAST, the Large Fiber Array Spectroscopic Telescope. Before committing to a PhD, he worked in the semiconductor industry as an optical engineer for 4 years. After quitting, he started consulting as an optical designer, which he still enjoys in his free time. |
| Abby Couture School of Psychological Sciences |
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| Turning Intent Into Action: Exploring Psychological Predictors of Pro-environmental Behaviour Change Household overconsumption drives environmental degradation and carries mental health costs, including climate-related distress and functional impairment from reflecting on environmental and climate related issues. Breaking Up with Belongings 2.0 (BB 2.0) is an online eco-wellness program that helps people make everyday consumption and disposal practices more sustainable by targeting self-efficacy, emotion regulation, and object attachment security, three psychological mechanisms predicted to bridge motivation and pro-environmental action. Using a single-case experimental design, this study tracks weekly within-person change across baseline and five sequential modules in ten participants. The intervention tests whether mechanisms improve over the program and whether climate distress functions as a motivating factor alongside pro-environmental self-efficacy to support behaviour change. |
| Ahmad Muaaz Hassan Butt School of Natural Sciences |
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| Turning Waste into Value: From Protein Aggregates into Biocatalysts Imagine a world where waste becomes a resource for creating valuable products. Enzymes can make this possible, but producing and recycling them can be costly. My research transforms inclusion bodies—traditionally regarded as unwanted, inactive protein aggregates formed during recombinant protein production—into catalytically active inclusion bodies (CatIBs): stable, reusable biocatalysts that retain activity under harsh conditions. Using AA10 lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO)-derived domains, we are developing CatIB-based multi-enzyme systems to convert starchy materials and sugars such as maltose into tagatose, a valuable low-calorie rare sugar with food and pharmaceutical applications. This approach could reduce production and purification costs while enabling more affordable, accessible, and sustainable industrial biocatalysis. |
| Behnoosh Khodadadi School of Natural Sciences |
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| Tuning the Donor–Acceptor Properties of Gold(I) Complexes for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) Applications Developing efficient and tunable emitters is essential for advancing OLED technologies, particularly as efficient deep-blue emission remains a significant challenge. This research investigates gold(I) complexes as promising alternatives to conventional precious-metal emitters. By systematically modifying the electronic properties of their ligands, we examined how molecular design influences emission colour and intensity. The complexes showed enhanced emission, particularly in the deep-blue region, revealing a clear relationship between ligand structure and optical performance. These findings demonstrate that molecular design can provide greater control over the emission properties of gold(I) complexes, offering a valuable approach for developing new luminescent materials for deep-blue OLEDs. |
| Chi Cuong Nguyen Department of Applied Finance |
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| Market Narratives and Benchmark Noise: Sentiment, Risk Conditions, and the Microstructure Efficiency of Term SONIA This study evaluates the microstructure quality of Term SONIA by examining how information and noise are distributed across its construction layers and whether investor sentiment explains changes in benchmark representativeness. Using a sequential state-space model and rolling Kalman-filter estimates, we decompose information and noise across L1, L2, voice-broker inputs and the published fixing. Results show that published Term SONIA contains high information and minimal noise, while underlying layers, especially L1, are informative but noisy. Representativeness improves over time, and sentiment effects are state-dependent, with FX sentiment most persistent and interest-rate sentiment strongest during upper-tail dislocations, with implications for benchmark governance. |
| Diana Woo School of Psychological Sciences |
|---|
| The Influence of Racial Biases During Suspect Police Interviews Police interviews are one of the first places where investigators figure out how and why crimes occur. However, investigator biases can lead to false confessions in vulnerable populations, including people of colour. This study examines how implicit racial biases influence police interviews of suspects. It explores how suspect skin tone, crime outcome, and racial colour-blindness levels effect how coercive the police interview is. Higher levels of racial colour-blindness may predict more coercive tactic decisions when the suspect has a darker skin tone versus a lighter skin tone. This effect will be more pronounced if the crime results in greater harm. |
| Fei Fan School of Education |
|---|
| The Influence of Sentence Context on the Spacing Effect in Word Learning Learning outcomes tend to be better when encounters with novel words are distributed over time than when they occur consecutively. However, previous studies investigating this spacing effect in orthographic learning have typically repeated the same sentence across exposures. This study examined whether the spacing benefit extends to varied sentence contexts. Sixty adults read novel words across spaced or massed exposures while their eye movements were recorded. Spacing increased reading times during learning and improved orthographic and phonological learning. Importantly, the spacing benefit persisted across varied sentence contexts, suggesting that distributing encounters with new words can support vocabulary learning under more typical reading experiences. |
| Hamim Eazdam School of Engineering |
|---|
| UV-Activated Chemiresistive Sensors for Low-Cost Agricultural Methane Monitoring Methane has 80 times the warming potential of CO₂ over 20 years, and livestock account for 70% of agricultural methane emissions, yet only 13% of global methane is covered by effective policy. Verifying these emissions remains challenging: respiration chambers confine animals, satellites cannot resolve herd scale emissions, and existing sensors are costly and power intensive. This project aims to close this gap by developing a low cost, UV activated ZnO-Pd-MWCNT-ZIF-8 chemiresistive sensor operating at room temperature. Targeting faster response, minimal stabilisation and low power operation, it could enable wide scale deployment and direct, continuous measurements otherwise estimated rather than known. |
| Haoyue Zhao Department of Humanities |
|---|
| A Dual Revolution: Complementary Validation of Sex Assessment in Non-Adult Skeletal Remains Assessing the biological sex of non-adult skeletal remains is a longstanding challenge in bioarchaeological. My research tackles this by using tooth enamel peptide analysis, a robust genetic tool that outlasts DNA and resists contamination, to validate traditional morphological sexing methods. Strikingly, we found these non-destructive morphological assessments are >85% accurate, similar to adult forensic standards. The value of this work is twofold. Archaeologically, it unlocks subadult demography and refines ancient mortality profiles without destroying precious skeletal heritage. Forensically, it provides a fast, economical, and accessible pathway for non-adult identification, transforming how we investigate populations past and present. |
| Hoi Teng (Kathie) Lao Department of Linguistics |
|---|
| The influence of accent familiarity on subtitle processing We may find it difficult to understand the video when the character speaks in an unfamiliar accent, and we may turn to subtitles to extract information. Listening-only studies show that listeners can adapt to unfamiliar accents over time, yet how viewers manage the simultaneous exposure to auditory and visual channels when the audio is less reliable, remains unclear. Using eye-tracking, this within-subjects study examines attention allocation and subtitle reading behaviour when Australian viewers watch videos with a familiar accent, an unfamiliar accent and without audio. This study aims to inform models of eye-movement control during audiovisual viewing. |
| Ian Donald Tasker School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
|---|
| Kadek Hendra Darmawan Department of Economics |
|---|
| Does your postcode pick your medicine? Evidence from Movers in Australia New medical technologies may diffuse rapidly in aggregate but unevenly across physicians and slowly among patients already receiving established treatments. We study this issue in the choice of anticoagulants among patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), an irregular heart rhythm associated with an increased risk of stroke. Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) generally avoid the routine coagulation monitoring required with the older alternative, warfarin, and Australian guidelines prefer a DOAC when anticoagulation is initiated for many eligible patients. Nevertheless, many established patients remain on warfarin. Using linked Australian administrative data from 2012-2020, we follow 15,203 patients who used warfarin continuously before moving between healthcare regions. We compare patients whose leave-one-out prescriber DOAC intensity rises at relocation with patients whose intensity falls. The analysis accounts for persistent differences across patients and physicians and common changes associated with the timing of each move. The adjusted difference in DOAC use widens after relocation and reaches 2.6 percentage points four quarters later, approximately 40% of the average annual increase among comparable non-movers. In a complementary specification, a 10-percentage-point increase in prescriber DOAC intensity is associated with a 0.65-percentage-point increase in DOAC use. The findings show that aggregate adoption can conceal treatment persistence among incumbent patients and substantial within-region heterogeneity in the prescribing environments they encounter. |
| Kazi Morshed Alom School of Natural Sciences |
|---|
| Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering for Cancer-specific DNA Methylation Analysis DNA methylation is a key epigenetic modification that also serves as a vital biomarker in liquid biopsy in cancers such as colorectal, breast, and lung. However, due to the lack of standardization in diagnosis, the highly invasive tissue biopsy is still regarded as the benchmark. This study investigates surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), utilizing plasmonic nanomaterials to facilitate the sensitive detection of cancer-specific DNA methylation in the patient genome. By advancing the label-free and label-based SERS, we aim to establish a clinically viable diagnostic platform. The findings will benefit clinicians and patients by enabling earlier and more precise cancer detection. |
| Kunchhan Lama School of Computing |
|---|
| Kumora: A Two-Phase Co-Design and Feasibility Study of Conversational AI for Menstrual Cycle Reflection and Emotional Support Menstrual emotional experiences may significantly impact wellbeing. As conversational AI becomes part of wellbeing support, interest is growing in how it should communicate in emotionally vulnerable moments. This two-phase, mixed-methods study, guided by Value Sensitive Design, develops and evaluates the feasibility of Kumora, an LLM-powered conversational AI prototype supporting emotional support and reflection during the menstrual cycle. A Phase 1 co-design focus group, analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, highlighted the importance of feeling validated, emotionally safe, and heard before advice. These findings will guide Kumora's development and evaluation – a participant-informed methodology that may also inform emotionally safe AI for other vulnerable populations. |
| Mawella Kankanamge Sithumini Sankalpana School of Engineering |
|---|
| Area-Based Eigenvalue Spectrum Sensing for CRNs Using Marchenko–Pastur Bounds Radio spectrum is a limited resource, yet conventional sensing methods often struggle under weak-signal and noise-uncertain conditions. This research introduces Area-Based Eigenvalue Detection (AED), a new cognitive-radio spectrum sensing method that exploits full eigenvalue distribution within Marchenko–Pastur bounds rather than only extreme eigenvalues. At −15 dB, AED achieved a detection probability of 0.90 at a false-alarm probability of 0.10 for K=20 and N=30,000, outperforming conventional ED, MED, and MME methods in the low-SNR regime. AED also remained robust to noise uncertainty without requiring prior signal knowledge, enabling more reliable dynamic spectrum access and more efficient use of radio spectrum. |
| Michaela Cormack Australian Institute of Health Innovation |
|---|
| Identifying Harm, Building Momentum: Partnering for Safer Clinical Genetics Services Clinical genetics waiting lists can expose patients and families to significant yet poorly understood harms. Through embedded stakeholder partnerships with consumers, frontline clinicians and hospital risk experts, my research has identified and characterised patient safety and equity risks associated with delayed access to genetics services while building organisational engagement around the need for change. Study participants have become advocates, elevating awareness through clinical, governance and leadership structures and creating momentum for action. Findings have informed clinical guidelines, an emerging risk report, reviews of prioritisation practices in other genetics services, and quality and safety education for future genetic counsellors. |
| Mst Sharmin Sultana Shimu School of Natural Sciences |
|---|
| From seaweed to potential therapeutics: R-Phycoerythrin-derived peptides targeting chronic inflammation and breast cancer Chronic inflammation contributes to breast cancer progression through key molecular signaling pathways, yet bioactive molecules capable of addressing both remain needed. This research explores the potential of R-phycoerythrin-derived peptides, an underexplored fluorescent pigment-protein from red seaweed Halymenia dilatata, as potential multifunctional bioactive compounds. The identified peptides strongly suppressed inflammatory responses in activated macrophages. In breast cancer models, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231cells, the peptides reduced cell viability, induced cell-cycle arrest, while selectively inhibiting MCF-7 migration. Although further molecular investigation is ongoing, this work links anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities by transforming an ordinary marine protein into a platform for discovering multifunctional bioactive molecules. |
| Parnia Mokhtari Macquarie Medical School |
|---|
| Targeting Motor Neurons Using Enhancer-Driven AAVs Motor neurons carry signals from the central nervous system to muscles, allowing us to move. In motor neuron disease, these cells progressively degenerate, leading to loss of movement, and there is no cure. Although motor neurons are central to the disease, selectively targeting them for gene delivery among other cell types in the nervous system remains challenging. This precise targeting is important for studying the mechanisms of motor neuron disease and supporting the future targeted gene delivery therapeutics. Therefore, my research focuses on optimising adeno-associated virus vectors to improve motor neuron targeting while reducing off-target expression in other cell types. |
| Penelope Roxon School of Education |
|---|
| Student Voices, Student Lives School is an important site of academic, social and emotional development. Unfortunately, school attendance levels in Australia have fallen 20% since 2013. Already marginalised students have the lowest attendance rates and school non-attendance can perpetrate generational cycles of inequity and social exclusion. Marginalised student voices are often absent from education research, but they can offer unique and valuable perspectives on school attendance. A review of 25 years of Australian research found that despite very different lives, non-attending students shared many common experiences and offered useful recommendations for how schools and education systems need to change to better support their attendance. |
| Rebecca McNeil School of Psychological Sciences |
|---|
| The value in being wrong: How co-design shaped my research on neuroinclusive What does neuroinclusive practice look like? This Delphi study brings together expert perspectives to develop a consensus definition of neuroinclusive practice in Australian universities, guiding policy, teaching, and student support nationally. While data collection is ongoing, the research has already demonstrated the value of co-design with neurodivergent students. The presenter will reflect on the ways that co-design has influenced her early career development by challenging assumptions, shaping research priorities and strengthening relevance of the study. By centring neurodivergent voices in knowledge creation, the presenter will discuss the benefits of bi-directional and socially constructed learning, both to research design and postgraduate student learning. |
| Savindi Jayakody Department of Economics |
|---|
| Fiscal Space for the Next Shock: Stabilisation and Sustainability in New South Wales Australian state governments use fiscal policy to respond to major economic shocks, but rising debt can constrain their capacity to respond to the next one. My research asks whether fiscal policy can support economic stability without compromising long-term fiscal sustainability. Using New South Wales Budget forecasts and actual outcomes, I examine how unexpected fiscal developments relate to economic growth, employment and debt dynamics, while distinguishing discretionary policy responses from other fiscal surprises. The research examines the stabilisation benefits and debt consequences of fiscal responses, and whether fiscal policy subsequently adjusts to preserve fiscal space for future shocks. |
| Sophia Platthy School of Natural Sciences |
|---|
| Myotis macropus behaviour, emergence, and roost microclimate in extreme weatherHow do heat waves impact Myotis macropus and co-roosting microbats in Sydney? We’ll locate roosts in urban and bushland settings, investigate microclimate, bat activity and behaviour within roost sites over summer. Our focus will be monitoring bat populations and activity along the Georges River, Port Hacking, and associated waterways. Future research can measure how M. macropus populations respond to urban pressure and climate change over coming decades. Conducting this research under forecast El Niño conditions is urgent and timely. Findings will directly support conservation management of roost structures across Sydney. |
| Supachai Osakit Macquarie Law School |
|---|
| Transnational Unmet Legal Need: Naming the Gap in Diaspora Legal Services With nearly one in three Australians born overseas, diaspora communities often face legal problems spanning two countries: a separating couple needing to settle property held in both. Existing legal aid research and theory measure unmet need within a single legal system, leaving this transnational dimension unnamed and unaddressed. My research defines a new category, transnational unmet legal need, capturing when no accessible service exists to handle a client's situation across two jurisdictions as an integrated whole. Naming this gap opens space for new partnerships between legal aid providers, diaspora organisations, and services in migrants' countries of origin. |
| Thi Diem Phuc Duong School of Education |
|---|
| Lifelong Learning in ASEAN: Partnering for Graduate Capital Governments across ASEAN use lifelong learning (LLL) policies to prepare graduates for changing labour markets. However, how these policies address graduates’ employability through graduate capital remains underexplored. This qualitative study uses Tomlinson’s Graduate Capital Model to analyse 25 LLL policies across 11 countries grouped by income levels. Findings show that all policies consistently emphasise technical and integrated skills, entrepreneurial mindsets, and work-integrated learning, but differ in implementation frameworks across income groups. These differences highlight that stronger partnerships among higher education, industry, and entrepreneurship could help lower-middle-income countries translate LLL policy commitments into practice, developing graduates’ capitals and employability. |
| Alexandra Shevtsova Master of Design (exchange) |
|---|
| Sleep Blossoms: A Tangible Data Object Supporting Bedtime Procrastination Strategies Bedtime procrastination (BtP), an emerging phenomenon of sleep delay without specific reasons [1], negatively affects physical and mental health [2] but can be addressed with self-control strategies. Little research has explored how tangible data designs, or data physicalizations, support such BtP strategies among young adults. This three-phase study identifies self-control strategies students use to manage BtP, translates them into design requirements to co-design the data artifact, and experimentally reviews the effects of this design intervention. This research combines design and psychology, expanding data physicalization applications and uncovering the importance of innovative sleep data representations supporting behavioral change self control strategies. |
| Anna Grogan School of Education |
|---|
| Anna Kell Applied Biosciences |
|---|
| Identification and behavioural analysis of volatiles from fruit-spotting bug (Amblypelta nitida) for lure-based monitoring. The fruit-spotting bug (FSB), Amblypelta nitida, is a native pest insect threatening tree crops. FSB are difficult to monitor so management is reliant upon insecticides. A monitoring lure could assist growers in better understanding FSB for targeted insecticide use. Previous research suggests FSB behaviour is motivated by pheromones, which has not yet been explored. This study aimed to identify compounds emitted by FSB, and to evaluate their role in attraction. Insect volatiles were collected and analysed. Behavioural assays were conducted using to assess attraction. Our findings enhance understandings of FSB chemical communication and attraction in developing a pheromone-based monitoring system. |
| Brendan Vouadec Applied Biosciences |
|---|
| How drought impacts virus epidemics and crop losses in Australian cereals Pests and diseases are major threats to food crops and climate change is making them increasingly difficult to manage. My PhD research explores how drought affects wheat, plant viruses and the insects that spread them. I investigate how these interactions influence virus spread and crop damage under water stress. My results show that drought can worsen the effects of virus infection on wheat while having relatively little impact on the insects that transmit these viruses. These findings will help us anticipate future virus outbreaks and develop more resilient crop protection strategies as drought becomes more common. |
| Diana Woo School of Psychological Sciences |
|---|
| The Influence of Racial Biases During Suspect Police Interviews Police interviews are one of the first places where investigators figure out how and why crimes occur. However, investigator biases can lead to false confessions in vulnerable populations, including people of colour. This study examines how implicit racial biases influence police interviews of suspects. It explores how suspect skin tone, crime outcome, and racial colour-blindness levels effect how coercive the police interview is. Higher levels of racial colour-blindness may predict more coercive tactic decisions when the suspect has a darker skin tone versus a lighter skin tone. This effect will be more pronounced if the crime results in greater harm. |
| Fei Fan School of Education |
|---|
| The Influence of Sentence Context on the Spacing Effect in Word Learning Learning outcomes tend to be better when encounters with novel words are distributed over time than when they occur consecutively. This study examined whether this spacing benefit extends to varied sentence contexts. Sixty adults read novel words across spaced or massed exposures while their eye movements were recorded. Spacing increased total reading times during learning and improved orthographic and phonological recognition, but not semantic recognition, where performance was close to ceiling. Compared with a previous study using repeated sentences, the orthographic spacing effect did not differ significantly, whereas the spacing effect on total reading time was larger with varied sentence contexts. |
| Fiona Wylie School of Psychological Sciences |
|---|
| Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist effects on food noise Food noise is an emerging term describing a persistent, intrusive, and unwanted preoccupation with food. This study examined whether individuals taking a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist experience less food noise than those contemplating treatment ("contemplators"). Results revealed that GLP-1 users reported significantly lower food noise than contemplators. Participants expressed that reduced food noise allowed more control over eating habits. However, many GLP-1 users stated that their food noise increases before their next dose and that they fear its future return. These findings highlight both the therapeutic potential and psychological complexity of treatment with a GLP-1 medication. |
| Jacqueline Collins Department of Linguistics |
|---|
| Evidence for the treatment of co-occurring stuttering and speech sound disorders in children: a scoping review This poster reports findings from a scoping review that examined evidence for the treatment of children with co-occurring stuttering and speech sound disorders (SSD). The review identified and synthesised available literature published since 1990, including peer-reviewed research and grey literature. Findings revealed a limited empirical evidence base, with only six intervention studies identified, while most guidance was derived from expert opinion. Key themes included prioritising intervention based on functional impact, careful monitoring of progress, and the use of concurrent, sequential, or cyclic treatment models. The review highlights evidence gaps and the need for further research to inform clinical practice. |
| Jesse Wheeler School of Psychological Sciences |
|---|
| Operationalising Epistemic Injustice in Healthcare: Extending the Illness Invalidation Inventory (3*I-H) Patients with chronic and contested illness frequently report being invalidated in healthcare. Existing measures capture interpersonal dismissal but not the structural conditions around it: whether shared language exists for an illness, whether the health system offers a pathway, and how much work patients do to be believed. This study developed the 3*I-H, an extension to the Illness Invalidation Inventory (3*I), with 539 Australian adults recruited through 16 condition-specific organisations. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in independent halves produced a 14-item, three-factor measure. Adding it to a model containing the existing 3*I subscales raised variance explained in healthcare trust from 44.9% to 52.8%. |
| Juliana Maria Nunes Batista School of Natural Sciences |
|---|
| From Rescue to Release: Protozoan Parasites in Rehabilitating Flying Foxes Wildlife rehabilitation centres play a key role in conserving flying foxes, particularly orphaned pups that require intensive care before release. This study investigated the occurrence and molecular identity of the intestinal protozoan parasites Cryptosporidium sp. and Giardia sp. in grey-headed (Pteropus poliocephalus) and black flying foxes (P. alecto) across successive rehabilitation stages in New South Wales. We collected faeces (n = 250) from pups in care, crèche cages, and release cages. We detected Cryptosporidium in 3/250 samples (1.2%), all from release cages, and confirmed it as the bat-specific Genotype IX. Giardia duodenalis was detected in 86/250 (34.4%), with prevalence differing significantly among rehabilitation stages (Monte Carlo p < 0.001). |
| Kadek Hendra Darmawan Department of Economics |
|---|
| Work participation outcomes associated with mental health interventions for psychological distress: A systematic review and meta-analysis Psychological distress is prevalent among the working-age population, and most of its economic burden comes from reduced productivity among people with diminished working capacity. Direct spending on treatment has risen, yet whether it recovers the much larger productivity losses is rarely challenged. This review quantifies the work participation outcomes of interventions for psychological distress in working-age adults and asks whether clinical improvement corresponds to observable work-related gains. We searched medical, economic, and multidisciplinary databases for randomised controlled trials that assessed distress with validated instruments, targeted working adults, and reported work endpoints. We converted all effects to Cohen's d and pooled them within comparable categories and follow-up periods. Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria across twelve categories. Interventions frequently reduced distress, but effects on work participation were small. Only four individual observations favoured the intervention(one each for productivity, work functioning, work engagement, and hours worked). In a descriptive concordance analysis of 41 matched observations, eighteen showed significant symptom reduction, but only four coincided with significant work gains, eleven with non-significant change, and three with none; most significant work participation came from workplace-embedded programs. Future trials are encouraged to treat work endpoints as co-primary outcomes, extend study observation to at least 12 months, standardise work-participation instruments, and use register-linked employment records rather than self-report work instruments. |
| Kazi Morshed Alom School of Natural Sciences |
|---|
| Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering for Cancer-specific DNA Methylation Analysis DNA methylation is a key epigenetic modification that also serves as a vital biomarker in liquid biopsy in cancers such as colorectal, breast, and lung. However, due to the lack of standardization in diagnosis, the highly invasive tissue biopsy is still regarded as the benchmark. This study investigates surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), utilizing plasmonic nanomaterials to facilitate the sensitive detection of cancer-specific DNA methylation in the patient genome. By advancing the label-free and label-based SERS, we aim to establish a clinically viable diagnostic platform. The findings will benefit clinicians and patients by enabling earlier and more precise cancer detection. |
| Kunchhan Lama School of Computing |
|---|
| Kumora: A Two-Phase Co-Design and Feasibility Study of Conversational AI for Menstrual Cycle Reflection and Emotional Support Menstrual emotional experiences may significantly impact wellbeing, and conversational AI is increasingly part of wellbeing support. This two-phase, mixed-methods study, guided by Value Sensitive Design, develops and evaluates the feasibility of Kumora, an LLM-powered conversational AI prototype supporting emotional reflection during the menstrual cycle. In Phase 1, a co-design focus group, analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, highlighted the importance of feeling validated, emotionally safe, and heard before advice. In Phase 2, these insights will shape Kumora's values, design requirements, and system prompts through Van de Poel's Values Hierarchy, and the prototype will be tested with participants using a pilot feasibility design. |
| Lin Wang School of Natural Sciences |
|---|
| Lok Nath Aryal Applied BioSciences |
|---|
| Thermal and age-dependent parasitism of Banana Spotting Bug Eggs by Anastatus sp Banana spotting bug (BSB), Amblypelta lutescens lutescens Distant, is a major pest of horticultural crops such as macadamia and avocado. Increasing regulatory constraints and environmental hazards associated with chemical pesticides have prompted the need for sustainable management options for BSB. Anastatus sp. (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) is a commercially available egg parasitoid in Australia and has potential for BSB management. However, information on parasitism efficiency and thermal biology is limited. We investigated age-specific parasitism, fecundity, developmental duration, and adult longevity under constant temperatures. Parasitoid age and temperature strongly influenced performance, providing guidance for optimising field release timing for effective BSB control. |
| Mathew Miltonhardy School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
|---|
| Breeding like rabbits: How to control the European Rabbit population in Australia The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) causes ongoing damage to Australia’s native plants and creates competition for native animals, causing a decline in populations and biodiversity. This project aims to create a mathematical model incorporating age, rabbit social structure, and inter-warren interactions, and use this to simulate the spread and evolution of a virus through the European rabbit population in Australia. With this, we can determine the evolutionary pressures that lead to a virus that is both endemic and deadly. Using our results, we will be able to inform invasive species management to effectively control the rabbit population in Australia. |
| Mawella Kankanamge Sithumini Sankalpana School of Engineering |
|---|
| Kurtosis and Energy-based Dual Thresholding Approach for Spectrum Sensing in Cognitive Radio Networks under Low SNR Conditions Radio spectrum is a critical wireless resource, yet static allocation leads to inefficient utilization as bandwidth demand grows. Cognitive Radio Networks enable Secondary Users to access spectrum opportunistically when Primary Users are absent. However, fixed sensing thresholds degrade performance at low signal-to-noise ratios. This study proposes a dynamic thresholding framework incorporating energy, kurtosis, and Noise Uncertainty Factor. Performance is evaluated against CFAR, CDR, and MEP methods under AWGN conditions. At −20 dB, the proposed NUF- and kurtosis-based approaches achieved detection probabilities of 98% and 84%, with false alarm probabilities of 4% and 28%, respectively, demonstrating improved low-SNR sensing performance. |
| Md Zizul Hoque School of Computing |
|---|
| Mst Sharmin Sultana Shimu School of Natural Sciences |
|---|
| R-phycoerythrin-derived peptides from the red seaweed Halymenia dilatata with antidiabetic and antihypertensive potential Proteins from red macroalgae (Rhodophyta) traditionally used as natural colourants and fluorescent biomarkers, are increasingly recognised for their potential health-promoting properties. Since R-phycoerythrin from the genus Halymenia remains largely unexplored, this study investigated the antidiabetic and antihypertensive potential of R-phycoerythrin and its derived peptides from Halymenia dilatata. However, LC-MS/MS identified peptide sequences, followed by in silico bioactivity screening to select three peptides for experimental evaluation, where, Peptide-1 demonstrated the strongest α-amylase and ACE inhibitory activities, suggesting greater antidiabetic and antihypertensive potential respectively than the whole protein. Further cell-based and in vivo studies are required to elucidate its mechanisms of action. |
| Naotunnage Shanika Madushani Jayathunga Department of Economics |
|---|
| Measuring Entrepreneurial Resilience: Evidence from Australian Businesses Entrepreneurial resilience- the capacity of firms to anticipate, absorb, and adapt to adverse shocks-remains conceptually underspecified and difficult to measure at the firm level. This paper develops and validates an Entrepreneurial Resilience Index (ERI) using Australian firm-level data, grounded in Dynamic Capability Theory and Evolutionary Economics Theory. It identifies the key dimensions of resilience, constructs the ERI via Principal Component Analysis, and tests its predictive validity using Ordered Logistic Regression, with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling providing an additional robustness check. Heterogeneity in resilience is examined across industries, firm sizes, and organisational structures, with particular attention to health entrepreneurs, while Shapley decomposition quantifies the relative contribution of each resilience domain to the overall index. |
| Parnia Mokhtari Macquarie Medical School |
|---|
| Targeting Motor Neurons Using Enhancer-Driven AAVs Motor neurons carry signals from the central nervous system to muscles, allowing us to move. In motor neuron disease, these cells progressively degenerate, leading to loss of movement, and there is no cure. Although motor neurons are central to the disease, selectively targeting them for gene delivery among other cell types in the nervous system remains challenging. This precise targeting is important for studying the mechanisms of motor neuron disease and supporting the future targeted gene delivery therapeutics. Therefore, my research focuses on optimising adeno-associated virus vectors to improve motor neuron targeting while reducing off-target expression in other cell types. |
| Renjie Tu Department of Chiropractic |
|---|
| Current use of Gen AI in the management of LBP in primary care: a qualitative study of clinicians This project aims to explore the perception and experiences of clinicians (chiropractors, physiotherapists and osteopaths) regarding the use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in primary care for managing low back pain (LBP). Specifically, we are interested in (1) how these clinicians currently perceive, understand, and/or use GenAI for the management of LBP, and (2) exploring the complexity, opportunities and challenges in using GenAI for the management of LBP. |
| Sahar Sadeghimofrad Applied BioSciences |
|---|
| Drought and phytohormone signalling influence wheat growth and aphid performance Drought can affect how plants grow and function, while phytohormones help regulate plant growth, development, and responses to stress. In this study, wheat plants were grown under well-watered or water-deficit conditions and received phytohormones. Plant responses were assessed using a range of growth and physiological parameters. Aphid responses were monitored throughout their development and reproductive period. By comparing these experimental conditions, this study examined how water deficit and phytohormones influenced both wheat and aphid performance, and whether their effects interacted. Overall, this study contributed to our understanding of how drought and phytohormones affect wheat growth and insect pest. |
| Samuel Carlson Australian Astronomical Optics |
|---|
| Sara Habibian Australian Institute of Health Innovation |
|---|
| The impact of social participation on quality of life in residential aged care facilities: A systematic review Participation in leisure and social activities among older adults is associated with enhanced physical and mental health, both of which serve as key predictors of quality of life (QOL). However, most evidence of these associations are based on community-dwelling older adults. Little is known about older adults in residential aged care homes (RACHs). This study investigates associations between leisure and social participation and QOL of residents in RACHs. |
| Xuanying Lin School of Education |
|---|
| Beyond Individualised Wellbeing: Early Childhood Educators’ Voices on the Conceptualisation of Work-Related Wellbeing Understanding early childhood educators’ perspectives on work-related wellbeing is essential for developing relevant support, yet little research examines how they conceptualise it. This study analysed open-ended survey responses from 368 Australian educators through inductive thematic analysis. Five themes emerged: wellbeing as a physical-psychological state; professional fulfilment and meaning; social and collegial connections; sustainable work-life practices; and organisational and systemic responsibility. These findings highlight that educators’ understandings extend beyond individual-level conceptions and are embedded in the specific context of their profession, informing research, practice, and policy to support wellbeing in the early childhood education workforce. |
| Ziqin Liu School of Education |
|---|
| Mapping the Links Between Maternal Overprotection and Preschoolers’ Eating Behaviours: A Mixed Methods Network Study This mixed methods study combined network analysis and thematic analysis to examine how maternal overprotection relates to controlling feeding practices and preschoolers’ eating behaviours. Network analysis of data from 2,018 mothers identified key behavioural patterns and bridge nodes connecting overprotective parenting with mealtime dynamics. Semi-structured interviews with mothers, preschoolers, and early childhood educators provided contextualised insights into the underlying reasons behind these practices. Findings suggest that overprotective parenting may extend beyond general caregiving into feeding interactions, shaping children’s eating patterns. The study highlights the value of considering broader parenting styles when understanding young children’s everyday eating experiences. |
| Zsombor Antal School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
|---|
| The Large Fiber Array Spectroscopic Telescope: Studying Spectrometer Architectures for Extreme Etendue A combination of large collecting aperture telescopes and highly efficient high-resolution spectrometers is crucial for key cases in exoplanet science in particular the search for biomarkers. Here, a design study exploring high-resolution spectrometer concepts for the Large Fiber Array Spectroscopic Telescope (LFAST) is presented, an array overcoming the limitations of single-aperture telescopes by combining a large number of 0.76 m telescopes into one facility with a collecting area comparable to an ELT. Every individual telescope couples light to a separate optical fiber, which is fed to the proposed spectrometers. |
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Highlight the transformative impact of your research!
Do you have research with a significant impact? Here's your chance to showcase it!
Submit your abstract and seize the opportunity to highlight the transformative impact of your research in just five minutes. Impress our judges and captivate the audience for a chance to win prizes!
- Theme: "The value of your research"
- Presentation date: Thursday, 5 November 2026
- Presentation requirements: 5 minutes long, no more than four (4) powerpoint slides
Prizes
- First place: $300.00
- Second place: $200.00
- People's Choice: $100.00
Submission guidelines
To apply, submit an abstract for your research paper that is relevant to the theme. Please read the Presentation Guidelines before submitting your application.
- Application form
- Abstract deadline: Friday 4 September 2026
- Notification of acceptance: Friday 25 September 2026
Apply now and make your impact known!
Showcase your research impact!
Do you have research that makes a difference? Macquarie's research community would love to see it!
Submit your abstract and design an eye-catching poster that highlights the powerful impact of your research. Impress our judges and win over the audience to claim prizes!
- Theme: "Showcase your research"
- Presentation date: Thursday 5 November 2026
- Poster size: Between A3 to A0
Prizes
- First place: $300.00
- Second place: $200.00
- People's Choice: $100.00
Submission guidelines
To apply, submit an abstract for your research poster that is relevant to the theme. Already presented a poster about your research this year? Great news - you can reuse it for this conference! Please read the Presentation Guidelines before submitting your application.
- Application form
- Abstract deadline: Friday 4 September 2026
- Notification of acceptance: Friday 25 September 2026
Submit now and promote your research!
A day in the life of a researcher!
Do you have a compelling story to tell about the daily life of a researcher? Here's your chance to showcase it!
Submit your photo and capture the essence of your research journey. Highlight the transformative moments and everyday experiences that define your work. Impress our judges and captivate the audience for a chance to win prizes!
- Theme: “A day in the life of a researcher”
- Presentation date: Thursday 5 November 2026
- Creative brief: Capture any aspect of living the “life of a graduate researcher” within a single image (i.e., no composite or panelled images).
Prizes
- First place: $300.00
- Second place: $200.00
- People's Choice: $100.00
Submission guidelines
To apply, submit your photo with one sentence outlining how your photo relates to the theme. Please read the competition Terms and Conditions before submitting your application.
- Application Form
- Submission deadline: Friday 16 October 2026
- Winners will be announced at the conference on Thursday 5 November 2026
Apply now and let your story be seen!
Presenting at this conference - or another - soon? Want to improve your public speaking for future presentations?
This 2.5-hour workshop covers several less-obvious but essential skills for participating fully in academic conferences. From presenting posters and lightning presentations to chairing sessions and networking with a cup of coffee and pastry in your hands, you’ll not only hear some great advice but get to practise with real props!
- 9.30am - 12.00pm, Tuesday 29 September
- Register here
This year’s Conference presenters should definitely register, but any graduate researcher who plans to attend, present at, or apply for a conference is welcome.
Level 2, 16 Wally's Walk
Macquarie University NSW 2109