Dr Bernadette Hyland-Wood
Faculty of Science,
School of Mathematical Sciences
Biography
Dr Bernadette Hyland-Wood is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Data Science, Queensland University of Technology, specialising in responsible data science and deploying generative AI technologies. She is a chief investigator in the QUT Digital Media Research Centre. Her research explores the adoption of rapidly emerging AI platforms by regulators and industry, focusing on data ethics and governance. She has led international initiatives on data exchange standards to support digital research and evidence-based policymaking. Dr. Hyland-Wood holds a PhD from The University of Queensland (2021), where her dissertation, Bridging the Open Data and Public Policy Gap, examined barriers and facilitators to government data sharing.A seasoned technology entrepreneur, she has founded multiple startups, including two that were acquired—one by a U.S. Fortune 100 company. Her work bridges academia, industry, and policy, emphasising applied research and research translation to ensure responsible AI and data-driven decision-making.
Her contributions include highly cited applied research on crisis communications (COVID-19), public trust, national data legislation, and the U.S. DATA Act. Her work has been published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and Springer Nature and she has appeared on media outlets, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and Radio New Zealand.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Personal details
Positions
- Research Associate
Faculty of Science,
School of Mathematical Sciences
Keywords
Responsible AI, Data governance, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, AI Ethics, Science and technology policy, Generative AI in higher education, Health data infrastructure, Digital public infrastructure, AI risk assessment, Knowledge translation
Research field
Data management and data science, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing, Policy and administration
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Policy and Governance (University of Queensland)
Professional memberships and associations
Experience
Bernadette founded several digital platform startups in Australia and the U.S. She oversaw the development of a pioneering standards-based scalable graph database and visualization platform. For two decades, she has been involved in Open Source Software (OSS) projects and data standards (W3C). In 1997, she is one of ten co-founders of Women in Technology (WiT), Australia’s largest professional networking organization supporting women in digital technologies and scientific research.
Publications
- Hyland-Wood, B., Gardner, J., Leask, J. & Ecker, U. (2021). Toward effective government communication strategies in the era of COVID-19. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/228996
- Gardner, J., Ecker, U., Leask, J. & Hyland-Wood, B. (2020). Clarity of Communication. COVID-19 Roadmap to Recovery: A Report for the Nation, 174–186. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/251330
- Gardner, J., Hyland-Wood, B. & Leask, J. (2020). The Importance of Public Trust, Transparency and Civic Engagement. COVID-19 Roadmap to Recovery: A Report for the Nation, 92–101. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/251331
- Howard, C. & Hyland-Wood, B. (2024). The promise and performance of data ecosystems: Australia's COVID-19 response. Policy and Politics, 52(1), 108–130. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/251313
- Hyland-Wood, B., (2024). Harnessing AI for regulatory compliance in Australia. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/258870
- Snoswell, A., Hyland-Wood, B., Mengersen, K., Orth, T., Cook, B. & Wickramanayake, B. (2023). QUT Centre For Data Science submission on the draft G7 Guiding principles for organizations developing advanced AI systems. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/245650
- Wright, S., Barrowcliffe, R., Hutchinson, B., Abdilla, A., Acres, L., Beetson, B., Bell, A., Benton, P., Bligh, B., Bowen, R., Burton, N., Carlson, B., Cawthorne, R., Cook, B., Farrell, A., Fay, D., Fejo, J., Fewster, J., Gray, N., Hackman, D., Hammond, A., Haua, I., Henry, C., Hyland-Wood, B., Lyons, R., McLellan, R., Mokak, G., Murray, L., Rana, L., Sedran-Price, C., Sefton, P., Stoker, R., Timbery, N., Toohey, P., Urzedo, D., Weston-Evans, P. & Worrell, T. (2025). Envisioning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander AI Futures Communique: March 2025. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 9(1). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/258865
- Hyland-Wood, B., (2022). Open Public Data: How we use it and it uses us. Selected Papers in Internet Research 2022: Research from the Annual Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/258871
- Bruns, A., Angus, D., Lubicz-Zaorski, C., Stardust, Z., FitzGerald, K., Graham, T., Nagappa, A., Burgess, J., Leeftink, D., Vilkins, S., Watt, N., Ochoa Diaz, M., Rodriguez, A., Kasianenko, K., Osman, K., Whelan-Shamy, D., Nelson, L., Hyland-Wood, B., Svegaard, S., Riedlinger, M. & Dezuanni, M. (2024). QUT DMRC Submission to the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/251522
- Hyland-Wood, B., (2018). Open Government Data in an Age of Growing Hostility Towards Science. In M. Rimmer (Ed.), Intellectual Property and Clean Energy: The Paris Agreement and Climate Justice (pp. 473–514). Springer. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/228993
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Bernadette, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
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A complete list of publications is available at: https://www.qut.edu.au/about/our-people/academic-profiles/b.hylandwood