QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.
Found 5 matching student topics
Displaying 1–5 of 5 results
Patient-derived oncology NAMs for preclinical breast cancer research and therapeutic evaluation
New approach methodologies (NAMs), including advanced 3D cultures and microphysiological systems (MPS), are creating new opportunities to develop more human-relevant approaches for preclinical cancer research. However, translating these technologies from established cell lines to patient-derived tumours remains challenging because of limited tissue availability, tumour heterogeneity and variability in model establishment and performance.Building on established QUT expertise in patient-derived bioengineered breast tumour models, this project will develop robust and reproducible patient-derived oncology NAMs for preclinical breast cancer research and therapeutic evaluation.Breast …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Automation-enabled microphysiological systems for multicellular oncology NAMs
New approach methodologies (NAMs), including microphysiological systems (MPS), are transforming preclinical cancer research by providing human-relevant alternatives to conventional preclinical models. However, increasing the biological complexity of these models also creates major challenges in reproducibility, scalability and experimental throughput.Oncology provides a compelling application for addressing these challenges. Tumours are complex tissues in which cancer cells interact dynamically with extracellular matrix, immune cells, vascular cells and other components of the tumour microenvironment. Reproducing these interactions in vitro requires technologies that can …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
A 3D mechanosensing platform for senescent osteocytes in aging bone
Project Reference: #3MPQC-NATP2Preferred Start: Late 2026/Early 2027How do our bones sense movement, and why does this ability decline as we age?Osteocytes are specialised cells embedded throughout bone that detect mechanical forces generated during movement and exercise. They form an interconnected cellular network that helps coordinate the continuous renewal and repair of bone.With age, some osteocytes become senescent: damaged cells that remain within the tissue but no longer function normally. Their accumulation may disrupt how bone senses mechanical loading and contribute …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Engineering 3D osteocyte–tumour microenvironments to study bone metastasis and therapeutic response
Project Reference: #2MPQC-HuECM1Preferred Project Start: Late 2026/Early 2027How do cancer cells communicate with bone cells, and can we recreate these interactions in the laboratory to improve therapy testing?When cancer spreads to bone, tumour cells enter a highly specialised microenvironment containing multiple cell types and a complex extracellular matrix. Osteocytes are embedded throughout this matrix and form an interconnected cellular network that senses and regulates changes within bone. However, their contribution to cancer progression and treatment response remains poorly understood.Conventional two-dimensional …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Investigating DNA repair mechanisms in aging adult stem cells
When we age the DNA repair systems of our cells become down regulated. This results in reduced DNA repair capacity, enhanced rates of mutation load and may lead to the development of chronic aging-associated diseases including osteoporosis, Alzheimer's and cancer(1). So it is no surprise that genome instability and stem cell exhaustion, which also strongly correlates with the accumulation of DNA damage, are considered hallmarks of aging(2).However, we still lack a clear understanding on how the decrease in DNA repair …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
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