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 31 matching student topics
Displaying 1–12 of 31 results
Using mathematics to understand multiple sclerosis: what causes the immune system to attack the brain?
Every day, we use our bodies to move, think, talk and eat, but for people with multiple sclerosis (MS) these tasks can be virtually impossible. MS is a chronic disease which develops because the immune system has started to attack the nerve cells in the brain. This causes the degradation of parts of the brain and irreversible impairment in physical and mental activity. Unfortunately, this disease has no cure, and while considerable therapeutic advances against this disease have been achieved, …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
Hearing colour and seeing sound – switchable optoacoustic imaging agents
Optoacoustic imaging is a relatively new medical imaging technique. It utilises laser light to excite an imaging agent, which in turn converts this light energy into heat. This heat is dissipated as a sound wave, which can be detected with an ultrasound receiver. This technique aims to overcome the minimal penetration depth of fluorescence imaging, and the lack of molecular specificity of ultrasound.In this project we are aiming to develop and synthesize intelligent imaging agents for optoacoustics, which are able …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
QIMR03 - How does osteopontin in milk affect neonatal microbiome composition, the metabolome, and immune development to protect from disease?
Factors in the milk, such as sugars, microbes and growth factors promote growth and immune development. This is partly achieved via the assembly of the gut microbiome. Infants who are breast-fed are at lower risk than those who are fed formula, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear.We have shown that osteopontin in milk confers protection against infection and that this is mediated by an increase in the number of dendritic cells and regulatory T cells, an effect that appears to …
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Functional characterisation of putative salicylic acid hydroxylases from banana (Musa spp.)
Bananas (Musa spp.) are one of the most important fruit crops worldwide and are consumed by millions of people as a staple food. However, bananas are under threat from a wide range of fungal, bacterial and viral diseases which significantly impact their production and quality. Salicylic acid plays a key role in plant-microbe interactions and acts as a vital component in systemic acquired resistance (SAR), enabling plants to mount a long-lasting defence response against a wide range of pathogens. In …
- Study level
- Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Understanding the role of TGF signalling intermediates in liver and iron-related disease
Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) and its family members is involved in many phases of liver disease development and iron regulation. We have identified unexplored players in liver disease and iron-related disorders: TGF signalling intermediates. In this project, we build on our exciting findings to examine the molecular mechanisms involved in TGF signalling intermediates-mediated disease progression and their potential as targets for liver and iron-related disease.AimsThis project aims to:examine the expression of TGF signalling intermediates in the liverspecifically deplete TGF …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Investigating genetic variants involved in Wilson disease and copper metabolism using genome editing
Wilson disease (WD) is a genetic disorder of copper metabolism. It can present with hepatic and neurological symptoms, due to copper accumulation in the liver and brain (1). WD is caused by compound heterozygosity or homozygosity for mutations in the copper transporting P-type ATPase gene ATP7B. Over 700 ATP7B genetic variants have been associated with WD. Estimates for WD population prevalence vary with 1 in 30,000 generally quoted. Early diagnosis and treatment are important for successful management of the disease. …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health
Identifying individuals at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease
Dementia is the greatest cause of disability in Australians over the age of 65 years. In the absence of a significant medical breakthrough, more than $6.4 million Australians will be diagnosed with dementia in the next 40 years. The most common form of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), accounting for 60-80% of cases. The pathogenic process of AD begins decades prior to the clinical onset, so it is likely that treatments need to begin early in the disease process to …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Immunotherapy for autoimmune disease using T cell receptor-modified T-regulatory cells
Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 5% of Australians. Well known examples include type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. These diseases have unpleasant, and sometimes tragic, consequences for the affected person and are a costly burden on our health system. As treatment is often limited to managing symptoms, new therapies for autoimmune diseases are much desired.Many autoimmune diseases are tightly associated with inheritance of a particular allele at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC, also called human leucocyte antigen or HLA). …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Immunotherapy for autoimmune disease using T cell receptor-modified T-regulatory cells (PhD)
Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 5% of Australians. Well known examples include type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. These diseases have unpleasant, and sometimes tragic, consequences for the affected person and are a costly burden on our health system. As treatment is often limited to managing symptoms, new therapies for autoimmune diseases are much desired.The autoimmune diseases we study are described as "organ-specific", which means the unwanted immune response attacks either a single organ, or a collection of organs …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Can virus-based defective interfering particles (DIPS) be used to treat dengue infection?
Infection by dengue virus causes incapacitating and potentially dangerous acute disease in humans. Dengue is a mosquito-borne infectious disease with about 100 million serious clinical infections annually. Considerable effort in drug development is underway, but no effective drug therapy is available. A major difficulty for drug development is the rapid evolution of RNA viruses, like dengue virus, which presents a major challenge for controlling virus transmission and infection using conventional pharmaceuticals and vaccines.This project is based on the observation that …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Light, circadian rhythms and Parkinson’s disease
Up to 98% of patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) have non-motor symptoms (Poewe et al. Nature Rev Dis 2017, 3: 17013) and of those, circadian and sleep disorders are the most common (for review, Gros & Videnovic. 2020, Clin Geriatr Med 36: 119). These symptoms become increasingly prevalent during the course of PD and are key determinants affecting quality of life, advancement of overall disability and placement in nursing homes (Shapira et al. Nat Rev Neurosci 2017,18:435). Circadian and sleep …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Forecasting disease spread risk based on human movement patterns
This project aims to forecast the risk of infectious disease spread, such as COVID-19 and dengue, based on human movement patterns. We'll use multiple data sources that describe people movement in order to understand individual and population level mobility patterns, and use empirical disease case data to model the effect of movement on the spread of disease.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Computer Science
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