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 26 matching student topics
Displaying 13–24 of 26 results
Develop point-of-care microfluidic technologies for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
Excessive clotting (thrombosis) leads to the cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke, killing one Australian every 12 minutes. It has long been recognized that platelets play a central role in thrombosis and are unique in their ability to form stable adhesive interactions under conditions of rapid blood flow.We've recently discovered a new ‘biomechanical’ prothrombotic mechanism that highlights the remarkable platelet sensitivity to the shear stress gradients of blood flow disturbance. Importantly, we've found that current anti-thrombotic drugs, such …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Image-based assessment of atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability: Towards a computational tool for early detection and prediction
Plaque characteristics and local haemodynamic/mechanical forces keep changing during plaque progression and rupture.Quantifying these changes and discovering the progression-stress correlation can improve our understanding of plaque progression/rupture. This will lead to a quantitative assessment tool for early detection of vulnerable plaques and prediction of possible ruptures.Our research project aims to combine medical imaging, computational modelling, phantom experiments and pathological analysis to investigate plaque progression and vulnerability to rupture in both animal models and patients with carotid stenosis.We will identify and …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Image-based computational model to predict intracranial aneurysm rupture
Intracranial aneurysms are bulging, weak areas of an artery that supply blood to the brain which are relatively common. While most aneurysms do not show symptoms, 1% spontaneously rupture which can be fatal or it can leave the survivor with permanent disabilities. This catastrophic outcome has motivated surgeons to operate on approximately 30% of aneurysms despite their rate of complications arising and cost of operation.The impact of aneurysm morphology on blood flow shear stress and rupture could educate surgical decision-making …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- 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
Comprehensive strain-level characterisation of microbial communities associated with inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder driven by complex interactions between environmental, microbial and immune-mediated factors 1,2. An unfavourable shift in gut microbiome composition, known as dysbiosis, is now considered a key feature of IBD 2-5, however it is unclear how specific microorganisms and their interactions with host cells contribute to disease onset and progression.Previous IBD studies have been largely limited to older sequencing methods with low phylogenetic and functional resolution. Furthermore, these studies have predominantly …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for Microbiome Research
Therapeutic opportunities targeting epigenetic-metabolism crosswalks in cancer
Epigenetic and metabolic pathways in cancer cells are highly interconnected. Epigenetic landscape in cancer cells is modified by oncogene-driven metabolic changes. Metabolites modulate the activities of epigenetic modifying enzymes to regulate the expression of specific genes. Conversely, epigenetic deregulation that occurs in cancer affect the expression of metabolic genes, thereby altering the metabolome. These changes all coordinately enhance cancer cell proliferation, metastasis and therapy resistance.The overall aim of the project is to understand the link between the activity of epigenetic …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Developing in vitro 3D models to understand liver disease
Several studies have demonstrated the appropriateness of 3D organoid cultures over the conventional 2D cultures, the advantages of 3D models include replicating the complex attributes of the liver beyond liver-specific metabolism, such as increased cell density, organization, and cell–cell signalling, O2 zonation.In this project we will establish a novel in vitro 3D model to study hepatocyte biology in the context of liver disease. A more comprehensive approach to investigating the intercellular mechanisms of NAFLD will include co-culture of organoids with …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Nutrition interventions to improve outcomes in people with kidney dIsease
Dietary interventions are cornerstone treatment in chronic kidney disease. Our research focuses on the shift away from nutrient monitoring, and towards a whole food approach to improving diet quality and reduce disease progression. We have expertise in nutritional epidemiology and dietary intervention trials, and work directly with clinicians in patient care.We currently have projects investigating:Plant based diets to reduce resistant proteinuriaIntensive weight loss to slow progression of kidney diseaseThe impact of dietary patterns on cardiovascular disease risk in chronic kidney …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Strain-level characterisation and visualisation of microbial communities associated with inflammatory bowel disease
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder driven by complex interactions between environmental, microbial and immune-mediated factors. An unfavourable shift in gut microbiome composition, known as dysbiosis, is now considered a key feature of IBD, however it is unclear how specific microorganisms and their interactions with host cells contribute to disease onset and progression. Previous IBD studies have been largely limited to older sequencing methods with low resolution. Furthermore, these studies have predominantly focused on bacterial populations, …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for Microbiome Research
α-Synuclein–specific T-cell responses as early adaptive immune markers of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson’s disease develops over many years before motor symptoms become clinically apparent, limiting opportunities for early intervention. Increasing evidence suggests that adaptive immune responses, particularly T cells that recognise α-synuclein, may emerge during at-risk and early stages of disease.This project will investigate whether α-synuclein–specific T cells are expanded in at-risk individuals and early Parkinson's disease patients, with the goal of identifying early immune changes that may precede clinical disease onset.
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Early innate immune signatures as biomarkers of Parkinson's disease onset
Parkinson's disease is typically diagnosed after the onset of motor symptoms, when significant neurodegeneration has already occurred. Growing evidence suggests that immune dysregulation, particularly within the innate immune system, may arise in the prodromal and early stages of disease and contribute to disease initiation.This project will investigate whether individuals in the prodromal and early stages of Parkinson's disease exhibit distinct peripheral immune signatures, focusing on monocyte and macrophage polarisation and plasma cytokine profiles, with the aim of identifying early immune …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Wearable futures: designing next-generation devices for Parkinson's disease
More than 10M people worldwide suffer from Parkinson’s disease (PD). As a neurodegenerative disease it is difficult to manage with adult-onset and slow progression with both both motor (walking problems, slowed movements, tremors, etc) and non-motor (anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, etc) symptoms. Current treatments focus on symptoms and clinical assessments based on intermittent, subjective evaluations with a 20 minute visit to a neurologist every six months. This cannot capture the daily fluctuation of symptoms effectively. Non-motor symptoms remain under-assessed and …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
- Research centre(s)
- QUT Design Lab
Design Lab
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