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 9 matching student topics
Displaying 1–9 of 9 results
Smart composite scaffolds for bone repair
Millions of people suffer bone loss each year through cancer excisions, traumatic accidents and congenital birth defectsThis project will develop advanced bioactive composite scaffolds to heal bone defects using a technology terms melt electrowriting. You will use a special kind of 3D printing to create scaffolds that stimulate bone cells (osteoblasts) to create new bone and will optimise the formulation, size, shape and culture conditions for the scaffolds.
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Development of bioengineered 3D tumour models for preclinical breast cancer research
3D organoid model technologies have led to the development of innovative tools for precision medicine in cancer treatment. Yet, the lack of resemblance to native tumours, and the limited ability to test drugs in a high-throughput mode, has limited translation to practice.This project will progress organoid models by using advanced tissue engineering technologies and high-throughput 3D bioprinting to recreate 'mini-tumours-in-a-dish' from a patient’s own tumour cells, and study the effects of various components of the tumour microenvironment on drug response.In …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Modelling the osteoid: A quantitative experimental–mathematical platform for osteocyte network formation and transport
Project Reference: #4MPQC-NATP3Preferred Project Start: Late 2026/Early 2027How does a newly formed bone matrix develop into a mineralised tissue containing a functional osteocyte network, and how does this transformation affect the movement of nutrients and signals?During bone formation, osteoblasts produce a soft, initially unmineralised extracellular matrix known as osteoid. Some osteoblasts gradually become embedded within this matrix and transition into osteocytes, extending dendritic processes that connect them into an intricate three-dimensional network. As the osteoid matures and mineralises, its architecture, …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- 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
Understanding cellular-spatial interplay between osteocyte networks and their environment using bioengineered 3D bone models
Project Reference: #1MPQC-NATP1Preferred Project Start: ImmediateHow do bone-forming cells communicate to build and maintain a functional bone matrix?Osteoblasts produce new bone extracellular matrix, while osteocytes become embedded within this matrix and form an interconnected network that helps regulate bone formation, adaptation and remodelling. Although these cells work closely together in the body, their interactions are difficult to reproduce and investigate using conventional two-dimensional cell culture.Bone-cell behaviour is strongly influenced by the surrounding microenvironment, including its composition, mechanical properties, mineral content, …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Regenerating bone following osteosarcoma tumour resection in a post-chemotherapy treated bone defect
Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone cancer in children and adolescents. Standard treatment involves surgical resection of the tumour combined with systemic chemotherapy. While most patients undergo limb-sparing surgery to avoid amputation, this often results in significant morbidity and lifelong complications. These complications stem from the creation of large bone defects, poor healing outcomes, the need for revision surgeries, and long-term prosthetic failureThere is a critical clinical need for regenerative strategies that restore bone integrity and function following …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Optimising bone shape with memory networks
Bone is a dynamic tissue that optimises its shape to the mechanical loads that it carries. Bone mass is accrued where loads are high, and reduced where loads are low. This adaptation of bone tissue to mechanical loads is well-known and observed in many instances. However, what serves as a reference mechanical state in this shape optimisation remains largely unknown.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Mathematical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Tracking small bones for robotic surgery
Robotic knee surgery can perform femoral and tibial resection. Currently it is not possible to use robotic technology for patella preparation; to do so will require miniaturisation of tracking, effective clamping of the patella and controlled use of a saw. This project will aim to develop the technology for any small bone resection with a robot, taking the patella as a test case.
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
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