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.

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Found 45 matching student topics

Displaying 25–36 of 45 results

Human rights and ageing

Dr Bridget Lewis is interested in supervising students who wish to undertake research about human rights and ageing. There has been increasing focus on the importance of recognising, promoting and protecting the human rights of older people. This has been brought into sharp focus in recent times by, for example, the COVID-19 pandemic. Please contact the supervisor if you are interested in undertaking a PhD in this area. This topic is led by the QUT School of Law within the …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Law
Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

Housing and older people

Associate Professor Tina Cockburn is interested in supervising students who wish to undertake research about housing and older people (including assets for care arrangements, retirement villages and aged care facilities). Safe housing is a human right not enjoyed by all, particularly for older women who may have experienced financial insecurity throughout the life course. This is a significant issue facing modern Australian society, particularly in light of an anticipated economic downturn and increasing unemployment. Please contact the supervisor if you …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Law
Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

Financial security and ageing

Dr Kelly Purser is interested in supervising students who wish to undertake research about estate planning, financial security and ageing. Financial security as people age is something that is determined by the whole of life course, not just what people do as they near retirement. It is therefore important to consider the implications of future planning on the life able to be led 'post-retirement'. This includes not only estate planning tools such as wills and enduring documents, but also financial …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Law
Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

Genome to phenome: exploiting multi-omics and deep learning strategies to decipher importance of isoforms in health and behaviour

The molecular process that leads to multiple mRNA transcripts being produced from the same segment of DNA (aka gene) is known as alternative splicing (AS). This is a common form of regulation in higher eukaryotes, enabling the production of novel protein isoforms, which in turn are known to have a big impact on phenotype. Understanding the regulatory factors involved in AS, including epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation, will offer key insights into important biological phenomena (health disease, behaviour, production). …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Science
School
School of Biology and Environmental Science

The use of chatbots for mental healthcare and emotional wellbeing

According to the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability, with 300 million globally suffering from it while fewer than half of those affected receive treatment. New Apps aim to help users manage their mental state, from meditation apps to more therapeutic platforms like Joyable. And a new Facebook Messenger chatbot called Woebot tries to help people with depression and other mental disorders through education and mood tracking. The focus of this research is to investigate consumers’ …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations

Improving human health through the microbiome

Every person harbours a unique collection of microorganisms - the majority of which reside in the gastrointestinal tract - that influences nearly every aspect of human health. As such, the gut microbiome is emerging as a potential tool for the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of diseases.However, microbiome studies yield vast amounts of data, and the complexity of the microbiome makes it difficult to decipher interactions between microorganisms, host cells and environmental factors.

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Biomedical Sciences
Research centre(s)

Centre for Microbiome Research

Defining human immune responses to a healthy gut microbiome

Many human diseases are thought to involve interactions between the gut microbiome and the immune system which shape the nature and function of immunity. These interactions between host and environment are thought to be critical regulators of health and disease.In autoimmune diseases many studies have associated presence or absence of particular microbial species with diseases and some studies have shown influence of disease-related genetics on the composition of the gut microbiome. However, no studies to date have formally addressed the …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Biomedical Sciences
Research centre(s)

Centre for Microbiome Research

Legal, multidisciplinary and public health research regarding child abuse and neglect

Professor Ben Mathews is an internationally recognised expert in multiple legal areas connected with child abuse and neglect. These include sexual abuse generally, physical abuse and corporal punishment, domestic violence, civil claims for child abuse, statutes of limitation, mandatory reporting laws, institutional child abuse, child protection systems, criminal prosecution, prevention, regulation and oversight, public health and public health law analyses, and children's rights. Ben welcomes all enquiries about topics connected with these themes.In addition, he is currently leading the Australian …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Law
Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

Community and Public Health Nutrition Workforce

The training of a specialised community and public health nutrition (CPHN) workforce assumes they are optimally placed to address food and nutrition issues at a population and community level. However, concomitant with the rise of diet as the leading risk factor contributing to the burden of disease in Australia, has been a dramatic disinvestment in this workforcePermanent, full time nutritionist positions embedded in communities or population settings are few. If an organisation invests in a nutrition intervention it is increasingly …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences

Using agricultural waste and organic amendments for sustainable agriculture and soil health

Optimising the application rates of organic amendments in agricultural soils is one of the most promising and practical solutions to reduce nitrogen (N) losses into the environment while maintaining an economically-adequate crop production.Organic amendments alone often don't meet the crop's needs. Consequently, a supplementary application of N synthetic fertiliser is needed in conventional farming systems to meet perceived production needs.Accounting for the amount of plant-available N (PAN) released by organic amendments and combining this with N-fertiliser will:ensure N demands of …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Science
School
School of Biology and Environmental Science
Research centre(s)
Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy

Medical selfies and patient generated health data

Smartphones and wearable technologies provide exciting opportunities for patients and health professionals to transform healthcare.Patients can benefit from photos (“medical selfies”) taken on their smartphone to record a condition that they want to discuss with a health professional. Wearable devices allow patients to semi-automatically collect data about their physical activity, sleep, mood, diet, etc.This data can help patients to better understand a health concern, its underlying causes and the impact of treatments.Clinicians, on the other hand, can benefit from medical …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Science
School
School of Computer Science

Medical litigation, medical law and compensation for medical negligence

Tina Cockburn is interested in supervising PhD students in the area of patient safety law — focusing on medical litigation and compensation for medical negligence, communication of information to patients (including consent and post treatment open disclosure), regulation of health care professionals and the regulation of innovative medical treatment and new technologies.

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Law
Research centre(s)

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

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