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 90 matching student topics

Displaying 1–12 of 90 results

Using systems architecture to model neuropathic pain

Neuropathic pain effects '1 in every 10 adults over the age of 30'. The treatments available for neuropathic pain can at best be described as having 'moderate efficacy'. Due to the nature of neuropathic pain, the ability to scientifically study and understand its fundamental causes has been limited to animal models and trials. There are over 27 animal models for neuropathic pain where pain has been induced by macroscopic and microscopic nerve lesions, chemotherapy, viral infections and diabetes mellitus.Looking at …

Study level
PhD
School
School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering

A soft robotic manipulator for spinal surgery

The geriatric population in Australia (4.2 million 2020, ABS), is growing steadily with numbers expected to double in the coming years. Incidences of spinal disorders requiring surgical treatment are therefore predicted to increase, incurring an estimated lifetime cost of AUD 3.7 billion per case (The Treasury). Robotics, an increasingly important component of modern medicine, is well suited to address the minimally invasive surgical needs of treating the spine.This project proposes the use of a soft-robotic manipulator to carry out spinal …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Engineering
School
School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics
Research centre(s)
Centre for Robotics

Low-cost portable Magnetic Resonance Imaging for clinical applications

The aim of this project is to develop accurate low-cost medical imaging methodology for pseudo-3D mapping of Mammographic Density (MD) within the breast. MD is the degree of radio-opacity (“whiteness”) in an X-ray mammogram. It has implications for breast cancer risk, ease of detection of breast cancer, and monitoring of the efficacy of hormonal breast cancer prevention or anti-cancer treatments.Healthcare ChallengeThere is a growing need for affordable and accurate quantitative assessment of MD without ionising radiation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) …

Study level
Master of Philosophy, Honours
Faculty
Faculty of Science
School
School of Chemistry and Physics

How do healthy people sleep? Biomechanics, physiology, and environment - what matters most?

In the Westernized world a person typically spends one third of their life in bed, with more time spent sleeping in a bed than in any other single activity. Sleep amount and quality of sleep have a direct impact on mood, behaviour, motor skills and overall quality of life. Yet, despite how important restful sleep is for the body to maintain good health, there is a comparatively small amount of studies evaluating key multi-factorial and biomechanical determinants of restful sleep …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Engineering
School
School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Research centre(s)
Centre for Biomedical Technologies

Race for the surface: helping implants to win the race

The recent COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of how difficult it is to control infectious diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms are known to be extremely 'smart' and are able to quickly develop mechanisms against most of our strategies aimed at eradicating them.Our group is focused on bacterial infections to implants and medical devices. We are in the pursuit to outsmart the bacteria to develop the next generation medical device and implant materials.When a biomaterial is implanted into the body and bacteria get into …

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

Bacteria - mammalian cell interactions in implant-associated infections

The recent COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of how difficult it is to control infectious diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms are known to be extremely 'smart' and are able to quickly develop mechanisms against most of our strategies aimed at eradicating them. Our group is focused on bacterial infections to implants and medical devices. We are in the pursuit to outsmart the bacteria to develop the next generation medical device and implant materials.Anthony Gristina conceptualized in 1987 that bacteria compete with tissue cells …

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

Understanding and manipulating bacterial motility for infection control (PhD)

The recent COVID 19 pandemic reminds us of how difficult it is to control infectious diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms are known to be extremely 'smart' and are able to quickly develop mechanisms against most of our strategies aimed at eradicating them. Our group is focused on bacterial infections to implants and medical devices. We are in the pursuit to outsmart the bacteria to develop the next generation medical device and implant materials.Bacterial motility/movement and group-coordination on surfaces and in 3-dimensional environment …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Engineering
School
School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Research centre(s)
Centre for Biomedical Technologies

Understanding and manipulating bacterial motility for infection control

The recent COVID 19 pandemic reminds us of how difficult it is to control infectious diseases. Pathogenic microorganisms are known to be extremely 'smart' and are able to quickly develop mechanisms against most of our strategies aimed at eradicating them. Our group is focused on bacterial infections to implants and medical devices. We are in the pursuit to outsmart the bacteria to develop the next generation medical device and implant materials.Bacterial motility/movement and group-coordination on surfaces and in 3-dimensional environment …

Study level
PhD
Faculty
Faculty of Engineering
School
School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Research centre(s)
Centre for Biomedical Technologies

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

Involuntary Treatment for Mental Illness: Under what circumstances is it ethically justified?

Dr Sam Boyle is looking for candidates wanting to explore the ethical and legal issues associated with providing involuntary treatment for people with mental illnesses. Candidates may explore this issue in relation to ethics, human rights, or any other relevant angle, including an international comparative approach.

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

Australian Centre for Health Law Research

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

Advanced artificial intelligence based ultrasound imaging applications

Our research in the space of advanced quantitative medical imaging is investigating how to use ultrasound as a real time volumetric mapping tool of human tissues, to guide in a reliable and accurate way complex medical procedures1. We have developed several novel methods which make use of the most cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology2. For example, to show where the treatment target and the organs at risk are at all times during treatments in radiation therapy3, 4; or to inform robots …

Study level
PhD, Master of Philosophy
Faculty
Faculty of Health
School
School of Clinical Sciences
Research centre(s)
Centre for Biomedical Technologies

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