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 48 matching student topics
Displaying 25–36 of 48 results
Giant viruses in the human gut microbiome
The human body is home to a vast ecosystem of microorganisms including bacteria, archaea, fungi, viruses, and bacteriophages that make up the human microbiota. These microbes and their collective genetic material, known as the microbiome, influence a wide range of physiological functions including nutrient production and absorption, the development and regulation of our immune system, protection against potential pathogens, and even our mood and mental health. While distinct microbial communities exist throughout the body, the gut microbiome has gained particular …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for Microbiome Research
Bio-production pathways: how much greenhouse gas emissions can be saved with bio-products?
The climate emergency is spurring a new generation of products and manufacturing industries with low or net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (carbon footprint). This will include the manufacture of bio-products (bio-fuels, bio-plastics, bio-materials, bio-chemicals) from biomass (residues and wastes from agriculture, forestry, food waste etc.). It will be particularly important for Queensland, due to its ideal climatic conditions for growing biomass to support a bio-based manufacturing industry. These new industries will need information about the net GHG emission savings from …
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Capture and reuse of phosphate nutrients
Nutrients such as ammonium and phosphate species are essential in agriculture. However, release of excessive amounts of nutrients to waterways may result in eutrophication which can lead to toxic algae blooms, killing of fish and destruction of the environment.Compounding this issue is the fact that phosphate rock sources are gradually being exhausted. Hence, finding a means to capture and reuse phosphate species from sources such as wastewater treatment plants is potentially attractive.Consequently, this project involves the development of new phosphate …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Life cycle assessments in the hospital space for waste reduction
Recovering, recycling, reuse and reducing waste in the health sector becomes more and more important as it will help hospitals to become more sustainable and to reduce their impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Life cycle assessments of materials, for examples plastic packaging, is an important tool to establish the best practice for recovery and recycling of these materials.
- Study level
- Honours, Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for a Waste-Free World
Predicting good sleep using computer science: Can we use machine learning to find out 'what's the best bed?'
In the Westernised 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 determinants of restful sleep in non-pathological, …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Developing composite products for use in light steel wall and floor systems
The project will investigate the potential use of a range of composite products made of gypsum plasterboard, steel sheeting and insulation foams to improve the fire resistance of light steel wall and floor systems. It will involve investigating the potential composite products’ suitability, conducting fire tests of small scale wall/floor assemblies (1.2mx.1.2m) made of such composite products to understand how they behave in fire and determine their fire resistance levels. Civil and Mechanical Engineering students with interest in structural and …
- Study level
- Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Early prevention of inflammation-related diseases: characterization and use of milk and infant formula
Our belief in the importance of the 'first thousand days' and the critical part that nutrition plays has led my group to studies evaluating the composition and actions of milk and infant formula.Our studies of exosomes in biological fluids have led us to consider their presence and potential roles in milk and thus nutrition. To date, we have mainly determined proteomic contents (cargo) of exosomes but have been increasingly swayed by the literature suggesting important roles for microRNAs in general …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Substances and the sciences: Investigating substance use (drugs and alcohol) and its effects on scientific creativity and productivity
The core idea of this VRES project is to help develop a survey on drug and alcohol use by scientists and explore its relationship with their scientific creativity and productivity metrics. Substance use among scientists is an intriguing yet underexplored area of research, and this project aims to fill the existing knowledge gaps by conducting a comprehensive study.In the fast-paced world of science and academia, researchers often face numerous challenges, and it is essential to understand how external factors, such …
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Economics and Finance
- Research centre(s)
-
Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology
Designing micromobility for equitable and responsible use
Shared electric micromobility (e.g., e-bike, e-scooter) schemes are common in Australian cities, and all over the world. Despite their rapid growth in recent years, there are many challenges faced by operators and local jurisdictions. This includes Illegal and antisocial behaviours, inconveniences caused by vehicle placement, inequitable access, and narrow rider demographics (i.e., gendered activity with predominantly young male users).Electric micromobility is positioned as an important transport modality as urban populations expand and there is increasing strain placed on existing transport …
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Creative Industries, Education and Social Justice
- School
- School of Design
- Research centre(s)
-
Design Lab
QIMR07 - Quantifying the use of newly proposed melanoma excision services in Australia
Location: QIMR Berghofer, Herston.Australia has the highest incidence rates of melanoma in the world, contributing to significant financial burdens on the Australian healthcare system. Complete excisions of suspicious melanoma remain the recommended diagnostic procedure for aiding melanoma diagnosis. From November 1 2022, new Medicare Benefit Schedule (MBS) items were introduced to resolve confusion around the claiming of excisions for melanoma.
- Study level
- Vacation research experience scheme
- School
- School of Biomedical Sciences
Medication and dietary supplement use and symptom severity of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is highly prevalent and clinically problematic, occurring in up to 60–80% of people receiving chemotherapy. Despite the high prevalence and significant patient and healthcare burden of CIPN, treatment options are limited.This project will explore the association between medication and dietary supplement use and symptom severity of CIPN to identify factors that might worsen or improve CIPN symptoms.
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Health
- School
- School of Nursing
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Healthcare Transformation
Cancer and Palliative Care Outcomes Centre
Exploring how entrepreneurs use social media to influence users' emotions and achieve virality
Social media has become an integral part of our lives – we click, like and share posts with our personal and professional networks each day. The concept of sharing is activated by psychological stimulation, be it emotional or physical (Tellis et al., 2019). But why are certain types of online content more viral than others?Achieving ‘virality’ is not random and isn’t just about creating engaging content. Instead there are mechanics that are planned to achieve this type of ‘social currency’. …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations
- Research centre(s)
-
Australian Centre for Entrepreneurship Research
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