Student topics

Due to stakeholder attention, companies are increasingly disclosing social and environmental performance information within their annual and corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports.OutcomesThis study will investigate whether these disclosures reflect real performance, and thereby create accountability practices by corporations. Both Australian and international companies are the focus of this project.The project considers both qualitative and quantitative methods.

Study level

Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Accountancy

Organisations are increasingly moving toward self-service technology (where consumers deliver services themselves using technological interfaces). While this increases organisational efficiencies, it has the potential to significantly impact customer engagement with the organisation. We're seeking a Masters or PhD student to investigate the human factors involved in self-service technology delivery: How do situational factors impact consumers' adoption of self-service technologies? What motivators and inhibitors impact self-service technology usage? Do consumers always respond appropriately within self-service environments? The successful applicant for this …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Biodegradable scaffolds are increasingly used to treat critical-sized bone defects, yet their in vivo degradation kinetics remain poorly understood. Existing analyses rely on limited morphometric measurements and lack automated computational tools. This project will use a unique longitudinal micro-CT dataset to characterize scaffold degradation over time, providing quantitative insights to support the design of next-generation biodegradable orthopedic implants.

Study level

Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering

Research centre(s)

Centre for Biomedical Technologies
Centre for Biomedical Technologies

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

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

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

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

Contemporary patient care is delivered through complex, multi-step workflows that span triage, assessment, diagnosis, documentation, care coordination, treatment, and follow-up. Many steps in these workflows are repetitive, cognitively burdensome, or prone to delays and errors, and a substantial share of clinicians' time is consumed by tasks that require limited clinical judgement, such as documentation, information retrieval, and administrative coordination. Persistent workforce shortages, rising demand, and clinician burnout have intensified interest in whether some of these tasks can be safely delegated …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy

Faculty

Faculty of Health

School

School of Public Health and Social Work

Research centre(s)

Centre for Data Science

Medical image registration is the process of finding a spatial transformation that aligns a medical scan or image (X-ray, CT, MR, US, PET etc.) to another scan or image for comparison. Example use of image registration includes mapping one patient's brain MRI onto another's, or tracking organ motion across breathing cycles in lung CT. Accurate registration is a primary requirement of a wide range of clinical workflows, including disease progression monitoring, treatment planning, and atlas-based segmentation.Diffeomorphic registration methods constrain the …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Engineering

School

School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics

Athletes, fans and commentators often believe that success generates momentum: winning a crucial point, game or set may increase confidence and make subsequent success more likely. This idea is commonly described as the “hot-hand” effect. However, decades of research have produced mixed findings. Some studies suggest that streaks are largely perceived rather than real, while others find evidence that previous success can influence later performance through confidence, strategic adjustment, physiological responses or changes in risk-taking.This project investigates winner–loser effects in …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Economics and Finance

Research centre(s)

Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology
Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that the effectiveness of public-health rules depends not only on what governments require, but also on whether people change their everyday behaviour. Lockdowns, gathering limits and movement restrictions were intended to reduce contact and transmission, yet compliance varied widely between countries, regions and moments in time. One potentially important but underexplored source of behavioural pressure is sport. Football victories can create strong emotions, collective identity and incentives for fans to gather, celebrate and travel, even when …

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Economics and Finance

Research centre(s)

Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology
Centre for Behavioural Economics, Society and Technology

Universities are among the most enduring institutions in society, yet they now face an unprecedented combination of pressures — from financial constraints and geopolitical tensions to the rise of generative AI and growing expectations around societal impact. Despite their well-documented role in driving innovation for others, how universities innovate themselves as organisations remains surprisingly understudied. This creates a timely and important opportunity for scholarly inquiry into the drivers, barriers, and processes of innovation within higher education institutions.

Study level

PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours

Faculty

Faculty of Business and Law

School

School of Management