Meet our emerging industry leaders

Here you can meet the HDR candidates in our Emerging Industry Leaders Program and further explore their skills, qualifications and research expertise.

You can also meet previous participants from the program.

Trimester 1 2025 participants

Click on individual profiles for more information and to connect via LinkedIn.

Mona Afshar

BE(Elec), MBA(Mktg)

Languages: English, Russian, Persian.

Research topic: Developing strategies that help businesses better manage consumer concerns, improve marketing effectiveness, and enhance customer trust.

Specialist area: Travel risks and consumer decision-making.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Organisational Advisor, Research and Development.

Hasitha Kuruwita Arachchige

BSc(Hons), Msc(Data Science)

Languages: English, Sinhalese.

Research topic: The advancement of predictive models in healthcare, particularly in improving mortality risk prediction for TBI patients in the ICU.

Specialist area: Artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Roles: Data Scientist, Research and Development, Health Modelling.

Yafan Cai

BA, MMP

Languages: Mandarin Chinese, English, Cantonese.

Research topic: How Global South narratives are marginalised in mainstream media and exploring ways to amplify these voices using the Transformative Journalism Model. These findings can help the news industry foster equitable storytelling and inclusive journalistic practices.

Specialist area: Global media news narratives about Muslim women.

Roles: Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Research Administrator, Journalist.

Monique Cowan

BDes(Arch), MUrbanDevDes

Languages: English.

Research topic: Challenging the current processes within the built environment industry.

Specialist area: Social capital, community engagement and urban design.

Roles: Stakeholder Engagement/Management, Data Analyst/Governance, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer.

Sarah Hakeem

BA(Econ), MSc(Econ)

Languages: English, Urdu.

Research topic: Health economic cost and benefit analysis, tobacco endgame strategies and the costs of illness.

Specialist area: Health Economics and welfare expenditures.

Roles: Health Modelling, Research and Development, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer Development.

Rakiza Hussein

BBiomedSc, DipMgt, MBA(IntBusLaw), DipBusRes

Languages: English, Hindi, Fijian.

Research topic: Shaping workforce strategy, policy and regulation by advancing understanding of identity, transition and generativity among senior doctors. .

Specialist area: Senior doctors’ professional identity and late-career transitions, bridging clinical insight with policy, AI adaptation and intergenerational dynamics. .

Roles: Organisational Advisor, Project Manager/Coordinator, Research and Development.

Chantal James

BA(Soc), MA(QuantMethSoc)

Languages: English, French.

Research topic: Evidence-based insights into how digital peer support influences patient trust, autonomy and health system engagement.

Specialist area: The role of fertility-focused online health communities in shaping trust, emotional support and healthcare decision-making.

Roles: Research and Development, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Stakeholder Engagement/Management.

Ali Khan

GradCertMktg, GradDipPubPol, PostGradDipResAdmin, MPSectMgt, MBA

Languages: English, Hindi, Urdu.

Research topic: Creation, adoption and implementation of inclusive disability policies.

Specialist area: Disability accommodations, legislative duties and higher education in Australia.

Roles: Organisational Advisor, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Stakeholder Engagement/Management.

Rashalle Laphatrada Marom

BA(EngMassComm), MBA(Entrepreneurship), DipIntDesDec, DipBusRes

Languages: Thai, English, French, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese.

Research topic: Promoting Social Media and Communication Strategies to prevent Family Domestic Violence Financial and Legal Systems Abuse tactics in Queensland, Australia.

Specialist area: Safeguarding individuals, combating crime, addressing domestic violence and creating awareness of financial abuse as a crime.

Roles: Organisational Advisor, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Research and Development.

Hong Lan

BPsychSc, BEng, MSc

Languages: English, Mandarin.

Research topic: Applied research and technology development in the mental health industry.

Specialist area: Research of executive function impairments and their impact on daily functioning and occupational performance.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Research and Development, Health Modelling.

Ying Liu

BCrimCJ(Hons)

Languages: English, Mandarin.

Research topic: Evidence-based policy, culturally informed interventions and community support strategies.

Specialist area: The study of intimate partner violence, with a focus on immigration-related stress.

Roles: Research Administrator, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Research and Development

Bo Li

BCompSc, MDataSc, DipResCompSc

Languages: Mandarin, English.

Research topic: Data-centric AI and test-time scenario AI under spatial-temporal graphs.

Specialist area: Machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms, especially in spatial-temporal graphs.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Research Administrator, Research and Development.

Sarah McManus

BHealthSc, GradCertAppSc(OccHyg), MTeach(Sec), MEdProfStudRes

Languages: English, Japanese.

Research topic: Food sustainability education and policy creation to support the health and wellbeing of individuals and the planet.

Specialist area: Mixed-methods research regarding sustainable food literacy education.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Project Manager/Coordinator.

Kristin Mcgarry

BJourn, BBus(Hons)

Languages: English.

Research topic: Creation and evaluation of mental health programs.

Specialist area: Digital social emotional learning programs and gamification.

Roles: Research and Development, Stakeholder Engagement/Management, Project Manager/Coordinator.

Edward Narayan

BSc(Biol&Chem), PhD, GradCertEd(HE)

Languages: English, Hindi, Fijian.

Research topic: Science education, scientific literacy and university student success.

Specialist area: Comparative physiology, stress endocrinology, animal welfare and science education.

Roles: Research and Conservation Manager, Research and Development, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer.

Arslan Nizami

MEng(Elec)

Languages: English, Urdu.

Research topic: Contributing to better communication systems in challenging environments by filling the gap between non-ideal terrain on UHF signal propagation.

Specialist area: Designing, delivering and supporting critical communication solutions such as land mobile radios and broadband.

Roles: Research and Development, Materials Engineer, Pre-Sales Engineer (Telecommunications).

Biprodip Pal

BSc(CompScEng), MSc(CompScEng)

Languages: English, Bangla.

Research topic: Reliable AI, Multi-agent AI and Decentralised Multimodal AI.

Specialist area: Reliable decentralised machine Learning.

Roles: Health Modelling, Research and Development, Research Administrator.

Junjun Pan

BCompSc(Hons), MPhil(MedMicrobiol)

Languages: English, Mandarin.

Research topic: Anomaly detection, fraud detection, spammer detection and medical image recognition.

Specialist area: Graph learning, anomaly detection and AI for medical purposes.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Health Modelling, Machine Learning Scientist.

Hasandi Perera

BBusCom(Hons), DipBusRes

Languages: English, Sinhalese.

Research topic: Charting New Frontiers as Minorities: The Global Career Journeys of South Asian Females in Emerging Economies.

Specialist area: International human resource management and employee relations.

Roles: Research Administrator, Research and Development, Academic.

Sajani Perera

BBus(IntMgt), MBA(Entrepreneurship)

Languages: English, Sinhala.

Research topic: AI adoption, content creation and behaviour change.

Specialist area: The use of AI for content creation in social marketing.

Roles: Stakeholder Engagement/Management, Organisational Advisor, Change Management.

Sahitya Raja

BA(Arch&AncIndHist), MSc(Cons&RestCultHer)

Languages: English, Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Hindi, Italian, Spanish.

Research topic: Conservation of rock art in Northern Queensland.

Specialist area: Analytical chemistry for cultural heritage monuments and materials.

Roles: Project Manager/Coordinator, Data Analyst/Governance, Materials Engineer.

Kelsey Ramage

BSc(Chem), GradDipResSc(Chem)

Languages: English.

Research topic: Natural products chemistry and multivariate statistics.

Specialist area: Analysing large datasets, reviewing literature and communicating science to people of all ages and skill levels.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Conservation Manager, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer.

Jessee Rayner

BNutrDiet, BDM(GraphicDesign)

Languages: English.

Research topic: Improving the health and well-being of Australian children.

Specialist area: Paediatric public health.

Roles: Stakeholder Engagement/Management, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Research and Development.

Shayne Reano

BAgr, MSc(Hort)

Languages: Filipino, English, Visaya, Ilonggo.

Research topic: Improved and sustainable rubber production through plant stress management and intervention in the Philippines.

Specialist area: Plant stress physiology.

Roles: Project Manager/Coordinator, Research and Development, Research Administrator.

Sukhjit Singh

BSc(Phys), MSc(CondensedMatterPhys)

Languages: English, Italian, Hindi, Punjabi.

Research topic: Quantum sensing and quantum computing with single photons.

Specialist area: Quantum optics, quantum sensing and computing.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Research and Development, Project Manager/Coordinator.

Praveeni Sooriyamudali

BBusMgmt, MBusTech, HDipHRM

Languages: English, Sinhala.

Research topic: A practical coping mechanism to help entrepreneurs manage technology use while enhancing their wellbeing.

Specialist area: Digital technology behaviour and entrepreneurial wellbeing.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Research and Development, Research Administrator.

Daniella Spink

BBiomedSc(Hons)

Languages: English.

Research topic: More efficient cancer treatment and vaccinations, with improved patient outcomes.

Specialist area: The study of oral delivery of mRNA therapy and extracellular vesicles.

Roles: Project Manager/Coordinator, Research Administrator, Research and Development.

Jeewanthi Thisera

BSc(HRM), MBA(HRM)

Languages: English, Sinhala.

Research topic: A deeper understanding of employee voice gaps, how actionable voice suggestions are responded to, and how they are translated into action/implementation within organisations in the healthcare sector.

Specialist area: Employee voice.

Roles: Research and Development, Research Administrator, Data Analyst/Governance.

Gihani Vidanapathirana

BMedLabSc(Hons), MPhil(MedMicrobiol)

Languages: English, Sinhalese.

Research topic: Driving informed decision-making and paving the way for robust clinical trials, ultimately enhancing treatment efficacy and potentially improving treatment outcomes in colorectal cancer patients.

Specialist area: Cancer cell biology, molecular pathology, cytogenetics and medical microbiology.

Roles: Research and Development, Research Administrator, Project Manager/Coordinator.

Chris Wainwright

BA(IntBus), MSc(IntMktg)

Languages: English, French, Spanish.

Research topic: Youth mental health advocacy.

Specialist area: Youth mental health, peer support, community interventions, lived-experience advocacy, and public health education, with a focus on empowering young people through evidence-based programs and stakeholder collaboration.

Roles: Research and Development, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Project Manager/Coordinator.

Andrew Xia

BSc(Chem), BCApSc(HumNutr), MSc(Nutr&Diet)

Languages: English, Mandarin, Cantonese.

Research topic: Evidence-based intestinal rehabilitation by combining clinical nutrition expertise with advanced metabolic assessment techniques.

Specialist area: Nutritional and metabolic management of intestinal failure, with a focus on chyme reinfusion therapy and stable isotope tracer techniques to assess nutrient absorption and gut adaptation.

Roles: Research and Development, Change Management, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer.

Trissha Ybanez

BBiomedSc, MMedRes

Languages: English, Cebuano, Tagalog.

Research topic: Insight into mitochondrial dysfunction during ischaemia-reperfusion injury and helping identify potential therapeutic targets and strategies to protect the heart.

Specialist area: Mitochondrial function and cardioprotection in animal models of myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury.

Roles: Research Administrator, Research and Development, Project Manager/Coordinator.

Tsungcheng (Tony) Yao

BBA(InfoMgmt), MPeaceConfStud, MCS

Languages: English, Mandarin.

Research topic: Responsible AI, fairness and cyberbullying prevention.

Specialist area: The study of enhancing and customising AI solutions through psychological theory integration.

Roles: Data Analyst/Governance, Research and Development, Machine Learning Engineer/Coordinator.

Woon Jun Yu

BSc, MSc

Languages: English, Mandarin, Malay.

Research topic: Advancing translational biomedical science by connecting molecular research with real-world health outcomes.

Specialist area: Biomedical research and cancer biology.

Roles: Research and Development, Research Administrator, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer.

Yiheng (Peter) Zhang

BConMgtQS, MBus(SupplyChain), GradDipResBusMgmt

Languages: English, Mandarin, Shanghainese.

Research topic: Supply chain management, project management, sustainability, Industry 4.0, sustainable supply chain management and sustainable construction..

Specialist area: How emerging technologies can be combined with sustainable practices to drive sustainability in service supply chains, with a particular focus on the construction sector.

Roles: Project Manager/Coordinator, Policy Advisor/Developer/Officer, Research and Development.

Previous program participants

Please select some Cards to display

Get in touch

To connect with a candidate in our talent pool, email Deanne Camplejohn