Undergraduate research program
Develop your analytical, critical thinking, and communication skills through research
The QAAFI Summer and Winter Research Programs provide UQ-enrolled students with an opportunity to gain research experience working alongside some of the university’s leading academics and researchers.
QAAFI are proud participants in the UQ Undergraduate Research Program. It is an opportunity for you to develop your analytical, critical thinking, and communication skills through research.
Research projects are open to UQ undergraduate, honours, and masters by coursework students offered in two rounds for the winter university vacation break during June and July and summer university vacation break during November and February.
All successful scholars will receive a scholarship for the duration of their research. Once you have checked eligibility and selected your preferred project, submit an application via StudentHub.
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QAAFI research projects open for applications for the Undergraduate Research Program
Animal Science
Project title: | Digital twins to guide breeding decisions in crop and livestock enterprises |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Digital twins are detailed simulations of enterprises, and are widely used in architecture and engineering to assess the impact of building modifications, etc. We are pioneering the application of digital twins and AI to livestock and crop breed enterprises, to assess the impact of new technologies such as genomic selection, gene editing and speed breeding. In this project, the student will build new modules for our digital software to enhance it’s capability and flexibility. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Students will gain and strengthen their skills in analysis of extremely large genomic and phenotypic data sets, efficient computer programming, and digital twin simulation. |
Suitable for: | Suitable for students studying or interested in integrating different fields of Agriculture, information technology, applied mathematics. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Prof Ben Hayes Supervisor email: b.hayes@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0434210890 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | DNA Pooling for genomic profiling of cattle herds |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Genetic improvement is a key pathway to sustainability, productivity and improved welfare of Australian beef herds. This project will develop a new tool for benchmarking individual beef herds, for key traits such as fertility, temperament and parasite resistance. The successful student will have the opportunity to analyse very large genomic and phenotypic data sets using advanced computer algorithms, as well as interacting with key players in the Northern Australian beef industry. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Students will gain and strengthen their skills in analysis of extremely large genomic and phenotypic data sets, as well as acquiring new skills in the latest sequencing technologies. |
Suitable for: | Suitable for students studying or interested in integrating different fields of Agriculture, Molecular genetics, bioinformatics and computational Biology |
Primary Supervisor: |
Supervisor name: Prof Ben Hayes, Dr Liz Ross, Dr Loan Nguyen Supervisor email: b.hayes@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0434210890 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | RNA interference as a sustainable alternative for protecting animal health |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 26-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Insect parasites cause significant damage to livestock and are primarily responsible for significant economic losses. Conventional pesticides have issues of resistance and toxicity, and there is increasing market requirement and price premiums for low-chemical and welfare-friendly production systems. We aim to explore our RNAi delivery platform to protect animals from insect parasites that cause damage. This project will result in real-world outcomes, by translating and expanding our current biotechnologies to an industry-ready tool for livestock protection. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The student will learn valuable techniques and strong skills in experimental design, molecular biology (cloning, PCR, qRTPCR, sequencing, RNA/DNA extractions), bioinformatics, material science and the application of RNAi for livestock protection. The student will work closely with Dr Karishma Mody and other members of Professor Neena Mitter’s laboratory at UQ. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in molecular biology or biotechnology. Highly suitable for Masters/Honours students. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Dr Karishma Mody Supervisor email: k.mody@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 3346 2318; 3346 2162 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Silencing the methanogens: nanocarrier enabled RNA-based reductions in ruminant methan emissions |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 26-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | The atmosphere lifetime of methane (CH4) is 12 years, which despite being shorter than carbon dioxide (CO2), poses a greater atmospheric threat, as CH4 is more efficient at trapping radiation than CO2. Kilogram for kilogram, the comparative impact of CH4 is 25 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period. Animal agriculture is a large component of livestock industry and contributes to the Australian and the global methane emissions. An average ruminant produces 250 to 500 L of methane per day, with this amount contributing a significant proportion to the total atmospheric methane content. More specifically, seventy percent of agricultural emissions are from ruminant fermentation, and 90% of these emissions are from grazing cattle, sheep, and goats. Reducing emissions from grazing livestock will require substantial research innovation, infrastructure, investment, and capacity to develop scalable science driven solutions. The recent advancements in RNA biology, bioinformatics, and integration of nanotechnology have shown various advantages in safe delivery of RNA-based technologies. This collaborative multidisciplinary project aims to deliver two unique solutions to reduce the methane emissions contributed by grazing ruminants by combining emerging RNA technology with nanotechnology. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The student will learn valuable techniques and strong skills in experimental design, molecular biology (cloning, PCR, qRTPCR, sequencing, RNA/DNA extractions), bioinformatics, material science and the application of precursor RNA for reducing cattle methane emissions. The student will work closely with Dr Karishma Mody and other members of Professor Neena Mitter’s laboratory at UQ. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in molecular biology or biotechnology. Highly suitable for Masters/Honours students. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Dr Karishma Mody Supervisor email: k.mody@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 3346 2318; 3346 2162 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | What do Australia and France have in common? Characterisation of Gllaeserrela isolates from Australi and France |
Project duration: | This is an 8-10 weeks project where the student needs to be in the laboratory to perform some microbial phenotypic testing such as the capacity of the bacteria to ferment specific sugars. The student needs to do a literature review and prepare a report and compare the results of the phenotypic tests. |
Description: | Pig respiratory diseases are of major importace in the Australian pig industry and world wide. A range of haemophilic organisms have been isolated from the upper respiratory tract of pigs with two representatives, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Glaesserella parasuis, being recognized as important pathogens. During a survey on pig respiratory diseases performed by our group, we identified and named a new bacterial species (Gllaesserella austrails). However, there are a number of Gram negative bacteria from that study that could not be identified to the species level. As well, our laboratory received an un-identifiable isolate from a group in France which according to our preliminary analysis, is closely related to a sub-set of the Australian isolates. This projects seeks to apply phenotypic as well as phylogenomic analysis to compare nine Australian and one French isolates to each other. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Basic bacteriology skills such as media preparation, aseptic bacterial culturing, phenotypic characterisation of bacteria using commercial available tests, analysis of DNA sequence of housekeeping gene(s) and performing phylogenomic analysis, comparing the phylogenomic results and phenotypic results. The project may result in taxonomical assignment of a new species which would result in the relevant publication.
Students will also be asked to produce a report and oral presentation at the end of their project |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in microbiology, molecular biology, agriculture of veterinary sciences |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Lida Omaleki Supervisor email: l.omaleki@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Beware of the Drop Bears! |
Project duration: | This is an 8-10 weeks project where the student needs to be in the laboratory to perform some microbial phenotypic testing such as the capacity of the bacteria to ferment specific sugars. The student needs to do a literature review and prepare a report and compare the results of the phenotypic tests to that of a newly developed PCR in our group. |
Description: | Recent work at UQ has confirmed that bacteria of the Pasteurellaceae family are common inhabitants of the oral cavity of marsupials. In some case, these organisms have been associated with koala bite wound infections of humans. As well, recent work by our laboratory revealed that the oral cavity of koalas has a rich Pasteurellaceae population with potentially a new genus and new species within the genus of Lonepinella (Chong et al., 2020). Our work in collaboration with QML Vetnostics also identified Lonepinella koalarum and Lonepinella-like organisms in association with koala wound infections. This project will involve applying basic microbial phenotypic tests to differentiate between 3 different groups of Lonepinella-like isolates from L. koalarum. The project will rely on our bacterial collection. If the student is keen, they can be involved the bioinformatics analysis of complete genome of the isolates. The Illumina reads of the isolates is ready to be processed on Galaxy Australia platform. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Basic bacteriology skills such as media preparation, aseptic bacterial culturing, phenotypic characterisation of bacteria using commercial available tests, analysis of DNA sequence of housekeeping gene(s) and performing phylogenomic analysis (optional), comparing the phylogenomic results and phenotypic results. The project may result in taxonomical assignment of a novel bacterial species which would result in the relevant publication.
Students will also be asked to produce a report and oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | Suitable for students studying or interested in bioinformatics, statistics, mathematics, molecular genetics, quantitative genetics, computer science or agricultural science. Skills in these areas are all considered favourably for this project, however they are not mandatory. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Lida Omaleki Supervisor email: l.omaleki@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Characterising a mystery poll mutation in Australia cattle |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project |
Description: | The poll phenotype in cattle describes the absence of horns and is a highly desirable trait in the beef and dairy industry due to its favourable welfare implications. The poll phenotype is controlled by three known mutations on chromosome 1, all of which are structural variants. Recently a number of animals which are phenotypically poll but do not carry any of the known poll mutations have been identified in northern Australia.
Using the latest long read DNA sequencing technology this project will aim to sequence samples from these animals and identify the mutation responsible for their poll phenotype. This project will provide students with the unique opportunity to develop both laboratory and bioinformatics skills and will encompass everything from DNA extraction and sequencing to mapping DNA reads and visualising genomic variants. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain the skills necessary for the generation and processing of whole genome sequence data. This will involve both the wet-lab skills to extract purify and sequence DNA as well as the bioinformatics skills to process the resulting data and visualise mutations.
Scholars will also have the opportunity to generate or contribute to publications from their research and develop their science communication by presenting at lab group meetings. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd – 4th year undergraduate, or masters students with a background in any of the following: genetics, genomics, biological sciences, bioinformatics, agricultural science, or computer sciences. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Harrison Lamb Supervisor email: Harrison.lamb@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0458 007 808 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Optomising on-farm genotyping for Australia livestock |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project.. |
Description: | QAAFI researchers have developed a pipeline for rapid on-farm genotyping of livestock. However, a number of steps are yet to be optimised before this pipeline can be commercialised. Steps yet to be optimised include both wet-lab and dry-lab components and the student will have the option to choose which area they would like to develop their skills in. Examples of themes include:
This project aims any one of these steps in the pipeline to reduce turnaround time and cost for the future commercialisation of this pipeline. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain skills in either wet-lab or dry-lab aspects of next generation sequencing and bioinformatics based on their preference. For example, wet-lab based students will gain skills in DNA extraction and purification as well as third generation DNA sequencing. Dry-lab based students will develop skills that include working with the UQ high performance computing system, processing whole genome sequence data, sequence read mapping, genotyping and genotype imputation.
Scholars will also have the opportunity to generate or contribute to publications from their research and develop their science communication by presenting at lab group meetings. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd – 4th year undergraduate students, or masters students, with a background in any of the following: agriculture, genetics, genomics, biological sciences, bioinformatics or computer sciences. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Harrison Lamb Supervisor email: Harrison.lamb@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0458 007 808 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Discovery and validation of Biomarker(s) for ectoparasite resistance to cattle |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, and the diseases it transmits lead to massive economic losses to cattle industries in tropical and subtropical countries. The widespread resistance to acaricide drugs and the absence of an effective vaccine for tick control led to the genetic selection of host resistance as a method of choice for non-chemical control of cattle ticks. Previously, studies attempted to identify genetic markers for the resistance of cattle to tick burden, for example, immunological methods, genome-wide analysis studies, and quantitative trait analysis in tropically adapted genotypes. As gene expression results and actual dynamics occurring at the protein level often do not correlate due to post-transcriptional, posttranslational and degradation regulation. A large-scale study of the host proteome offers a useful solution to investigate the variation in the host response to tick exposure and thus provides reliable biomarkers to assist in selection to support traditional breeding programs. We have identified some potential biomarkers (proteins and mRNA) which will be validated in the field. We still have samples from different time points which could be investigated further to study the host response to tick infestation at different time points. Therefore, in this project, ELISA and qPCR will be used to validate the proteins and mRNA biomarker(s) in the field samples. In addition, quantitative proteomics will be used to investigate the variation in proteomes of tick-resistant and -susceptible cattle, subsequently exploring the systemic and local host response to tick infestation. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The student will gain skills in quantitative proteomics, mass spectrometry, ELISA, qPCR, and Bioinformatics. There will be a potential opportunity to publish the research output as a research article. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to students with interest in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Bioinformatics / Biotechnology. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Dr Ali Raza Supervisor email: a.raza@uq.edu.au Supervisor Phone: 07 3346 2317 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. |
Site: | QBP, Building 80, St Lucia Campus |
Project title: | Biopolymers to deliver feed additives for reducing enteric methane in cattle |
Project duration: | 8 – 10 weeks, 20-36 hrs per week, on-site attendance required |
Description: | Methane is a potent greenhouse that contributes to global warming. Methane emissions from the beef cattle sector account for a significant portion of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Our work is developing novel biopolymer technologies to deliver compounds such as the synthetic feed additive 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) to cattle to mitigate methane production. Initial studies will involve in vitro fermentations as a model of the cattle rumen environment and will study biopolymer formulations incorporating 3-NOP. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain experience in sample preparation and chemical analysis of 3-NOP levels in fermentation samples and other matrices. Quantification will use matrix matched standards or the standard addition technique and use HPLC-UV and/or LC-MS/MS, or other novel methods. They will gain experience in data analysis of results. Students may also be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with laboratory experience or a background in chemistry, 3-4th year students, UQ enrolled students only. |
Primary Supervisors: | Please make contact prior to submitting an application: Supervisor name: Dr Natasha Hungerford Supervisor email: n.hungerford@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0403 879 064 Staff Page: https://qaafi.uq.edu.au/profile/117/natasha-hungerford or Supervisor name: Prof Mary Fletcher Supervisor email: mary.fletcher@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0417 753 791 Staff Page: https://qaafi.uq.edu.au/profile/306/mary-fletcher |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. |
Site: | Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) Health and Food Sciences Precinct, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains |
Project title: | Strain Indentification and virulence (toxin) genes characterisation of procine Escherichia coli isolates from effluent |
Project duration: | The student will need to spend 8-10 weeks (36 hrs per week) in the laboratory performing bacterial culturing, DNA extractions, and PCR’s. The student needs to do a literature review, prepare a comprehensive research report and present their findings during laboratory meeting. |
Description: | Enteric colibacillosis is an infectious disease of nursing and weanling pigs characterized primarily by severe diarrhea and occasionally by generalize body edema. Colibacillosis is caused by colonization of the small intestine by enterotoxigenic strains of Escherichia coli (ETEC). Among the most common pathogenic strains of E. coli causing disease in pigs are F4, F5, F6, F18, and F41. These pathogenic strains produce varying combinations of enterotoxins that act locally to induce fluid and electrolyte secretion into the intestinal lumen, resulting in diarrhea, dehydration, and metabolic acidosis. This project aimed to identify different strains of ETEC in effluent sample collected from the participating piggery at various life stages. Furthermore, this project also intended to characterise the virulence (toxin) genes profile of ETEC isolates using Multiplex PCR. This study would be a part of a bigger project funded by Australian Pork Limited (APL) and would help in selection of appropriate diagnostic markers for on farm early detection of ETEC in piggery effluent. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: |
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Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in microbiology, molecular biology, biotechnology or veterinary sciences. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Noman Naseem Supervisor email: m.naseem@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0401732066 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | EcoSciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park (4102), Brisbane. |
Project title: | Prioritizing genome variants actively responding selection |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Project summary: Interest in mapping the impacts of selection on the genome is increasing. Recent studies show that polygenic selection is the major selective force both during and after domestication in agricultural species. Under directional selection, alleles will be at significantly different frequencies in more recent generations compared with distant ones. This creates a statistical association between allele frequencies at a selected locus and an individual’s generation number. Until now, most of the studies used the selection mapping methods which rely on either allele frequency differences between diverged or artificially defined populations (e.g., FST), or the disruption of normal LD patterns (e.g., ROH) to investigate the effect of selection. In cattle, these methods have successfully identified genomic regions under selection that control Mendelian and simple traits, or large-effect genes involved in domestication. Availability of the substantial number of animals genotyped from the most recent generations provide incredible power for detecting small allele frequency changes due to ongoing selection. The study will provide insight into the biology of polygenic selection and prioritize variants that are actively responding selection. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | This project provides student with a deep understanding of bioinformatics skills, project design, scientific communication, and analysis skills in a fast-developing area of genetics research. The student will work closely with Dr Mehrnush Forutan and Professor Ben Hayes and other members of Professor Ben Hayes laboratory at UQ. Scholars will also have the opportunity to generate or contribute to publications from their research and develop their science communication by presenting at lab group meetings. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd – 4th year undergraduate, or masters students with a background in any of the following: genetics, genomics, biological sciences, bioinformatics, agricultural science, or computer sciences. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Dr Mehrnush Forutan; Professor Ben Hayes Supervisor email: m.forutan@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Exploring gene networking using RNA-seq data |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Project summary: Gene co-expression analysis is a data analysis technique that helps identify groups of genes with similar expression patterns across several different conditions. By means of these techniques, different groups have been able to assign putative metabolic pathways and functions to understudied genes and to identify novel metabolic regulation networks. This study will analyse the RNA-Seq data in 500 Bovine blood tissue to identify gene networking. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | This project provides student with a deep understanding of bioinformatics skills, project design, scientific communication, and analysis skills in a fast-developing area of genetics research. The student will work closely with Dr Mehrnush Forutan and Professor Ben Hayes and other members of Professor Ben Hayes laboratory at UQ. Scholars will also have the opportunity to generate or contribute to publications from their research and develop their science communication by presenting at lab group meetings. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd – 4th year undergraduate, or masters students with a background in any of the following: genetics, genomics, biological sciences, bioinformatics, agricultural science, or computer sciences. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Dr Mehrnush Forutan; Professor Ben Hayes Supervisor email: m.forutan@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Cas9 targeted enrichment of age-related sites |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Tools to predict birthdates of cattle are desperately required by industry to ensure compliance with breed registration requirements and to increase the rate of genetic gain for traits such as growth rate and fertility. This study will use new methods of gene targeting and sequencing to investigate the predictive ability of the methylation status of key genes related to age in mammals. Several studies found age-related-conserved sites among species. From these a list of 43 age related genes in cattle has been derived. In this study 5 genes will be targeted for sequencing and methylation calling in cattle of varying ages. A predictive statistical approach will then the used to associated the methylation rates of those genes with animal age, which can then be used to calculate birthdate. This project will apply long-read Oxford Nanopore Sequencing CAS9 targeted enrichment. The project aims to use this approach to target age-related-conversed genes among humans, dogs, and cattle. Finally, validation in large populations will be performed with the most significant age-related sites using quantitative methylation-specific PCR. The ultimate aim of this work is to develop an on farm diagnostic tool that will allows producers to record accurate birthdates and improve the profitability of the beef industry through genetic gain for key traits. This project will develop skills in bioinformatics and molecular biology. Students will learn how to design experiments, perform sequencing, and manage very large sequence data sets. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain the skills necessary for the generation and processing of whole genome sequence data. This will involve both the wet-lab skills to extract purify and sequence DNA as well as the bioinformatics skills to process the resulting data and visualise mutations.
Scholars will also have the opportunity to generate or contribute to publications from their research and develop their science communication by presenting at lab group meetings. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd – 4th year undergraduate, or masters students with a background in any of the following: genetics, genomics, biological sciences, bioinformatics, agricultural science, or computer sciences. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Loan Nguyen, Elizabeth Ross Supervisor email: t.nguyen3@uq.edu.au, e.ross@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0733462179 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Comparing DNA methylation profiles between Hair and Muscle samples |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | DNA methylation tend to be highly tissue- or cell-type specific. However, one of the major challenges of age prediction using epigenetic clock is the selection of the targe tissue for DNA samples. This project will apply long-read Oxford Nanopore Sequencing for two sample types: Muscle and Hair.
The aim of this work is to find age-related genes across tissue that will help to develop an on-farm diagnostic tool. The outcome of this project will allow producers to record accurate birthdates and improve the profitability of the beef industry through genetic gain for key traits.
This project will develop skills in bioinformatics and molecular biology. Students will learn how to design experiments, perform sequencing, and manage very large sequence data sets. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain the skills necessary for the generation and processing of whole genome sequence data. This will involve both the wet-lab skills to extract purify and sequence DNA as well as the bioinformatics skills to process the resulting data and visualise mutations.
Scholars will also have the opportunity to generate or contribute to publications from their research and develop their science communication by presenting at lab group meetings. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd – 4th year undergraduate, or masters students with a background in any of the following: genetics, genomics, biological sciences, bioinformatics, agricultural science, or computer sciences. |
Primary Supervisors: | Supervisor name: Loan Nguyen, Elizabeth Ross Supervisor email: t.nguyen3@uq.edu.au, e.ross@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0733462179 |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Crop Science
Project title: | Establishing Australian Economic Management threshholds for fall armyworm in maize (rainfed and irrigated) and sorghum |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week.
The project can be completed under a remote working arrangement for applicant’s interested in image analysis and or crop modelling. |
Description: | Fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda is a recent invasive pest causing variable degrees of seedling death, defoliation and damage to reproductive structures of maize and sorghum across Australian production systems. International reports on crop losses due to FAW feeding are similarly variable suggesting a strong eco-physiological influence on pathosystem. This project aims to develop reliable crop loss predictions needed to inform skilled economic control threshold recommendations.
Scholars can gain research experience in a multi-disciplinary team of entomologists, crop physiologists, crop modellers and app designers. As part of a collaborative project between the University of Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and Grain Research and Development Corporation. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Applicants will gain skills in crop and insect data collection, statistical analysis, crop modelling, image analysis and have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students may also be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from all students interested in developing practical outcomes for Queensland farmers. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr Joseph Eyre Supervisor email: j.eyre@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0467 737 237 |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Project title: | Superior feed quality of gene edited sorghums |
Project duration: | The project will require 8-10 weeks of full-time (36hours/week) of mostly on-site work to complete. Data analysis can be achieved remotely, but will need to be discussed with supervisor |
Description: | Background: Sorghum bicolor (sorghum) is an is an important animal stock feed cereal crop growth throughout the North-eastern regions of Australia in Queensland and New South Wales. Approximately 42% of total cereals consumed are from wheat, rice and maize, however there are a variety other cereal competitor growing in popularity to combat climate instability and the growing human population. Sorghum is primarily used as a feed product for poultry and pork but its usefulness as a primary feed is less favourable than other grains due to issues with its calorific and nutritive value, as well as its high variability of protein content.
Aim: Using gene editing techniques, numerous mutant sorghum lines have been created by targeting specific genes involved in the synthesis and folding of major protein and starch genes. Assessment of the impact of these changes is needed to ascertain the role of these genes, and the potential improvement of quality that could be beneficial for feedlot industries.
Approach: Numerous gene edited lines need to be genotyped and phentoyped. This will involve fundamental molecular techniques to screen the gene of interest for the outcome edit. Phenotyping of the grain will involve performing in vitro assays to test their grain composition and digestibilities. Exogenous factours such as tannins and phytic acid could also be assessed using colorimetric assays. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Researchers will gain skills in numerous aspects of molecular biology and plant physiology. Fundamental technical skills such as DNA extractions, PCRs, gel electrophoresis. Quality assessments of the grain may also be achieved using wet lab chemistry to assess their starch and protein content and digestibilities, as well as tannin content. There may be an opportunity to learn sterile tissue culture to have a chance create their own gene edited sorghum lines.
Students will be expected to write a final report summarising their findings and perform an oral presentation to the lab group. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to students with a plant/agricultural background who are interested in molecular biology research in their 3rd and 4th year. Preference will be given to who have taken or plan to take plant molecular and biotechnology courses. |
Primary Supervisor: | Dr Karen Massel |
Further info: | Supervisor name: Dr Karen Massel Supervisor email: k.massel@uq.edu.au Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Matching adapted chickpea genotypes with soil and climate to maximise yield and profit |
Project duration: | 10 weeks 36hrs per week
The project can be completed under a remote working arrangement or if on-site attendance is required. |
Description: | Experimentation in pulses is required to increase farmers profits, diversify income, and increase sustainability. Megatrends in global food markets favour consumption of plant-based protein. However, significant productivity gaps remain, driven by lack of understanding of pulse physiology and agronomy. As part of a collaborative effort between UQ-QAAFI Centre for Crop Sciences, CSIRO, SARDI, NSW DPI, WA DPI and VIC DPI, this project aims to improve our understanding of the impact of different water availabilities and temperature relationships on chickpea growth, development, and yield potential. This project will focus on the analysis of existing chickpea empirical data and the use of the APSIM model www.apsim.info to simulate trials. The student will join a team of field agronomists and crop physiologist that are conducting on-research station trials at UQ Gatton Campus to research the impacts of water availability and temperature regimes during critical periods of biomass partitioning and yield formation for chickpeas. The focus of the trials is to improve our understanding of the dynamics of yield formation under contrasting stresses. Frequent travelling to the field and working outdoors in the field might be required. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The program aims will allow the students translate the theory learnt in their courses at UQ into practice, by joining for 10 weeks the multidisciplinary team of the largest pulse agronomy and crop physiology program in Australia. The students will interact with researchers from different disciplines and be able to make links and connections with researchers from collaborating National and Commonwealth agencies. Students will be asked to produce a report and an internal oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is best suited for students that completed courses in agronomy, crop physiology, and data analysis / statistics. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Prof Daniel Rodriguez Supervisor email: d.rodriguez@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0434075094 |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Siite: | DigitalAg Building #8115 Gatton Campus of The University of Queensland |
Project title: | Growing summer crops in winter to adpat to heat stress |
Project duration: | 10 weeks 36hrs per week
The project can be completed under a remote working arrangement though on-site attendance is preferred. |
Description: | Winter sown sorghum as an adaptation to present and future climates. Water stress and extreme heat at flowering are becoming common abiotic stresses limiting sorghum production across the Northern Grains Region. These stresses can only be expected to increase in frequency and intensity as our climate changes. Winter sown sorghum has been proposed as a practice to increase sowing opportunities, avoid heat and water stress at flowering, and increase the frequency of double cropping i.e. planting a winter crop after a short summer fallow following the winter sown sorghum. As part of a collaborative effort between UQ-QAAFI Centre for Crop Sciences, NSW DPI and QDAF, this project aims to assess the likely benefits of the practice using datasets from a network of trials run over the last two years across NSW and QLD, APSIM-Sorghum (www.apsim.info), and climate projections from a wide range of global circulation models. This Honours project will focus on desktop activities that will analyse existing experimental data, parameterise and run simulation models. The student will join a team of crop physiologist, APSIM programmers and climate modellers, using QAAFI’s facilities at UQ’s Gatton Campus. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The program aims will allow the students translate the theory learnt in their courses at UQ into practice, by joining for 10 weeks the multidisciplinary team of the largest sorghum agronomy and crop physiology program in Australia. The students will interact with researchers from different disciplines and be able to make links and connections with researchers from collaborating National agencies. Students will be asked to produce a report and an internal oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is a desk top study, best suited for students that completed courses in agronomy, crop physiology, and data analysis / statistics. Having experience with APSIM or R would be an advantage. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Prof Daniel Rodriguez Supervisor email: d.rodriguez@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0434075094 |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | DigitalAg Building #8115 Gatton Campus of the University of Queensland |
Project title: | Nutrition profiling of green leaves of under-utilized plant species |
Project duration: | 10 weeks (30-36 hrs/week) and applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Green leafy vegetables are known to have nutritional importance. They may have high protein, vitamin and mineral contents. Recently, there has been an interest in exploiting under-utilised plant species. Some of them are considered weeds in broadacre farming systems; however, they could be good sources of nutrients. This project will evaluate the nutrient contents of such plants at different growth stages. Plants will also be subjected to different agronomic practices (e.g., shade, water). |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholar will gain skills in data collection, be involved in analysing samples, and have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Student will need to produce an oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to students with a background in biochemistry or food science. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Bhagirath Chauhan Supervisor email: b.chauhan@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0427923272 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Project title: | Agronomy of sesame |
Project duration: | 10 weeks (36 hrs/week) and applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Sesame is known for its high nutritional value. Recently, there has been an interest in growing sesame in Queensland; however, very limited information is available on its agronomy. Several small projects are available, which will evaluate its optimum planting depth, planting density and row spacing. In addition, a project will evaluate effective pre- and post-emergence herbicides for weed management in sesame. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain skills in data collection, be involved in analysing data, and have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students will need to produce an oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to all students (no background knowledge needed). |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Bhagirath Chauhan Supervisor email: b.chauhan@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0427923272 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | Gatton Campus |
Project title: | Trialling Raspi Spectral Imaging in conjunction with the "Rainfall Proof Upside Down Watering System (RPUDBWS)", to evaluate salinity tolerance in Taro (colocasia esculenta), the Pacific Islands Principal Crop |
Project duration: | 10 weeks - Summer Program, 20-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | A leading threat to the Pacific region is the risk of rising sea levels and increased cyclone activity causing tidal inundations because of climate change. High coastal population densities, freshwater shortages, longer periods of drought and losses of arable land linked to the rise of the oceans and the salinization of coastal land are bound to intensify. Recent analysis on the proximity of Pacific people to the coast indicated half of the region’s population resides within 1km of the coast excluding Papua New Guinea. Taro is one of the most important staple food crops with high cultural significance in all Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs). It is also an important commercial crop in some of the countries like Fiji and Samoa which are amongst the top 10 taro exporting countries in the world in 2020 reports with export values of around 15million and 2.6million USD respectively. As part of an FAO funded joint UQ-SPC collaboration (CPS 19/584), we have successfully completed a pilot study at UQ to evaluate the effect of salt stress on mature taro, grown using a hydroponic pot system which can maintain a constant water table (Image Below; Hunter et al., 2018).
This simple system can effectively model the conditions faced within salt intrusion of a freshwater lens and analysis of mature specimens fills an important gap in the scientific literature. We have also begun testing the capacity to develop a high-throughput phenotyping platform for salinity tolerance in taro. High-throughput image analysis has been developed for cereal species to detect salinity tolerance (Sirault et al., 2009) however, no cost-effective alternatives have been developed. Our initial results are promising, and with further testing will represent a cheap, rapid phenotyping technique that could easily be deployed in the Pacific region to phenotype salinity stress in diverse taro germplasm. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars may gain skills in experimental set-up, data collection (Stomatal conductance, Water Use Efficiency, Biomass measurements, Use of Spectral imaging, Statistical Analysis…), be involved in specific tasks, or have an opportunity to generate a publication from their research. Students may also be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr Bradley Campbell Supervisor email: b.campbell2@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0412648391 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | Gatton Campus |
Project title: | Artificial Intelligence for better beans |
Project duration: | 10 weeks
Hours of engagement must be between 20-36hrs per week
COVID-19 considerations: Project can be completed under a remote working arrangement if required. |
Description: |
Globally, demand for protein is increasing. Future products made with pulse protein will require over 100,000 tonnes of legume protein by 2030. Mungbean is an important food and cash crop grown in tropical and subtropical regions globally. Despite increasing demand for mungbean protein, expansion of mungbean is limited in Australia due to its low yield and variability between environments.
To meet these challenges, improved mungbean varieties are required for the future with ideal combinations of traits. However, selecting the genomic regions of interest for targeted crossing is challenging because of interactions between genotypes and their environment. Artificial intelligence is a power technology ideally suited to estimate complex network relationships and large datasets. Applying artificial intelligence to mungbean crop improvement will help to accelerate the development of improved mungbean varieties for the future.
The aim of this research project is to use artificial intelligence via deep learning algorithms to deconvolute complex relationships between genotype, the environment and phenotype. Improved algorithms will be investigated for their ability to associate key genomic regions associated with yield development in mungbean. Algorithms will be developed using in-silico breeding trial datasets and evaluated using real data from a mungbean pre-breeding population tested in the field. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Skills and experience will be gained in data collection, quality control, curation, reproducible research documentation and analysis. The specific tasks will include software analyses of associations between genetic fingerprints (DNA markers) and could include taking plant measurements. Potential for inclusion of student in research publications. |
Suitable for: | Plant Science, Genetics and Computational Science Students. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr Owen Powell Supervisor email: o.powell2@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | St Lucia |
Project title: | Biology and managmeent of giant rat's tail grass |
Project duration: | 10 weeks (36 hrs/week) and applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | Giant rat's tail grasses (Sporobolus species) are becoming problematic weeds in pastures, grain crops and along roadsides. Limited information is available on their biology and management in Queensland. This project will study its biology and management. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain skills in data collection, be involved in analysing data, and have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students will need to produce an oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to all students (no background knowledge needed). |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Bhagirath Chauhan Supervisor email: b.chauhan@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0427923272 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | Gatton Campus |
Project title: | Exploring global genetic diversity for coleoptile length in barley using machine learning approaches |
Project duration: | 10 weeks with approximately 20 - 30 hours of engagement per week. Applicant will be required to be on-site for most of the project but with some scope to work remotely at certain times. |
Description: | Climate variability coupled with increased frequency and duration of heat and drought events challenges global crop production. Drought adaptation is complex, made up of several component traits, some interacting, and all influencing crop water-use across the growth cycle. The length of the coleoptile, the protective clear sheath surrounding the emergent leaf, determines sowing depth and is a potential drought avoidance trait of interest to farmers. A long coleoptile enables deeper sowing to capture soil moisture at depth. As a result, reducing the reliance on rainfall events and enabling earlier sowing to avoid energy intensive development during periods of increased heat and limited water availability. Despite the importance, there is limited knowledge of the genetic control of coleoptile length in barley. Outcomes of this project will deliver novel insight into the genetic architecture of coleoptile length in barley as well as highlight opportunities for increased genetic diversity within Australian germplasm that can be harnessed by breeders. Further the project will explore the advantages of machine learning approaches for GWAS compared to haplotype-based and more traditional single marker approaches. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will gain highly sort-after skills in machine learning, statistical analysis using the linear mixed model framework and R-coding. Further, they will learn how to handle and manipulate large genomic data sets and begin to learn the fundamentals of quantitative genetics. There will be an opportunity to run a small glasshouse validation experiment, where the scholar will gain skills in plant management and data collection. Further, there will be opportunity to generate a publication from this research. The student will also be asked to produce a report and an oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | The project is open to applications from 3rd and 4th year students with a background in basic genetics or statistics. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr Hannah Robinson Supervisor email: h.robinson1@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0488 279 694 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. |
Site: | St Lucia |
Project title: | Monitoring crop water use and root activity in 3D |
Project duration: | 10 weeks 36hrs per week The project can be completed under a remote working arrangement though on-site attendance is preferred. |
Description: | The ongoing climate change has increased the intensity and frequency of drought and heat events in Australia, increasing the vulnerability of farming and urgency to optimise crop design for increased adaptation. Phenotyping plays a key role in improving the climate adaption as it provides essential information on how genetics, environmental pressures, and crop management (farming) can guide selection toward productive crops suitable for their environments. However, so far, most of the crop phenotyping works have focused on characterizing the above ground parts of crops, mostly ignoring the “hidden half”, the root system and its activity due to the opaque nature of soils and a lack of efficient sensing tool. As part of a GRDC Postdoctoral fellowship project (Understanding sorghum root growth and function in cold soils), this project aims to assess the ability of proximal sensing techniques for 3D characterization of crop water use and root activity in the field using datasets from last two-years trails. This Honours project will focus on desktop activities that will analyse existing experimental data and develop models. The student will join a team of crop physiologist, soil science and modelling, using QAAFI’s facilities at UQ’s Gatton Campus. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The program aims will allow the students translate the theory learnt in their courses at UQ into practice, by joining the multidisciplinary team of the largest sorghum agronomy, crop physiology and soil science in Australia for 10 weeks. The student will get opportunity to develop skills in using proximal sensors for monitoring spatial variations of crop water use. The students will also interact with researchers from different disciplines and be able to make links and connections with researchers from collaborating National agencies. Students will be asked to produce a report and an internal oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is a desk top study, best suited for students that completed courses in agronomy, crop physiology, soil science, and geospatial analysis / statistics. Having experience with R would be an advantage. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr Dongxue Zhao Supervisor email: dongxue.zhao@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0451731233 |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | DigitalAg Building #8115 Gatton Campus of The University of Queensland |
Project title: | Application of visible near-infrared spectroscopy for predicting soil and physical and chemical properties |
Project duration: | 10 weeks 36hrs per week The project can be completed under a remote working arrangement though on-site attendance is preferred. |
Description: | Soil is a fundamental natural resource on which the production of food, fiber and energy relies. Soil is also the largest sink of carbon. To improve the profitability of agricultural production and to mitigate the climate change, reliable information on soil physical (e.g., particle size fraction) and chemical properties (e.g., organic carbon) is needed. However, traditional laboratory methods for generating soil information are expensive and time-consuming and demand chemical reagents. Visible near-infrared (vis-NIR) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy has shown the potential to be an effective alternative to the traditional laboratory methods given its advantages e.g., they are rapid, cost-effective and accurate. The vis-NIR measures the soil reflectance in the visible (vis, 350 – 700 nm) and near-infrared (NIR, 700 – 2500 nm) regions. A single vis-NIR spectrum encode extensive information on the soil composition, which includes minerals, organic compounds and water. It has therefore been used to simultaneously characterize various soil properties. To extract soil information from the vis-NIR spectra, statistical or machine learning techniques are required. As part of a collaborative effort between UQ-QAAFI Centre for Crop Sciences, UQ-SMI Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry and UQ-SEES, this project aims to develop a vis-NIR spectral library using various modelling techniques (e.g., machine learning algorithms) to monitor various soil properties for assessing the potential use of mine de-watering resources for food and fibre production and carbon sequestration. This Honours project will have an opportunity to develop abilities on using vis-NIR spectrometer, processing the soil spectral data and developing models for rapid generating various soil information. The student will mainly focus on desktop activities that will process and analysis existing soil spectral data. The student will join a multidiscipline team of crop science, soil science and modelling, using QAAFI’s facilities at UQ’s Gatton Campus. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The program aims will allow the students develop ability and experience on using the proximal visible near-infrared spectrometer for rapidly predicting various soil attributes which are critical for agricultural and environmental management. The students will join one of the largest multidisciplinary team of agronomy, crop physiology and soil science in Australia for 10 weeks. The students will interact with researchers from different disciplines and be able to make links and connections with researchers from collaborating National agencies. Students will be asked to produce a report and an internal oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is a desk top study, best suited for students that completed courses in soil science, and data analysis / statistics. Having experience with R would be an advantage. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr Dongxue Zhao Supervisor email: dongxue.zhao@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0451731233 |
Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | DigitalAg Building #8115 Gatton Campus of The University of Queensland |
Project title: | Understanding the effect of carbon stress at different growth stages on grain abortion in sorghum |
Project duration: | This project will occur for 10 weeks 36hrs per week. The student will be required to be on site. Accommodation will be provided, if needed. A face-face engagement mode would be preferable. |
Description: | Grain sorghum is an important dryland crop which is used for food, feed and fuel. Sorghum yield are impacted by stress events occurring primarily during the reproductive phase. Hence, there is a need to clearly define the most sensitive growth stage in sorghum. This project will investigate the effects of carbon stress, induced through removal of leaves, applied at different growth stages on grain development and abortion in sorghum. The carbon stress will be applied at vegetative, flag leaf, at flowering and post flowering to understand the dynamics of carbon balance and its effects on grain development and abortion at different growth stages in sorghum. The hypothesis is that the carbon stress applied at flowering will have the largest impact on grain filling and increase grain abortion in sorghum. Objectives:
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The project will help students gain insights into conducting scientific research, specifically, running experiments, conducting data collection, learn some basic statistical procedures as part of this project. In addition, the student will get the opportunity to interact with world renown experts in sorghum physiology and breeding. Deliverables
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Suitable for: | This project is open for applications from students with a background in Agricultural science (preferably 3rd – 4th year students), who have completed courses in Agronomy, Crop physiology or crop science. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr. Geetika Geetika Supervisor email: g.geetika@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0481266089 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | Hermitage Research Station, Warwick, Queensland |
Project title: | Isolation of Sorghum Biofuel Variants form a Large Mutant Library |
Project duration: | The applicant will be required to be onsite for most if not all activities. The duration of the project will be 10 weeks (36 hrs weekly). |
Description: | Background: Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a C4 crop which is utilised for food, animal feed, alcohol and biofuels. Mutagenesis is generally a spontaneous event generated via normal cellular processes or via erroneous DNA repair or replication and is a key factor in the evolution of species. As instances of mutagenesis create new diversity within genomes, this process has been harnessed by plant breeders to create novel traits, utilising chemical, biological and physical mutagens. We have generated 150,000 variant lines of an inbred Sorghum bicolor variety BTx623, using low doses of the chemical mutagen ethyl methanesulphonate. Seeds were collected and bagged in bulks containing the seed from 100 variant lines. DNA will then be extracted from bulk subsamples, followed by digital PCR screening (FIND-IT) of pre-determined variants. The newly developed FIND-IT protocol has previously been utilised to isolate variants of interest in a large variant library of barley (x500,000). The use of this protocol will dramatically reduce the need for backcrossing compared to TILLING collections. This large sorghum variant library will provide a new source of genetic diversity, contributing to sorghum breeding efforts focused on enhancing disease resistance, drought tolerance, plant microbial interactions, and biofuel production traits. Aim: In this project, the applicant will be screening seed for mutations of interest, using the PCR based FIND-IT protocol. Seeds containing the desired variant will then be propagated. Gene isoforms from the UDP-Glucose dehydrogenase gene family and UDP-Xylose Synthase gene family are the target genes. These genes were selected due to their key role in the formulation of the cell wall. Mutations in these genes may cause alterations in Sorghum cell walls that are favourable to biofuel production. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The applicants will gain practical knowledge in new PCR based screening techniques for mutant plant populations. From a practical molecular biology perspective the applicant will be undertaking non-destructive seed sampling for DNA, DNA extraction, and PCR screening of mutant seed via the FIND-IT protocol. Additionally, the applicant will be assisting in the seed germination and subsequent care of Sorghum plants found to have a mutation of interest. Where possible the applicant will also be included in monthly meetings with our research partners (Carlsberg Research Laboratories and the University of Copenhagen). Key Deliverables: -Assist supervisor and visiting PhD student in Sorghum mutant seed screening process. -Attendance at 2 x monthly meetings between Carslberg/Uni of Copenhagen Research Team. Applicant will be expected to assist in the preparation of presentation material displaying outcomes of the screening work. Assisting in the reporting of outcomes in the two aforementioned meetings will count as the report component in this research program. |
Suitable for: | The project will be based in molecular biology, with a heavy focus on the following techniques:
Preferably the candidate will have a background in Plant Science based Genetics/Molecular Biology, who is in their 3rd or 4th year. |
Primary Supervisor: | Supervisor name: Dr. Patrick Mason (Postdoctoral Researcher in Robert Henry’s Lab) Supervisor email: p.mason1@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0438886534 |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | Lab C220 Hartley Teakle Building (83) at the UQ St Lucia campus, most work will be taking place in the aforementioned lab. Office space will be provided in RmC202 in the Hartley Teakle Building. |
Horticultural Science
Project title:
| Finding Diaporthe in macadamia
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| Duration of the project 8 – 10 weeks and hours of engagement must be between 20-36 hours per week. The applicant will be required on-site for the project from November.
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Description: | Species in the fungal genus Diaporthe (Phomopsis) cause diseases in several plant hosts. In macadamia, several species have been associated as endophytes - living in the plant without any diseases symptoms, while other species are pathogenic to husk and stem of macadamia, causing severe diseases. Lack of information on the timing of infection hampers diagnostics, research tools and disease management decision. The scholar will contribute to an existing research program, and focus would be to determine the occurrence of Diaporthe pathogens at various nut development growth stages in macadamia. The scholar will undertake the research using various plant pathology techniques.
Scholar will have an opportunity to contribute to publications from the research.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars may gain skills in data collection, be involved in specific tasks, or have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students may also be asked to produce a report at the end of their project.
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Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd or 4th year undergraduate or coursework or research postgraduate students with a background in agriculture, biological sciences, biotechnology or molecular biology.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Assoc Prof Femi Akinsanmi Supervisor email: o.akinsanmi@uq.edu.au (Preferred mode of contact) Supervisor phone: 0734432453
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Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| Placement location for laboratory work is Ecosciences Precinct, Boggo Road Dutton Park, which is located ~ 10 min. walk or 1 min bus ride from UQ Lakes bus terminal in St Lucia Campus
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Project title:
| Genetic variability of macadamia cultivars to husk rot
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode: | Duration of the project 8 – 10 weeks and hours of engagement must be between 20-36 hours per week. The applicant will be required on-site for the project from November, which coincides with the macadamia fruit development stage.
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Description: | The scholar will undertake research in the biology of husk rot, an emerging fungal disease affecting macadamia fruit. Husk rot is an insidious disease resulting in severe yield loss to macadamia growers. Breeding for disease-resistant macadamia variety has been proffered as a suitable control option. The scholar will contribute to an existing research program, to evaluate husk rot incidence and severity among macadamia breeding progenies under field conditions. The scholar will undertake the research using various plant pathology techniques and analytical tools to estimate the genetic variability of macadamia to husk rot.
Scholar will have an opportunity to contribute to publications from the research.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars may gain skills in data collection, be involved in specific tasks, or have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students may also be asked to produce a report at the end of their project.
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Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd or 4th year undergraduate or coursework or research postgraduate students with a background in agriculture, biological sciences, biotechnology or molecular biology.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Assoc Prof Femi Akinsanmi Supervisor email: o.akinsanmi@uq.edu.au (Preferred mode of contact) Supervisor phone: 0734432453
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Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| Placement location for laboratory work is Ecosciences Precinct, Boggo Road Dutton Park, which is located ~ 10 min. walk or 1 min bus ride from UQ Lakes bus terminal in St Lucia Campus
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Project Title
| Automated acquisition of fruit tree growth data
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 10 Weeks – Summer Program, 26-36 hours a week, applicant can complete the project under a remote working arrangement.
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Description: | The analysis of fruit tree growth data can be useful to better understand the underlying physiology, as well as to parameterize mathematical models of fruit tree growth and phenology. However, the acquisition of plant growth data at short intervals, i.e., daily, can be a laborious task. The implementation of an automatic system could greatly benefit data acquisition in the field during the whole growing season. This project will review similar approaches in order to design and implement a programable system than can record the required growth data automatically. This system will be installed and tested to monitor avocado or macadamia plants.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars may gain skills in tools for remote collaboration, electronics, programming, as well as plant physiology and data collection. Students may be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project.
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Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd and 4th year students with a background in engineering, computational science, and/or quantitative biology or previous experience with electronics and programming. It is suitable for students interested in understanding how sensors and automatisms can be applied to study biological systems.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Inigo Auzmendi Supervisor email: i.auzmendi@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 07 344 32702
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Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation Centre for Horticultural Science Room s632, Level 6, Hartley Teakle Building 83 The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072
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Project title:
| Modelling fruit tree architecture and physiology
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 10 Weeks – Summer Program, 26-36 hours a week, applicant can complete the project under a remote working arrangement.
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Description: | Mathematical modelling of plant architecture can offer insights into the underlying biology, with the eventual outcome of increased yields in Queensland agriculture. In complex plant canopies like fruit and nut trees, simulation of plant architecture at the scale of internodes, leaves and fruit can help to understand aspects of organ growth and development. These models can subsequently be used to study interactions between management practices, environmental factors, plant carbon balance and growth. This project will use data already collected in avocado, macadamia or mango for modelling an aspect of orchard management of interest to the student, such as different training systems, planting densities and cultivars.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars may gain skills in tools for remote collaboration, L-systems, computational modelling and simulations, as well as plant physiology. Students may be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project.
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Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from 3rd and 4th year students with a background in mathematics, computational science, and/or quantitative biology or previous experience with computational modelling. It is suitable for students interested in understanding how mathematics and modelling can be applied to study biological systems or in improving their computer programming knowledge in areas like simulation or complex systems modelling.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Inigo Auzmendi Supervisor email: i.auzmendi@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 07 344 32702
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Further info: | This project is suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation Centre for Horticultural Science Room s632, Level 6, Hartley Teakle Building 83 The University of Queensland St Lucia QLD 4072
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Project title:
| RNA biopesticides for sustainable control of myrtle rust
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 10 weeks, 20-36 h per week
Applicant will be required on-site for the project
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Description: | Myrtle rust is a highly invasive fungal disease of Myrtaceae species and is threatening Australian ecosystems and native plant industries. Management of myrtle rust in nurseries and plantations predominantly relies on the use of fungicides, however, fungicides can lack specificity, run-off into the environment, may be toxic to humans and non-target organisms, and can lead to the development of pathogen resistance. Fungicide treatments are also not feasible for natural environments. The aim of this project is to explore RNA based biopesticides as a novel control for myrtle rust in native Australian Myrtaceae species. The project will involve screening previously identified dsRNA molecules for their protective effects on different native Myrtaceae hosts. Molecular techniques such as PCR, in vitro dsRNA synthesis, RNA extraction and northern blotting will be used.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will be trained in a PC2 laboratory and learn molecular biology and plant pathology techniques. Students may be asked to give an oral presentation at the end of their project.
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Suitable for: | The project is open to applications from students with a background in plant sciences, mycology and/or molecular biology.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Anne Sawyer Supervisor email: a.sawyer@uq.edu.au
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Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| St Lucia and Ecosciences Precinct, Dutton Park |
Project title:
| RNA delivery to trees |
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 10 weeks, 20-36 h per week
Applicant will be required on-site for the project
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Description: | Exogenous RNA interference (RNAi) is a promising tool for the control of plant pests and pathogens. However, RNA delivery needs to be optimised, especially for trees. We have found that RNA can move systemically in plants, however, movement varies between species. The aim of this project is to compare different RNA delivery methods in different tree crops (avocado and Myrtaceae). This will involve assessing the ability of different plant tissues (leaves, stems and roots) to take up RNA and examining whether RNA moves to distal/newly forming tissues (i.e. new leaves, new roots). The presence of RNA in distal tissues/new growth will be assessed by extracting RNA and performing northern blots. Glasshouse infection assays will also be performed to confirm that the plants are protected from disease (Phytophthora root rot and/or myrtle rust). Protection will be monitored through symptom development and pathogen gene knockdown, which will be assessed by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will be trained in a PC2 laboratory and learn molecular biology and plant pathology techniques. Students may be asked to give an oral presentation at the end of their project.
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Suitable for: | The project is open to applications from students with a background in plant sciences, mycology and/or molecular biology.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Anne Sawyer Supervisor email: a.sawyer@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| St Lucia and Ecosciences Precinct, Dutton Park |
Project title:
| Tissue culture to feed the world |
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 10 weeks, 26-36 hours a week, applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | The Mitter Lab has received global media coverage for developing the world’s first tissue-culture production system for avocado plants. This is important as a sustainable, cost-effective and climate-secure way to produce plants. Since this landmark success the group has developed programs to propagate horticulturally valuable plant species such as vanilla, fingerlime and macadamia in addition to pharmaceutically valuable species such as Duboisia. The Mitter group’s research is strongly industry orientated with research outcomes translated into real world solutions for Australia’s horticulture needs. Dedicated students will be part of our expanding research in a new $20M tissue-culture facility at Long Pocket UQ, developing systems for other crop species as well as endangered or high value native species where prior research is lacking or proved too challenging. Students may get a chance to work with industry and research partners to value-add student experience.
Projects available:
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Students will gain skills in plant tissue culture, plant physiology, experimental design, data collection, be involved in specific tasks, or have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students may also be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project.
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Suitable for: | Dedicated students who are interested in plant biology and the technologies that can make a difference to industry and sustainability.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Alice Hayward Supervisor email: a.hayward@uq.edu.au
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Further info:
| This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| Elkhorn State-of-the-Art Tissue Culture Facility Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation UQ LongPocket Campus 80 Meiers Rd, INDOOROOPILLY There is a free shuttle bus for all UQ students/staff between St Lucia and Long Pocket campuses. |
Project title:
| Novel biopesticide to control sugarcane pests
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 10 weeks, 20-36 hrs per week, and applicant will be required on-site for the project.
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Description: | Greyback canegrub is a major pest throughout Australian sugarcane growing regions with its control relying on imidacloprid application. Located along 2,000 km of the country’s east coast in tropical and subtropical regions, the sugarcane industry needs to proactively respond to the pesticide contamination detected in the Great Barrier Reef and possible regulatory constraints on imidacloprid use against canegrubs.
Compared to conventional chemical pesticides, RNAi-based biopesticide have significant advantages in terms of sustainability, target specificity, safety to human health and the environment. The ground-breaking transformational platform BioClayTM, using clay particles as carriers to deliver RNAi molecules, developed by the Mitter Lab, has made significant advancement in non-toxic, environmental friendly, RNAi-based crop protection applications.
In this project, you will further define the utility of BioClayTM to control greyback canegrubs by identifying effective target genes. This work will be based on our newly generated canegrub genome and transcriptome analysis data. Dedicated students will design and clone dsRNA constructs targeting selected genes which are critical to the growth or survival of the canegrubs. A subset of optimal dsRNA constructs will then be selected for screening in insect bioassays.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will work in a multidisciplinary team, gain valuable experience in experimental design, troubleshooting and data interpretation, and learn skills in bioinformatics and molecular biology techniques (include DNA/RNA extraction, molecular cloning, qPCR, etc.). In addition, students will have the opportunity to contribute to publications from their research and engage with industry partners, work in a dynamic laboratory with molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, plant pathologists, and entomologist. At the end of their project, students will be expected to produce a report and an oral presentation. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in biotechnology, molecular biology, entomology, crop protection, or related fields. |
Primary Supervisor Details: | Supervisor name: Dr Ivy Chen; Prof Neena Mitter Supervisor email: ivy.chen@uq.edu.au; n.mitter@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | St Lucia |
Project title:
| RNAi-based biopesticide for sugarcane |
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode: | 10 weeks, 20-36 hrs per week, and applicant will be required on-site for the project.
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Description: | RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful approach for combating biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. However, its potential is currently limited in its adoption to genetically modified crops. The non-transgenic approach of spray-induced gene silencing, which relies on spray application of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to induce RNAi, has shown great advantages with its versatility and environmental benefits. The ground-breaking transformational platform of using clay particles as carriers of exogenous dsRNA named BioClayTM, developed by the Mitter Lab, has made significant improvement on the stability and persistence of sprayed dsRNA for controlling pests or pathogens.
In this project, we aim to use BioClayTM to combat sugarcane root feeding pests. To achieve robust RNAi response through sprayed dsRNA, plant uptake and systemic translocation of dsRNA is required for delivery to the target organisms. Dedicated students will investigate the uptake and movement of foliar applied dsRNA in sugarcane plants, using both molecular biochemical tools and fluorescence imaging microscopy.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Scholars will work in a multidisciplinary team, gain valuable experience in experimental design, troubleshooting and data interpretation, and learn skills in molecular biology techniques (include confocal microscopy, RNA extraction, molecular cloning, northern blot, etc.). In addition, students will have the opportunity to contribute to publications from their research and engage with industry partners, work in a dynamic laboratory with molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, plant pathologists, and entomologist. At the end of their project, students will be expected to produce a report and an oral presentation.
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Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in plant science, horticultural science, molecular biology, biotechnology, or related fields.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Ivy Chen; Prof Neena Mitter Supervisor email: ivy.chen@uq.edu.au; n.mitter@uq.edu.au
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Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| St Lucia
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Nutrition and Food Sciences
Project title: | Caring for a healthier chicken starts “in ovo” |
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 10 weeks and applicant will be required on-site full time.
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Description: | Chicken’s gastrointestinal tract undergoes significant physiological changes during the first days after hatch, including the establishment of a microflora when transitioning from a clean close-to-sterile hatchery environment to the adopting “dirty” farm ecosystem. In that context, establishing a beneficial and protective microflora before to the arrival to the farm would reduce the possibility of enteric pathogens colonizing the gut. This, in turn, would decrease disease burdens later in the life of the chicken, thus, reducing the need of preventive or curative (antibiotic) treatments. The early development of a healthy gut including early microbiome development, could be facilitated during the embryonic stages. In ovo techniques have been developed in recent years to supplement nutrients to the chick just before hatch. However, little is known about the potential of programming the future microbiome (ex ovo) during the embryonic stage. This project will study use of essential oils with antioxidant and antimicrobial activities during embryonic stages, to improve gut health early in the life of chicks. The project will systematically evaluate all the parameters related with an effective inoculation of essential oils in the egg to produce healthy hatchlings. The ultimate goal of this project is to make on farm antibiotic use redundant.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Applicant will have the opportunities to involve and learn different skills such as in-ovo injection technology, incubation and hatchery at experimental scale, handling chicken embryos, lab analyses such as PCR and qPCR.
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Suitable for: | Animal or Veterinary Sciences/ Nutrition / Biomedical Science / Computational Science / Microbiology
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Shahram Niknafs Supervisor email: s.niknafs@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site: | St Lucia |
Project title:
| Dietary fibre and the gut-brain dialogue in chickens |
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode: | 10 weeks and applicant will be required on-site full time for the project.
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Description: | The fascinating complexity of edible fibres has driven a significant part of the research agenda in human and animal nutrition. Dietary Fibre (DF) has been associated with satiation (hence preventing obesity) lowering risks of colon cancer, decreasing plasma cholesterol levels (and CVD risks), and developing a healthy microbiota among other aspects. However, a lack of understanding still persists regarding how DF interacts with other essential nutrients such as amino acids and fats and their sensing in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The objective of this research proposal is to identify the physiological mechanisms by which common (soluble or insoluble) DF can influence the development of the GIT and the gut-brain communication relevant to food/feed intake control, energy homeostasis and gut health using the chicken as an animal model. |
Expected outcomes and deliverables: | There are opportunities for the applicants to learn skills relevant to different techniques such as RNA, DNA extraction, gene expression, PCR and qPCR, hormone analyses, ELISA, transcriptomics, proteomics, and skills related to animal experiments.
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Suitable for: | Students in Animal or Veterinary Sciences/ Nutrition / Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Bioinformatics / Biomedical Science/ Genetics / Microbiology
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Dr Shahram Niknafs Supervisor email: s.niknafs@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| St Lucia (80%) Gatton (20%) |
Project title:
| How to make antibiotics in pig feed redundant, naturally
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| The project length is estimated to be 10 weeks (35 hrs a week). The applicant will be required on-site for the duration of the project.
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Description: | The maternal-offspring relationship has been a major focus of research in humans, pigs, and other species. Sows communicate with piglets in an orchestrated flow of chemically-coded messages, a process referred to as vertical transfer. Some of the chemicals are originated in the maternal diet allowing piglets to acquire feed preferences and overcome neophobia (i.e. a reluctance to consume unfamiliar foods). In the wild, piglets and sows eat the same feeds. In contrast, commercial practices based on least-cost feed formulation and nutrient requirements have taken the diets of sows and piglets in different directions. The project aims to propose a rational adaptation of feed composition to pair sow and piglet diets while meeting the nutritional requirements of the two. The objective is to obtain optimal dietary intervention in sows based on aligning ingredient selection in sow and piglet feeds, to direct preferences, and enhance appetite and gut health without the need for in feed antibiotics in post-weaning piglets. The GC-MS analysis of volatiles of commonly used feed ingredients in sows and piglet diets identified more than 600 compounds. Importantly, the study of these profiles has revealed a flavour-related profile variation when compared to maternal to postweaning diets. Experiment 1 for this project was completed in May this year aiming to determine the kinetics and transfer efficiency of the volatiles contained in the feed to blood and faeces. The analysis of blood, faeces samples were provisionally carried out by MIR with further analysis now being run using GC-MS Headspace. Once completed and from the statistical analysis performed a concise nutritional profile based on volatile concentrations found will be used for sow and piglet experiments later this year.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | The student will be involved in the analysis by GC-MS of the volatiles from grains and cereals in pig’s blood and faeces. It is anticipated that the scholar will participate in group meetings. In addition, the student is expected to produce a report and an oral presentation by the end of the project.
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Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in Animal Science, Veterinary, Biology, Molecular Biology and Chemistry. In addition, the applicant must demonstrate interest in working with pigs.
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Primary Supervisor Details: | Supervisor name: Marta Navarro Supervisor email: m.navarrogomez@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0458999192
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Further info:
| This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | This project will be conducted at Hartley Teakle, St Lucia |
Project title:
| Plant-based meats with improved health benefits and consumer acceptance |
Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| The project duration is 10 weeks and in-person participation is required.
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Description: | There is currently a consumer demand for plant-based meats that undergo limited processing and additives while maintaining the desired texture, flavour and aroma. In this project, we aim to develop a better understanding the texture, flavour and aroma of burgers made using plant proteins. We develop and use preparation methods that require limited additive addition and chemical and mechanical processing. An example of such a method is legume fermentation which is known to produce new flavours, textures and aromas. The techniques used to analyse the properties of the plant-based burgers may include texture analysis (force measurements), rheology, microscopy, moisture analysis and gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy (GCMS). Additionally, a trained sensory panel is available to evaluate the flavour and texture experienced while eating the plant-based burgers. The results from this project will contribute to the development of healthy and tasty plant-based burgers with limited processing and additives.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | As part of this project, you will develop several lab skills specifically related to food manufacturing. You will be working in a state-of-the-art sensory lab with access to a broad range of food-manufacturing equipment. The lab work includes making plant-based burgers and measuring the physical, chemical and (micro)structural properties of the burgers. The research also includes a sensory analysis of the products (tasting, smelling). At the end of the project, the results will be presented in written (report) and/or oral form (presentation). The results may be published in a scientific journal or at international conferences.
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Suitable for: | Suitable for food science, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, or engineering students.
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Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: Raisa Rudge Supervisor email: r.rudge@uq.edu.au Supervisor phone: 0412104715
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Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| This project will be carried out at the QAAFI sensory lab, Long Pocket Campus |
Project title:
| The use of high throughput methods to monitor composition and quality in food
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 6 weeks (10 to 20 hs per week) and applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | The increasing market and consumer desire for quality foods has created a need for efficient and accurate analytical methods to measure different food properties (e.g. chemical composition) through the value chain. High throughput methods and techniques based in vibrational spectroscopy such as near (NIR) and mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy own intrinsic benefits such as being non-invasive, rapid, and almost no sample preparation required. These methods have being able to determine simultaneously physical and chemical parameters in different food matrices. Data fusion and multivariate data analysis techniques are also integrated into the analysis to increase the effectiveness of these approaches. The aim of this project is to develop protocols and test analytical methods based in vibrational spectroscopy (e.g. NIR, MIR) combined with multivariate data analysis to analyse and monitor the composition of a wide range of foods of economic importance in order to ensure the integrity of the food value chain.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Students will gain skills in data and spectra collection, experimental design, exposure to new analytical methodologies and sensors, multivariate data analysis, and will have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students will be asked to produce a short report or oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in Chemistry, Food chemistry, Food Science and Technology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Agriculture and Science. The project is suitable for 3rd and 4th year Undergraduate or Masters-level Science students. The projects can be also suitable for a group of students (no more than 3). The project is available for UQ enrolled students only. |
Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: A/P Daniel Cozzolino Supervisor email: d.cozzolino@uq.edu.au
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Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| UQ St Lucia Campus - Hartley Teakle Building [#83] and/or Gatton Campus |
Project title:
| Sensors and math to assure authenticity and provenance of foods
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 6 weeks (10 to 20 hs per week) and applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | The increasing market and consumer desire for quality foods has created a need for efficient and accurate analytical methods to measure different food properties (e.g. chemical composition) through the value chain. However, issues related with authentication, functionality, provenance, security and traceability, are some of the main challenges facing the modern food industry. Authentication, traceability, denomination of origin, provenance of foods are of primary importance to keep consumers demands and to maintain the sustainable nature of the modern food industry. These issues in food have different aspects, one related with authenticity with respect to production (e.g. geographical origin, organic vs. non-organic, provenance) and authenticity with respect to the description (e.g. adulteration issues, counterfeit, food security). Sensors based in vibrational spectroscopy techniques such as near (NIR) and mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy with their intrinsic benefits such as being non-invasive, rapid, and almost no sample preparation, have being able to determine simultaneously physical and chemical parameters in different foods matrices as well as to authenticate and trace different foods. Data fusion and multivariate data analysis techniques are also applied to increase the effectiveness of these approaches. The aim of this project is to develop protocols and test analytical methods based in vibrational spectroscopy sensors combined with multivariate data analysis to trace and authenticate foods of economic importance to ensure the integrity of the food value chain.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Students may gain skills in data and spectra collection, experimental design, exposure to new analytical methodologies and sensors, multivariate data analysis, and will have an opportunity to generate publications from their research. Students might be asked to produce a short report or oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in Chemistry, Food chemistry, Food Science and Technology, Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Agriculture and Science. The project is suitable for 3rd and 4th year Undergraduate or Masters-level Science students. The projects can be also suitable for a group of students (no more than 3). The project is available for UQ enrolled students only. |
Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: A/P Daniel Cozzolino Supervisor email: d.cozzolino@uq.edu.au |
Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process. |
Site: | UQ St Lucia Campus - Hartley Teakle Building [#83] and Gatton Campus |
Project title:
| Development of a food matrix incorporating processed seaweed for sensory assessment
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Project duration, hours of engagement & delivery mode:
| 6 weeks (10 to 20 hours per week) and applicant will be required on-site for the project. |
Description: | It is crucial to find ways to shift the food production system towards a more sustainable one that requires less resources, while allowing access to affordable, efficiently grown, and nutritious food globally. Considering that the demand for protein is constantly growing, protein derived from seaweed could be a sustainable solution to meet the demand of protein in the future. Preliminary studies found processing of algae is a promising tool to enhance its sensory properties. The aim of this project is to assess processed seaweed in a food matrix. Through the development of sensorially improved seaweed ingredients new market opportunities arise for seaweed-derived products. This will contribute to the growth of the emerging Australian Seaweed Industry, through creation of opportunities for new food product development, through creation of new businesses and the creation of new job opportunities.
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Expected outcomes and deliverables: | Students will gain skills in product development, food processing, experimental design, sensory science, data analysis, and will have an opportunity to contribute to a publication from their research.
Students will be asked to produce a short report or oral presentation at the end of their project. |
Suitable for: | This project is open to applications from students with a background in Chemistry, Food chemistry, Food Science and Technology, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Agriculture and Science. The project is suitable for 3rd and 4th year Undergraduate or Masters-level Science students. The project is available for UQ enrolled students only. |
Primary Supervisor Details:
| Supervisor name: A/P Heather Smyth Supervisor email: h.smyth@uq.edu.au
Supervisor name: Saskia Urlass Co-supervisor email: s.urlass@uq.edu.au
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Further info: | This project is not suitable for remote, online delivery. Applicants for this project must contact the listed supervisor to discuss the project ahead of commencing the application process.
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Site:
| UQ St Lucia Campus - Hartley Teakle Building [#83]
and/or UQ Longpocket Campus - Elkhorn Building (#1024), 80 Meiers Road, Indooroopilly QLD 4068 |
Important dates
2022/2023 Summer Research Program
6-10 weeks between November and February.
Applications will open 15 August.
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