The University of Technology Sydney has unveiled the 10 recipients of the UTS Chancellor's Research Fellowships (CRF) for 2024, who will be taking leaps towards addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Next-gen UTS researchers take the leap
These next-generation researchers have showcased a diverse array of research interests, from tackling the multifaceted complexities of climate change to conserving the delicate ecosystem of the reef habitat.
UTS Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor Chris Turney, expressed his excitement about the CRF cohort of 2024.
"I’m genuinely thrilled to witness such bright, ambitious minds joining our institution. The breadth of their research is a testament to their dynamic capabilities.”
“At UTS, we believe in nurturing talent that seeks to question, innovate, and make meaningful contributions to the global research community.
“The promise these fellows bring to the research world is immeasurable, and we're excited to see the transformative impact of their work in the coming years,” says Professor Turney.
Each recipient receives a four-year contract appointment, project funding of up to $50,000 and a range of other benefits.
Learn more about our newest fellows.
Dr Zoe Xirocostas, Faculty of Science
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Pliable plants: How biogeography shapes plants’ adaptive potential to climate change.
Summary: This fellowship project aims to determine the importance of habitat complexity in plants’plasticity to climate change by conducting fieldwork across Australia and a novel series of glasshouse experiments. It will further our knowledge of the mechanisms that drive our ecosystems and identify those less likely to keep up with Earth’s rapidly changing conditions. Expected outcomes of this project include building networks across UTS and Australian National Parks, high-impact publications and identification of species/areas most at risk of climate change.This should provide significant benefits such as putting UTS on the map for globally recognised research and safeguarding our precious biota.
Sponsor: Associate Professor Brad Murray
Dr Ariel Pezner, Faculty of Science
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Drivers of low oxygen tolerance in extreme reef habitats over space and time.
Summary: Ocean deoxygenation poses a severe threat to the health and survival of marine ecosystems. This fellowship project aims to advance our understanding of how naturally variable coral reef environments influence the deoxygenation tolerance of key species. The results of this project will provide new data on the resilience of key reef species to deoxygenation and the drivers of variability in low oxygen tolerance to support continued management and conservation of Australia’s coral reef ecosystems under climate change.
Sponsor: Dr Emma Camp
Dr Daniel Mediati, Faculty of Science
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Programmable RNA-based antibiotics for urosepsis: A translational RNA biology approach.
Summary: Urosepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when a urinary tract infection (UTI) disseminates into the blood, causing organ dysfunction and failure. Treatment failure is now common and attributed to antibiotic-resistant isolates that demonstrate resistance to last-line antibiotics. This fellowship will establish a programmable RNA platform technology that can attenuate urosepsis, be used in combination therapy with current conventional antibiotics, or re-enable deprecated antibiotics previously rendered useless by antimicrobial resistance. This RNA technology can be used as a broad-spectrum RNA-based antimicrobial that could be rapidly synthesised to combat emerging infectious diseases and complement the development of mRNA vaccine(s) in other human or animal infections.
Sponsor: Professor Garry Myers
Dr Lizhao Song, Faculty of Engineering and IT
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Adaptive terahertz antenna systems for inter-satellite communications.
Summary: This fellowship project aims to develop high-speed, compact, electrically controlled adaptive antenna systems for intelligent inter-satellite communications using terahertz (THz) reconfigurable metasurfaces. It expects to generate new technologies in space communications by exploiting interdisciplinary approaches, including tuneable metasurfaces, THz technologies and algorithms. This project promises secure, fast and uninterrupted data transmissions for constantly moving satellites. It will also enable institutional and multidisciplinary collaborations. The research outcome will significantly enhance UTS’s international standing in THz and space communications, and benefit Australia’s future space industry for commercial and defence purposes.
Sponsor: Distinguished Professor Yingjie Jay Guo
Dr Matt Johansen, Faculty of Science
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Investigating the host-pathogen interface of Mycobacterium abscessus infection in cystic fibrosis.
Summary: In the last decade, the incidence of infections from non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) have increased exponentially. The most clinically significant and pathogenic NTM species is Mycobacterium abscessus, causing severe lung and soft tissue infections. The major risk factor for NTM and M. abscessus infection is chronic lung disease and in particular cystic fibrosis, however the mechanisms responsible are poorly understood. This project will investigate the host and bacterial factors driving Mycobacterium abscessus infection in cystic fibrosis patients. This project will significantly advance our understanding of M. abscessus infection, identify new treatable targets and improve treatment outcomes and quality of life for cystic fibrosis patients.
Sponsor: Professor Philip Hansbro
Dr Meg Foster, Faculty of Arts and Social Science
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Law and Justice? Social attitudes towards crime and policing from Australia’s past.
Summary: This interdisciplinary project examines the impact of the colonial past on current attitudes to crime and policing. It integrates public history, social memory and criminology to uncover how 3 historical figures—the bushranger, stock thief and colonial police—affect present understanding. It shows how historical narratives are experienced, shaped and challenged by Australians of white and diverse backgrounds today, with particular attention to the impact of race, gender, class and nation. The project addresses critical issues, like the mass criminalisation of people of colour, by revealing their connection to historical narratives. Understanding colonial legacies in crime and policing enables us to actively combat them.
Sponsor: Professor Anna Clark
Dr Kumar Biswajit Debnath, Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Data-driven Bio-fabricated carbon-negative building skin for passive COOLing (BioCOOL).
Summary: High temperatures and frequent, prolonged heat waves have increased global space cooling demand, thus elevating fossil fuel-based generation and emissions. Furthermore, existing space cooling and passive and adaptive building skin solutions are energy-dependent and have high embodied carbon. BioCOOL aims to develop a biomimetic, bio-fabricated (from agriculture waste), weather-resistant, and carbon-negative building skin with mycelium composites for climate resilience capable of passive evaporative cooling through interdisciplinary research and innovation in building skin, bio-based material development, and large-scale prototyping. This project should benefit climate change resilience and the goals of achieving net zero by reducing active energy demand and embodied carbon in the building sector and fulfilling SDGs 7, 11, 12, and 13.
Sponsor: Associate Professor Dr Nimish Biloria
Dr Guochen Bao, Faculty of Science
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: Conquering concentration quenching for efficient absorption of lanthanide nanocrystals.
Summary: To study cells and diseases at the molecular level, biological researchers require luminescent probes that are bright enough to achieve single-molecule sensitivity in living cells. This project aims to create superbright nanoprobes, with high brightness and low background noise. It will lead to a series of new-generation molecular probes and provide significant benefits in biomedical imaging, ultra-sensitive assays, and optoelectronic devices.
Sponsor: Professor Philip Gale
Dr Aaqil Rifai, Faculty of Engineering and IT
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: 3D-bioprinted microtissues as living building blocks to regenerate cartilage (PrintCARTILAGE).
Summary: This fellowship project aims to establish a transformative tissue engineering approach. It involves spatially patterning engineered microtissues into predefined positions in 3D space using 3D-bioprinting to derive larger tissues and organ precursors (PrintCARTILAGE). PrintCARTILAGE will be the world's first to fabricate bespoke, clinically relevant tissues at scale, focusing on zonally defined cartilage grafts. The project's expected outcomes will advance knowledge and foster translational partnerships with clinicians and hospitals. Successful implementation of PrintCARTILAGE will have a profound impact, enabling cartilage regeneration for therapeutic outcomes.
Sponsor: Professor Joanne Tipper
Dr Xuan Li, Faculty of Engineering and IT
Chancellor's Research Fellow 2024
Project: A novel biotechnology for eliminating harmful wastewater-induced emissions from sewers.
Summary: Wastewater-induced sewer gaseous emissions lead to severe concrete corrosion issues, resulting in millions of dollars of damage in Australia alone, along with odour and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This project aims to develop an innovative technology with underpinning science to eliminate harmful wastewater-induced gaseous emissions in sewers. The expected outcome will support Australia in achieving resilient and sustainable urban infrastructure with extended service life, reduced maintenance costs, and minimized odour and GHG emissions. This project promises significant economic, environmental, and social benefits for water utilities and the public.
Sponsor: Professor Qilin Wang