The Academy joint PhD research projects are well defined and developed by a collaborative team of researchers at UQ and IITD. Selected PhD students working on a project will be supervised by a joint supervision team of UQ and IITD academics.

To apply, select a ’Position Open’ project. You can nominate up to two projects in your EOI form.

UQ–IITD 403
Position Closed

High content screening of 3D cell culture environments for biopharmaceutical discovery

Growing cells in 3D culture can more efficiently produce therapeutics and realistic drug testing models than current industry methods. Using microfabrication and live microscopy, this PhD engineers 3D culture platforms and computer software amendable for biopharmaceutical high content screening.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Mark Allenby

School of Chemical Engineering
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Amit Das

Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology
Additional Supervisor

Professor Preeti Srivastava

Department of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology
Engineering Medicine Health and Behavioural Sciences IT and Computer Science Healthcare and biotechnology Advanced materials and manufacturing
UQ–IITD 402
Position Closed

Multicomponent assembly of second-generation fluorocarbons through frustrated Lewis pair catalysed selective C-F bond activation

Employing polyfluorocarbons, this project will explore direct access to diverse organic architectures from multiple coupling partners in cascade style-reaction. The project will lead to new synthetic protocols for the reuse of waste fluorocarbons as low-cost resources in synthetic chemistry.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Rowan Young

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
IITD Supervisor

Associate professor Chinmoy Hazra

Department of Chemistry
Science and Mathematics Clean energy and sustainability Advanced materials and manufacturing
UQ–IITD 401
Position Closed

An exploration of food environments as drivers of consumption

This project will investigate food environments in urban locations with a projected outcome to inform policy create a healthy sustainable food environment within these settings.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Preetha Thomas

School of Public Health
IITD Supervisor

Dr Richa Kumar

Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Additional Supervisor

Dr Megan Ferguson

School of Public Health
Agriculture and Environment Medicine Health and Behavioural Sciences Humanities, Social Sciences and Education Societal transformations and livelihoods
UQ–IITD 400
Position Closed

Visible light photocatalysis in organic synthesis and mechanistic insights through computational chemistry

The project involves the design, synthesis, and characterization of new organic photocatalysts for application in developing new sustainable synthetic protocols, and understanding their catalytic mechanisms by experimental and theoretical investigations.

UQ Supervisor

Professor Elizabeth Krenske

School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
IITD Supervisor

Professor Nidhi Jain

Department of Chemistry
Science and Mathematics Clean energy and sustainability
UQ–IITD 399
Position Closed

Physics-informed Machine Learning Approaches for Numerical Modelling of Structures Under Extreme Conditions

Accurate numerical modeling of structures under extreme loads is costly due to the detail needed for capturing localised failure modes. This project aims to develop a hybrid physics-informed ML-finite element approach for efficient and cost-effective analysis of large structures under extreme loads.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Anwar Orabi

School of Civil Engineering
IITD Supervisor

Dr Svetha Venkatachari

Department of Civil Engineering
Additional Supervisor

Associate professor David Lange

School of Civil Engineering
Additional Supervisor

Professor Vasant Matsagar

Department of Civil Engineering
Engineering Digital futures and artificial intelligence
UQ–IITD 398
Position Closed

Historical Context, Contemporary Practices, and Future Frameworks for Institutional Campus Design: A Comparative Study with Indian and Australian Technical Institutes on Liveability, Sustainability, and Imageability

This study explores campus design at Indian and Australian technical institutes, analysing historical contexts, contemporary practices, and future frameworks to enhance liveability, sustainability, and imageability through case studies, empirical research, and stakeholder engagement

UQ Supervisor

Dr Manu P. Sobti

School of Architecture, Design and Planning
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Saurabh Tewari

Department of Design
Additional Supervisor

Dr Fred Fialho Teixeira

School of Architecture, Design and Planning
Architecture, Planning and Design Clean energy and sustainability
UQ–IITD 397
Position Closed

Integrated systems for rooftop and wall agriculture to enhance building energy efficiency and urban food sustainability

The project investigates the integration of techniques from agriculture, such as farming into the roof and wall constructions of buildings. It aims to demonstrate the environmental and financial benefits of improved building energy efficiency and food security in urban spaces.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Silvia Micheli

School of Architecture, Design and Planning
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Ann Francis

Department of Civil Engineering
Agriculture and Environment Architecture, Planning and Design Engineering Clean energy and sustainability
UQ–IITD 396
Position Closed

High-fidelity computational analysis of ultrasound-induced cavitation in tissue

In this project, we will develop a 3D interface-resolved CFD model of ultrasound and shock-driven cavitation in tissues. Our objective is to obtain insights into the microscopic details of the tissue ablation process during ultrasound-based non-invasive therapies through high-resolution simulations.

UQ Supervisor

Dr Travis Mitchell

School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Pratik Das

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Engineering Healthcare and biotechnology
UQ–IITD 395
Position Closed

Strategic Integration of Generative AI in Telehealth: Enhancing Equity and Access in Australia and India

The project explores generative AI, particularly LLMs, to enhance telehealth in regional & remote areas of Australia and India. Focusing on cross-country learning, it addresses responsible implementation and ethical, privacy, and governance issues to ensure safe, effective, and equitable healthcare.

UQ Supervisor

Associate professor Saeed Akhlaghpour

UQ Business School
IITD Supervisor

Associate professor Sanjay Dhir

Department of Management Studies
Business Management Economics and Law Digital futures and artificial intelligence Societal transformations and livelihoods
UQ–IITD 394
Position Closed

Optimizing systemic therapies of metastatic and recurrent triple-negative breast cancer using next generation 3D models

The project will assess intratumoral heterogeneity and the effectiveness of immunotherapy regimens on patient-derived 3D models in recurrent and metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, aiming to identify potential therapeutic targets and provide personalized cancer care to patients.

UQ Supervisor

Honorary Professor Kum Kum Khanna

Mater Research Institute-UQ
IITD Supervisor

Assistant professor Saran Kumar

Kusuma School of Biological Sciences
Medicine Health and Behavioural Sciences Healthcare and biotechnology