Engage

You can help progress our research

You don't have to be a scientist to get involved with QBI. We offer a range of opportunities for everyday people to connect and progress our research and discoveries.

The foundation for all of our work is the funding we receive through a range of sources, including philanthropic donations from our generous supporters. There are many ways to give to QBI: directly, through planned giving, or holding fundraising events that entertain or challenge supporters as they dig deep to help us better understand the brain. 

We also offer opportunities for students to learn directly from our inspiring researchers through lab placements, and for community members to tour our facilities and attend events. Finally, you can give one of the greatest gifts of all by volunteering for studies to advance treatments and diagnostics for brain diseases and disorders.

What your donations fund

Through your support you are helping QBI solve the major neurological health challenges facing our community today

World leading research

Brightest scientific minds

Solutions to global health challenges

Brain Research Endowment Fund
 

Find out more        Donate to research

QBI’s Brain Research Endowment Fund supports scientists exploring the unknown, which will guide new research on finding cures for diseases or improving quality of life.

Community & school programs

 

Australian Brain Bee

The Australian Brain Bee Challenge (ABBC) is a competition for high school students in year 10 to learn about the brain and its functions, learn about neuroscience research, find out about careers in neuroscience and to dispel misconceptions about neurological and mental illnesses. 
 

Learn more


Participate in a research study

By being part of our human research studies you can make a valuable contribution to improving the lives of people living with brain disease and disorder.

 

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Research in action

  • 12 Jun 2019
    Join us for an informative breakfast session discussing What do we really know about the brain?, with researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute.
  • Wray: Statistical and Psychiatric Genetics

    Group Leaders

    Professor Naomi Wray

    Affiliate NHMRC Leadership Fellow
    Queensland Brain Institute
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
    Supervisor: 
    Researcher biography: 

    Naomi Wray is the Michael Davys Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford. She holds an appointment at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB) within the University of Queensland. She joined UQ Queensland Brain Institute in 2011 moving to the IMB in 2015. She was Head of the Centre for Population & Disease Genomics within IMB 2018-2023. Her Oxford appointment started in 2023.

    Her research focuses on development and application of quantitative genetics and genomics methodologies across complex diseases, disorders and traits, but particularly psychiatric-related traits.

    She is a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Leadership Fellow, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science. In 2020 she was awarded the NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Award for Leadership in Basic Science and the 2021 International Society of Psychiatric Genetics Ming Tsuang Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a Clarivate Highly Cited researcher.

    She was Director of the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG) funded as an NHMRC Program Grant 2017-2022. She plays a key role in the International Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and established the sporadic ALS Australia systems genomics consortium (SALSA) funded by the MND Research Australia IceBucket Challenge and FightMND. She is a co-investigator on the Australian Genetics of Depression Study (AGDS) and is currently launching the AGDS-Cello project focussed on establishing a cell line resource from participants with a detailed history of anti-depressant use and response measures. She is part of an NHMRC Synergy (2023-2027) "Rhythms and blues: Personalising care for body clock dysfunction in mood disorders".

    She is secretary of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, and is on the editorial advisory boards of JAMA Psychiatry, Neuron, Royal Society Open and Research Directions: Depression.

    Body: 

    Professor Naomi Wray: Program in complex trait genomics

    The Wray laboratory focusses on understanding the genetic contribution to psychiatric and neurological disorders. The group specialises in applying new analytical methods of genomic data to provide insights into these complex disorders, with an ultimate goal to improve diagnosis, prognosis and treatments. The lab plays a key role in the international Psychiatric Genomics Consortium and Prof Wray co-leads the sporadic ALS Australia systems genomics consortium (SALSA), funded by the IceBucket Challenge.

    Find out more


     

    Professor Peter Visscher

    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
    Supervisor: 
    Researcher biography: 

    Visscher joined the University of Queensland in 2011, where he is Professor of Quantitative Genetics. He is a Laureate Fellow of the Australian Research Council. Visscher was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2010, a Fellow of the Royal Society (London) in 2018 and a Foreign Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.

    Visscher's research is about genetic variation for complex traits (including quantitative traits and disease) in populations, with the broad aim to understand and quantify the causes and consequences of human trait variation.

    Prof Peter Visscher, Prof Naomi Wray and Prof Jian Yang together comprise the Executive Team of the Program in Complex Trait Genomics (PCTG). PCTG comprises a critical mass of more than 30 post-doctoral researchers plus research assistants and students, all supported by external grant funding. Their skills lie in the ability to develop and apply statistical methods within the framework of quantitative, population and statistical genetics and to use theory to understand and predict results from data analyses. They play leading roles in the international research consortia. The focus of current research activities is in the detection and fine-mapping of loci underlying complex traits (including common disease), based upon theoretical studies and applications of methods to large datasets, in population genetics studies using theoretical approaches and high-density genetic marker data, and in systems genomics studies.

    Body: 

    Professor Peter Visscher: Program in complex trait genomics

    The Visscher laboratory specialises in developing methodology that enables analyses aimed at understanding the genetic basis of differences in risk for disease, and other phenotypes between individuals. This research crosses the boundaries of quantitative and statistical genetics, population genetics and human genetics. Applications are diverse but include the study of cognition, cognitive change, and psychiatric and neurological disorders. 

    Find out more


     


    Research Members

    Dr Qiongyi Zhao

    Research Fellow
    Queensland Brain Institute
    Researcher profile is public: 
    1
    Supervisor: 
    Researcher biography: 

    I am a Research Fellow in Bioinformatics, holding a joint position with QBI the Bredy group (50%) and IMB the Palpant group (50%). With over 15 years of experience in the bioinformatics/NGS field, my journey began with the greenfield development of three NGS platforms: 454, Illumina, and SOLiD. This experience has equipped me with extensive expertise in bioinformatic analysis, particularly in analyzing a variety of NGS data types. As the leader of the bioinformatics core facility at QBI from 2012 to 2022, my role was primarily focused on providing bioinformatics services. However, I have also been actively engaged in custom programming and analysis for numerous projects, allowing me to make significant intellectual contributions and deepen my involvement in research studies. Despite the typical service-oriented position of bioinformaticians, my publication record is notable, featuring over 40 peer-reviewed publications, with me serving as the first, co-first, or last author on 16 of them. Since 2019, my work has garnered 1,525 citations (as per Google Scholar, as of 12 Jan 2024), with 41.2% of my publications ranking in the top 10% of journals based on the CiteScore Percentile Source from SciVal. My contributions to bioinformatics are showcased in prestigious journals, with notable examples including lncRNA capture sequencing and ATAC-seq data analysis (Nature Communications, 2023) and (Cell Reports, 2022), de novo transcriptome assembly (Development, 2022), noncanonical structure Z-DNA analysis (Nature Neuroscience, 2020), DNA modification m6dA data analysis (Nature Neuroscience, 2019), whole-exome sequencing data analysis (Genome Medicine, 2017), and cross-ethnic meta-analysis (Nature Communications, 2017).


    Students

  • Catch up on the public lecture given by international expert on Autism, Professor Elliott Sheer.

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