Student research programs

Benefits

Summer research at UQ provides a range of benefits, including:

• experience to ‘test-drive’ research before embarking on future research studies, such as Honours or Higher Degree Research projects such as Master’s, MPhil or PhD
• enhance your employability through opportunities to develop new academic and professional skills
• access to research networks and the opportunity to build connections with staff and postgraduate students;
• supervision by world-class UQ researchers
• access to world-class facilities 
• the possibility of obtaining credit towards your degree or the UQ Employability Award
• a scholarship for qualifying students to receive an allowance of AUD$360/- per week.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the UQ Summer Research Program at QBI, you must:

• be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or honours or master’s by coursework degree at UQ at the time of application
• remain an enrolled full-time student at UQ for the entirety of the Summer Program (ie. continuing study in the same degree in Semester 1,  2024 and not completing/graduating in December 2023)
• be studying for a degree relevant to the research discipline
• have a high level of academic achievement during their degree studies
• have the potential to and an interest in undertaking postgraduate study (Master’s, MPhil or PhD); and
• undertake the research program at QBI, located on the UQ St Lucia campus.

Students may be eligible to participate in the Program and receive a scholarship more than once at the discretion of QBI. However, if the number of applicants exceeds available places and funding, preference will be given to first-time applicants.

Assessment and selection

You will be assessed by QBI staff who will determine your suitability. Placements will be awarded on a competitive basis, taking into account:

•  eligibility
•  availability of projects and supervisors
• quality of the project
• academic merit 
• reasons provided for wanting to participate in the Program
• skills and attributes of applicants to meet project requirements
• available funding.

Scholarship support

All applicants will be automatically considered for a Summer Research Scholarship. If you qualify you'll receive funding of AUD$3000, paid jointly by QBI and the UQ SEC.  

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants are eligible for an additional scholarship. To apply for the additional Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander scholarship, please email collaborators@qbi.uq.edu.au indicating your interest, after following the how to apply instructions. Only some of the projects listed below are eligible for this additional scholarship. Check the details of the project you're interested in to see if the additional scholarship is included.

No scholars are permitted to participate in the program in a voluntary capacity.

If you withdraw from the Program, or your placement is terminated, your scholarship will need to be returned for the equivalent full weeks remaining unworked.

Time commitment and obligations

It is expected that you will be available and make a commitment to work on a full-time basis between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday (up to 36 hours each week) during the Program.

You're expected to actively participate in an ongoing research project or to undertake a substantial piece of supervised research work. Where appropriate to the project, additional discipline-/project-specific obligations may also be required, such as training in research safety and ethics.

The research period is normally offered in two parts to allow for the Christmas/New Year holidays when the University is officially closed.

Summer research project work should not conflict with teaching weeks and should not commence prior to completing assessment or semester examination requirements.

If you're accepted to participate in the Program at QBI, you'll be asked to complete a Student Intellectual Property and Confidentiality Deed (SIPCA) for your research project.

Towards the end of the Program, you may be requested by your supervisor to prepare and provide either a short-written report or oral presentation during a lab group meeting, about their summer project work.

Welcome event and student induction

Scholars accepted for the program at QBI are strongly encouraged to participate in the compulsory UQ SEC Summer Research Welcome event and QBI’s compulsory student induction activities and requirements organised for that day including OHS training.

How to apply

You can only submit only one application but you can specify a second preference in your application.

Step 1 - Choose a project from the list of available projects listed below.

Step 2 – Check your eligibility.
Carefully read through all of the UQ SEC Summer Research Program information on the UQ Careers and Employability website. 

Step 3 – Email the relevant project contact person to express your interest in the project to ask if they will support your application. In this email, attach your detailed academic CV and complete academic transcripts. If they support your EOI you'll need to include their supportive statement in your application.

Step 4 – Submit an online application via UQ Student Hub and upload supporting documentation by 22 October 2023.

This should include your:

•  complete academic transcripts
• personal statement explaining why you wish to be considered for the project
• resume
• supporting statement from the project supervisor (this may be a copy of any email correspondence)

All applicants will be notified if they will be invited to participate in the Program by 24 October 2022.

Have questions?

If you have any questions regarding the 2023/2024 UQ SEC Summer Research Program at QBI, please email collaborators@qbi.uq.edu.au.

Available projects

Explore the projects listed below to find one suitable for you. New projects are added regularly. Check back here to see the latest. 

Dr Anthony Harris: Predicting perception from pre-stimulus brain activity

Description

Human perception is remarkably variable. When repeatedly presented with the same ambiguous stimulus (e.g., the well known Rabbit-Duck Illusion), viewers will sometimes perceive it one way, sometimes the other. This is because the state the brain is in when information arrives influences the way that information is processed. This project will involve examining how pre-stimulus neural signals predict subsequent perception, and how this relationship is influenced by factors such as temporal expectation, or expectation of particular stimuli. 

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Scholars will gain experience with formulating questions about the relationship between cognition and the brain, designing experiments to answer those questions, and collecting EEG data. They may also gain experience with cleaning and processing EEG data and performing basic analyses. The scholar may be asked to produce an oral presentation about their work at the end of the project.

Suitability

Suitable for students with an interest in cognitive neuroscience who are willing to learn some relatively simple computer proframming and basic maths.

Duration

6 weeks during Summer Vacation, from Monday 8 January until Friday, 16 February. 

Hours of engagement: 3-4 days (~20-36 hours) per week

The applicant will be required to be on-site for the duration of the project.

Primary Supervisor 

Dr Anthony Harris

Contact

For further information, please contact Dr Anthony Harris at a.harris3@uq.edu.au

Dr Margreet Ridder: Investigating gene therapeutic approaches for the treatment of motor neurone disease

Description

Motor neurone disease (MND), is a fatal adult-onset neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive loss of motor neurons. One in every 300 Australians will die from MND, with 59 being the average age of onset. In Australia there are currently around 2000 people living with MND, and most will die from respiratory failure within 3 years of diagnosis. The cause for MND is unknown for the majority of patients. There is currently no cure or effective treatment to stop MND from progressing. The mainstay treatment since 1995 has been the drug riluzole (sold as Rilutek), which increases survival by only 6-19 months, emphasising the need for more effective treatments. For this project, the scholar will test whether our novel gene therapeutic approach reduces motor neuron death in a mouse model for MND.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Scholars will be involved in neuronal labelling, tissue fixation, immunohistochemistry and fluorescent microscopy. They will obtain skills in neuroanatomy and anatomical data analysis.

Your suitability

This project is open to life sciences students with an interest in neurodegenerative disease and who are keen to acquire some laboratory skills (histology).

Duration

6 weeks during Summer Vacation, from Monday 8 January until Friday, 16 February. 

Hours of engagement: 20-36 hours per week.

Applicant will be required to be on-site for the duration of the project.

Reminder: the UQ SEC Summer and Winter Research Programs are only open to UQ students - with regard to student eligibility, please note that only those students who are enrolled full-time and who will remain enrolled for the entirety of the Program are able to participate.   

Primary Supervisor 

Dr Margreet Ridder

Contact

For further information, please contact Dr Margreet Ridder m.ridder@uq.edu.au

Dr Matilde Balbi and Phoebe Mayne: Mechanisms of neuroprotection following stroke

Description

This project aims to identify key cellular components involved in the neuroprotective effects observed after sensory induced gamma stimulation, acutely following stroke. Histological techniques will be used to create fluorescent images of specific brain cells. 

Expected outcome and deliverables

Students will be involved in immunohistochemistry, fluorescent microscopy, and cell analysis. They will obtain skills in mouse neuroanatomy, data analysis, scientific writing, and presenting scientific data.

Students will be involved in lab meetings and journal clubs, will present their results in a lab meeting, and will produce a final report that will contribute towards research publications.

Your suitability

This project is suitable for students with a strong interest in neuronal anatomy. Experience with MATLAB or other programming lanuage is preferred but not required.

Duration

6 weeks during Summer Vacation, from Monday 8 January until Friday, 16 February. 

Hours of engagement: 36 hours per week.

Applicant will be required to be on-site for the duration of the project.

Extra scholarship support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students

If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicant, you're eligible for an additional scholarship of AUD$360/ per week, making your total stipend $720/ per week.

Primary Supervisor 

Dr Mathilde Balbi and Phoebe Mayne

Contact

For further information on the project please contact Dr Balbi by email (m.balbi@uq.edu.au). For general info on the lab have a look at our website.

Students can contact the supervisor to ask for more information about the project prior to applying. 

Dr Adam Walker: Studying mechanisms and treatments for motor neurone disease (MND) and frontotemporal dementia

Description

Neurodegenerative diseases such as motor neurone disease (MND) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are inevitably fatal and have no effective therapeutics. MND primarily affects the spinal cord and causes paralysis, whereas FTD primarily affects the brain and causes progressive and debilitating changes to behaviour, language and personality. Despite these many differences in disease symptoms, most people with MND and FTD develop similar characteristic pathology in neurons involving a DNA/RNA-binding protein known as TDP-43. Our lab aims to understand how dysfunction of TDP-43 and related proteins causes neurodegeneration. We use various biochemical and imaging techniques to study neuronal cell cultures, genetically modified mice, and human samples.

Recently, using advanced genetic engineering and proteomics approaches, we have identified genes and proteins that likely control neurotoxicity in MND and FTD. The aim of this project is to define how these potential new therapeutic targets contribute to neurodegeneration, to guide future drug development for people living with these devastating diseases.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

You will work alongside current lab members and may use a range of techniques including CRISPR/Cas9 genetic engineering, human iPSC-derived neuronal cell culture and transfections, lentiviral production and cell transductions, transgenic mouse motor behaviour assessment, mouse brain and spinal cord surgery and dissection, immunoblotting, and advanced microscopy, depending on the final agreed project aims.

Students will be involved in weekly lab meetings and journal clubs, will present their results in a lab meeting, and will produce a final report that may contribute towards research publications. 

Your suitability

This project is open to applications from students with an interest in biochemistry, cell biology and neuroscience, and we welcome lab members with a diversity of past experience. 

We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, LGBTIAQ+ students and others from backgrounds underrepresented in STEMM. 

Applications from students who may be interested in undertaking Honours or Masters research units in our lab in 2024, or future higher degree research (MPhil/PhD), will be viewed favourably.

Primary Supervisor

Dr Adam Walker

Duration

6 weeks during Summer Vacation, from Monday 8 January until Friday, 16 February. 

Hours of engagement: 20-36 hours per week.

Applicant will be required to be on-site for the duration of the project.

Reminder: the UQ SEC Summer and Winter Research Programs are only open to UQ students - with regard to student eligibility, please note that only those students who are enrolled full-time and who will remain enrolled for the entirety of the Program are able to participate.   

Extra scholarship support for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students

If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander applicant, you're eligible for an additional scholarship.

Express your interest

Please send expressions of interest to Dr Adam Walker (adam.walker@uq.edu.au), Dr Rebecca San Gil (r.sangil@uq.edu.au), Dr Leon Luan (w.luan@uq.edu.au), Dr Adekunle Bademosi (a.bademosi@uq.edu.au), or Dr Heledd Brown-Wright (h.brownwright@uq.edu.au). 

So that we can consider your expression of interest, in your initial email you must include:

• your CV, 
• academic transcript, and; 
• a short description of your research interests and future goals. 

If applicable, you are welcome to also provide a brief description of relevant relative-to-opportunity considerations that may have impacted your past record of achievement.

We will invite shortlisted candidates to meet and discuss specific details of available projects prior to final application submission.

Dr Zhaoyu Li: Mechanisms of brain and behaviour ageing

Description

Ageing is a process involving progressive physiological and cognitive declines. This phenomenon can manifest at different levels and lead to diverse ageing-related phenotypes. Ageing in the nervous system gives rise to a series of motor and cognitive behaviour declines and represents a major risk factor for numerous neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Despite its importance, understanding how brain functions change with aging remains limited. Our goal is to dissect the mechanisms underlying this process using C. elegans as a research model. This organism has a short lifespan of only 3 weeks and a simple nervous system consisting of 302 neurons. We will employ optogenetics, imaging, genetics, and behavioural approaches to study the changes in behaviour and neural function during ageing.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Students will gain skills in optogenetics, imaging, genetics, and behavioural analysis. He/she will be expected to give a presentation at the end of their project.

Your suitability

This project is open to UQ students who are interested in neuroscience, behaviour, and ageing.

Duration

6 weeks during Summer Vacation, from Monday 8 January until Friday, 16 February. 

Hours of engagement: ~36 hours per week.

Applicant will be required to be on-site for the duration of the project.

Primary Supervisor 

Zhaoyu Li and Yi Rong

Contact

For further information or to discuss the project, please contact Dr Zhaoyu Li at zhaoyu.li@uq.edu.au

Dr Susannah Tye: Insulin-Dopamine interactions

Description

The dysregulation of dopamine neurotransmission is implicated in low mood and motivation (anhedonia), which are key symptoms of major depressive disorder. Emerging evidence suggests that insulin signalling, a key regulator of glucose homeostasis, may play a role in dopamine dysfunction, and vice versa. 

This project will use a cell-based approach to study the role of insulin in controlling dopamine cell maturation, and the impact of dopamine on insulin action (glucose uptake and signalling) in neurons and astrocytes. 

Results are expected to improve our understanding of the interdependent molecular mechanisms through which insulin controls dopamine neurotransmission, and the reciprocal actions through which dopamine signalling controls insulin action.

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Scholars will gain skills in data collection, cellular assays and image analysis. Students may be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project.

Your suitability

This project is open to applications from students with a background in molecular neuroscience and physiology.

Duration

6 weeks during Summer Vacation, from Monday 8 January until Friday, 16 February. 

Hours of engagement: 20-36 hours per week.

Applicant will be required to be on-site for the duration of the project.

Primary Supervisor

Dr Susannah Tye

Contact

For further information on the project please email Dr Susannah Tye at s.tye@uq.edu.au

Professor Thomas Burne: Reverse translation of a cognitive task for use in rodents and people

Description

Cognitive dysfunction is prominent in the elderly and many patients with neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, yet current treatments have little effect on these symptoms. We need better treatments, but this requires better testing protocols. This project aims to improve translational research between animal models and people with cognitive symptoms. We have recently designed a novel cognitive flexibility task to investigate similarities shared with human cognitive tests by looking at performance deficits in rodents that reflect physiological changes that have been observed in patients. In this project we will develop a human version of the rodent task used in rats and mice as a first step in reverse translation of this task. 

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Observe cognitive testing in rodents and help develop a comparable task in people. We also have the ability for big data analysis to identify key aspects of the rodent task that utilise high/low cognitive load, spatial/non-spatial abilities, and attention/vigilance components.

Your suitability

Researchers interested in behavioural neuroscience, cognition and preclinical animal models. Due to the short nature of the project, animal handling will be unlikely, but the student will have the opportunity to participate in the reverse translation of a novel cognitive task used in rodents for use in people.

Duration

6 weeks during Summer Vacation, from Monday 8 January until Friday, 16 February. 

Hours of engagement: 20-36 hours per week.

Applicant will be required to be on-site for the duration of the project.

Reminder: the UQ SEC Summer and Winter Research Programs are only open to UQ students - with regard to student eligibility, please note that only those students who are enrolled full-time and who will remain enrolled for the entirety of the Program are able to participate.   

Primary Supervisor

Professor Thomas Burne

Contact

For further information or to discuss the project, please contact Professor Thomas Burne at t.burne@uq.edu.au

Dr Sally Staton and Dr Laetitia Coles: Children's development studies

Description

For this summer scholar project, scholars will be involved in at least one of the following projects that are aimed at understanding young children’s sleep, learning, and wellbeing, and the individual and environmental factors that predict variations in children’s outcomes.
(1)    “Sleep Transitions and Regularity study (STARs)” – longitudinal study investigating early sleep patterns, and the ways these patterns link with children’s outcomes.
(2)    “Child sleep development in the context of family work lives” – understanding how sleep disruption influences children’s learning and wellbeing, parents’ sleep, relationships, work, and wellbeing, and attendant economic costs to the community. 
(3)    “Can attachment theory be applied in early childhood education and care environments? Theorising and measuring qualities of child-educator relationships.” – seeking to validate a measure of child-educator attachment which uses the observable behaviours of children, educators, and parents during drop-off and pick-up times. 

Expected outcomes and deliverables

Scholars will gain the following skills and experiences: 
•    Experience in ‘grass-roots’ preparation for data collection, and/or
•    Experience in various data collection activities with young children using standard tests and observation protocols. Training will be provided, and
•    The unique opportunity to be embedded within a collaborative, busy, and enthusiastic team of researchers and research assistants. Scholars will be involved in team meetings and have an opportunity to learn from senior academics.  

Your suitability

This project is open to applications from students with a background in Psychology, Education, Social Work, Sociology, or with experience in working with children.

Duration

Six weeks (8/1/24-16/2/24) between 20 - 36hrs per week.

Applicant will be required to join our team supporting data collection and/or data analysis activities focused on early childhood.

Preference for applicants who hold a Blue Card (approval for working with children). If applicant does not hold a Blue Card but is very interested, please reach out to us. We’d love to hear from motivated students!

Primary Supervisor 

Dr Sally Staton and Dr Laetitia Coles

Contact

Please contact Dr Laetitia Coles for any enquiries: l.coles@uq.edu.au