Dr Xueyan Shen

As part of a larger project to understand the genetic architecture of disease resistance in Asian seabass, a PhD scholarship is available for a student to examine the heritability of resistance, genetic correlations with other traits, and investigate potential QTL or genes associated with resistance.

We are seeking a high calibre PhD student with a passion for applied science with strong quantitative and molecular skills, and interest/experience in bioinformatics to address this important question in the genetic architecture of disease resistance in fish. The student will use quantitative genetics, next generation sequencing technologies, qRT-PCR and fish husbandry techniques to directly examine the impacts of pathogen exposure on the biology and performance of different family lines under experimental and commercial culture conditions. The student will work in close collaboration with senior academic staff and a research assistant on the same project.

Selection of applicants will be based on merit; to be competitive will require a Research Masters (or First Class Honours) and have preferably (co)authored at least one scientific publication in a closely related field.

The prospective candidate will be required to apply for one of JCU’s highly competitive PhD scholarships (https://www.jcu.edu.au/graduate-research-school/candidates/scholarships). Prospective applicants should email Dr Xueyan Shen ([email protected]) in the first instance to discuss their research experience and project details.

Dr. Neil Hutchinson

Over 50% of fisheries production in Southeast Asia is from aquaculture, amounting to over US$17 billion per year.  Automation will enable the industry to develop more sustainable practices, reducing environmental impacts and costs while improving the quality of fisheries products. This project will focus on how the behaviour of individual, sentinel, animals in an aquaculture system can be used to understand the behaviour of the broader population. Animal tracking technologies will be used in real-life situations in commercial farms. This information will enable the development of rapid adaptive management strategies, to maximise animal condition and production. Would suit an applicant who is highly motivated and has completed Honours, Masters or appropriate Postgraduate research training in Aquaculture, Marine Science or an associated field.  Familiarity with acoustic telemetry and analysis would be an advantage.  The candidate should be keen to work in field and laboratory situations and should possess a positive and open approach to communication that would enable them to work closely with non-academic partners.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Dr. Neil Hutchinson ([email protected])

Dr. Neil Hutchinson

Over 50% of fisheries production in Southeast Asia is from aquaculture, amounting to over US$17 billion per year.  Automation will enable the industry to develop more sustainable practices, reducing environmental impacts and costs while improving the quality of fisheries products. This project will focus on how the behaviour of individual, sentinel, animals in an aquaculture system can be used to understand the behaviour of the broader population. Animal tracking technologies will be used in real-life situations in commercial farms. This information will enable the development of rapid adaptive management strategies, to maximise animal condition and production. Would suit an applicant who is highly motivated and has completed Honours, Masters or appropriate Postgraduate research training in Aquaculture, Marine Science or an associated field.  Familiarity with acoustic telemetry and analysis would be an advantage.  The candidate should be keen to work in field and laboratory situations and should possess a positive and open approach to communication that would enable them to work closely with non-academic partners.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Dr. Neil Hutchinson ([email protected])

Dr. Thanh Nguyen

Dr Nguyen's research interests and where there are possible student research projects fall into three broad categories:
a) Bank performance
b) Stock market
c) Income inequality

Bank performance: one of Dr Nguyen's research interests focuses on the issue of bank performance and how efficient and productive banks are compared to other banks in the same country. Moreover, there is the question of whether commercial banks in one country are more efficient, more productive and more innovative in reducing costs and increasing profit than banks in other countries. Furthermore, she has research interests in understanding the association between competition and performance, and between competition and bank risk.

Stock market: The second research area aims to address the important issues in relation to the determinants of stock market integration, portfolio diversification, and the interrelationships between stock markets.

Income inequality: the third area of research is about income inequality determinants, and the impacts of financial development, FDI and tourism development on income inequality. As bank performance and stock market play a very important role to the development of an economy, while income equality plays a crucial role to the sustainability of economy development, these three categories of research will be very useful for the policy makers, bank managers, investors, researchers, and other stakeholders.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Dr Thanh Nguyen ([email protected]).

Associate Professor Adrian Kuah

Companies are offering services, either as a standalone delivery, or often packaged with products. Companies’ goals are to service their customers in their best interest. However, the relationships with customers, employees and suppliers have been violated as customers are offered one-off selling, employees are incentivized to meet performance targets, and suppliers are chosen based on lowest prices in a linear fashion! These result in goods and products disposed shortly after they reach their end-of-use. The circular economy refers to a model to which resources are optimally used by lengthening and broadening it's life, and actions are taken to recover and regenerate resources at the end of a product’s service life. One specific model build on the concept of “servitization” where companies switch their focus from making products to bundling them with a range of services. Privately owned goods can be shared and commercially owned products can be leased in peer-to-peer marketplaces. By promoting sharing, shared platforms can redistribute overcapacity, conserve resources, and create value for the society. Circular economy thinking touches on some important core values of trust, future security, and sustainability, as it restores the thought of striving for well-being, sustainability, and longevity.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Associate Professor Adrian Kuah ([email protected]).

Associate Professor Adrian Kuah

The corporate training industry as well as the business and financial training industries are filled with renowned gurus, from Anthony Robbins to Stephen Covey. One former guru, Donald Trump, is now the 45th President of the United States; during the presidential election campaigns, he made use of his guru fame and brand. Many business corporations and executives in English-speaking Western economies have been affected by the thoughts and actions of these gurus, delivered via the printed media or live seminars that cost a substantial amount of money. These gurus, who are entrepreneurial leaders themselves, sell a wide range of knowledge-economy-based products and services to the public in areas such as investments, motivation, and self-help. Gurus also attract a large number of followers, who may become better off financially or entrepreneurially after the trainings. This longitudinal study proposes investigating the entrepreneur and leadership characteristics of gurus and developing an instrument to capture the influences these gurus have on their followers. Other than the gurus, this topic area has scope in understanding the extent followers mimic their gurus in their behaviours and create their personal success.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Associate Professor Adrian Kuah ([email protected]).

Collaborative project with the Department of Biological Sciences at National University of Singapore (NUS).

• Professor Andreas L. Lopata
• Dr. Thimo Ruethers
• Assoc. Professor Fook Tim Chew (NUS)

Over 40 per cent of the world’s population has some type of allergic sensitivity, and allergic reactions are seen throughout life in both children and adults. In addition, allergen sources are the most diverse in the Asia-Pacific region, including insects and mites, which are inhaled and ingested. However, there are still many things we have to understand about allergies and how to diagnose and manage them including the development of therapeutics.

The tropical mite (Blomia tropicalis), which is related but different to the well-investigated European house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus), has been recognised as one of the major causes of allergic asthma in the tropical and subtropical regions. In fact, up to 80% of Singaporeans are sensitised to this mite and clinical cross-reactivity to ingested shellfish such as shrimp is suggested based on similar allergenic proteins (allergens). Cross-reactive allergens will be investigated in this project utilising molecular and immunological tools in laboratory as well as clinical settings.

Shellfish allergy is a leading cause of food-induced anaphylaxis and one of the most common causes of food allergy among adults, with up to 3% of the general population affected. Several allergens have been identified across different shellfish and related arthropod species including insects and mites, but many Asia-Pacific species are not well characterised. Insects are an emerging alternative food protein source with an under-investigated risk of allergic reactions.

Suitable candidates should be passionate about applied sciences and interested in working in a dynamic interdisciplinary environment. Prior experiences in biological or biomedical sciences would be advantageous.
For more details on this project or to discuss other research interests, please contact any of the prospective advisors.

Some reading (doi): 10.1111/all.15363, 10.3390/foods11030404, 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2010.01094.x, 10.1038/s41598-019-48688-y.

Collaborative project with industry partners.

• Dr. Thimo Ruethers
• Professor Andreas L. Lopata

Singapore is an innovation hub and research leader in future foods and the sustainable production of alternative proteins. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) became the first and to date only national regulator in the world to ‘green light’ the sale of lab-grown cultivated meat in 2020 – often referred to as cell-cultured chicken meat without slaughter. Local companies are leading the establishment of cultivated, not caught, seafood and JCU is supporting this movement for the production of healthy and safe alternative proteins. SFA’s Singapore Food Story and the Good Food Institute are major drivers of this food revolution.

Cultivated seafood offers exciting opportunities for the production of sustainable food proteins for the growing world population with tremendous positive impacts on global climate and planetary health. Human health benefits include a lower risk of foodborne illness and a lack of various biotoxins, contaminations and heavy metals. However, selected safety aspects such as the potential to trigger allergic reactions are yet to be investigated in this pioneering project.

Candidates who want to explore the world of healthy alternative food proteins should be passionate about applied sciences and interested in working in a dynamic interdisciplinary and intersectoral environment. Prior experiences in biological or biomedical sciences would be advantageous.

For more details on this project or to discuss other research interests, please contact any of the prospective advisors.

Some reading (doi): https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fmi13060828; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10061226

Collaborative project with Bioinformatics Institute (BII) at Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR:

• Professor Andreas L. Lopata
• Dr. Thimo Ruethers
• A/Prof Jose Domingos
• Dr. Sebastian Maurer-Stroh (A*STAR)

Over 40 per cent of the world’s population has some type of allergic sensitivity, and allergic reactions are seen throughout life in both children and adults. In addition, allergen sources are the most diverse in the Asia-Pacific region, particular to different types of food. However, there are still many things we have to understand about allergies, which will be investigated in this project utilising molecular, immunological and bioinformatic methods. We aim to improve the diagnosis and management of food allergies and co-develop therapeutics.

The correct diagnosis and appropriate management of seafood allergy are often impossible due to the lack of suitable tools and similar allergenic proteins found in different food sources. Clinical cross-reactivity between fish, frog, crocodile and chicken muscle has previously been demonstrated in fish allergy sufferers.

Proteins in food products can pose a risk for an immediate, life-threatening immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated allergic response. Bioinformatic tools can assist in predicting and investigating the allergenic potential of proteins. Our team at A*STAR and JCU recently developed a web server, AllerCatPro 2.0, to predict protein allergenicity with higher accuracy than other computational methods and new features that help assessors making informed decisions.

Suitable candidates should be passionate about applied sciences and interested in working in a dynamic interdisciplinary environment. Prior experiences in biological or biomedical sciences or bioinformatics would be advantageous.

For more details on this project or to discuss other research interests, please contact any of the prospective advisors.

Some reading (doi): 10.1111/all.14574, 10.1111/pai.13781, 10.1093/nar/gkac446

Dr. Denise Dillon

Biophilia is a term coined by the German psychologist Eric Fromm as “an orientation which we may call love of life.” Renowned American biologist, Edward O. Wilson later defined biophilia as “the innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike processes.” Wilson went further to propose that human existence relies on a predisposition to “explore and affiliate with life”, which is crucial to human mental development. This project proposal identifies immersive biophilia as a means for humans to reconnect with nature, to revision ourselves as part of nature and to prevent human-nature interactions from being reduced solely to artificial means (e.g., built/constructed/enhanced/augmented/simulated nature).

Forest bathing, from the Japanese term shinrin-yoku, involves nature immersion through contemplative walks in nature for preventive health care and restoration. Forest therapy is a relatively new practice based on the concept and practice of shinrin-yoku, with guide training courses stemming largely from the US producing a global network of trained and certified forest therapy guides. While there is ample research-based evidence that nature connection and exposure provides a range of psychological health benefits, the practice of guided forest therapy walks has yet to be validated as an effective psychological health intervention. There is scope here to document and evaluate current forest therapy practices across the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, in order to determine evidence-based efficacy of guided forest therapy walks in terms of psychological well-being, and to determine the evidence-based efficacy of cumulative forest therapy practices amongst the communities of trained guides.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Dr Denise Dillon ([email protected])

Dr. Lidia Suárez

Lidia Suárez is a senior lecturer in Psychology and registered research supervisor at James Cook University Singapore. She received her MSSC and PhD from the National University of Singapore. Her research interests are cognitive psychology (including psycholinguistics, second language acquisition, bilingualism, and the effects of music training on working memory) and clinical psychology (quality of life, suicidal ideation, interpersonal relationships, problem-solving appraisal, and measurement validation). Lidia is a member of the Language Research Centre at the Cairns Institute, the Association for Psychological Science, and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Dr Lidia Suárez ([email protected]).

Professor Nigel Marsh

Population ageing is a global phenomenon, with current estimates indicating that the number of people aged over 60 years will more than double between 2015-2050 and more than triple by 2100 (United Nations, 2015). Approximately 70% of the global ageing population lives in countries such as Singapore, Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, India and Indonesia (United Nations, 2012). Asia is expected to shift from having 12% of its own population aged 60+ years in 2015 to over 25% by 2050 (United Nations, 2015).

The longer a person lives the higher the probability of them developing cognitive impairment. At a societal level, as average lifespan increases, the number of people living with cognitive impairment increases. In addition, as birth rates fall in developed countries, the proportion of the population needing care in living with cognitive deficits increases. This change in the demographics and health profiles of developed societies has major social and financial implications for families, communities, and countries.

However, it should be noted that cognitive impairment is not a normal consequence of ageing. It is not inevitable, nor is it irreversible. Understanding effective mechanisms to promote healthy aging to prevent or reduce the prevalence of cognitive impairment in older adults, is becoming increasingly urgent.

This project will examine the impact of video game training on cognitive skills in older adults. It will be of interest to psychology graduates who wish to develop an understanding of applied cognitive psychology in the context of healthy ageing.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Professor Nigel Marsh ([email protected]).

Forming an impression of someone’s personality is a fundamental and ubiquitous element of interpersonal relationships, with obvious and potentially profound effects on the trajectory of relationship development and outcomes in a range of life domains. For instance, perceived personality similarity seems to promote friendship intensity (Cemalcilar et al, 2018; Selfhout et al, 2009) and enhance chemistry on first dates and subsequent relationship progression (Montoya et al, 2008; Tidwell et al, 2013). Perceptions of certain personality traits in job applicants have also been shown to affect employers’ hiring decisions (Baert & Decuypere, 2014), and similar trait inferences in the court room have been shown to influence judgements of culpability and guilt (Porter et al, 2010). Given the far-reaching nature of personality perceptions, it is disconcerting to note that people often rely on intuitive heuristics when judging other people’s personality, for instance, by relying on cues that are not necessarily diagnostic of actual personality (e.g., facial features; Todorov et al, 2009). To raise awareness of such biases during interpersonal judgement processes, and to mitigate potentially unwanted and undeserved insidious effects of such biases, it is imperative to conduct research on such phenomena systematically and comprehensively. This includes establishing the phenomena, the conditions under which they manifest, and the mechanisms through which they operate etc.

More specific details of this project can be discussed with the supervisors upon expression of interest. The successful PhD candidate would also be encouraged to lead or take part in additional research project(s). This can be discussed after commencement of initial candidature.

Supervisors:

Primary supervisor: Dr Adam Wang Secondary supervisor: Dr Ai Ni Teoh For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Dr Adam Wang ([email protected])

Women’s participation in leadership is underrepresented in Singapore. In 2019, there were only 18.4% of female board members in 26 Singapore-listed firms, falling short of the global average of 20% (Williams, 2019). Research has indicated that women’s participation in leadership is complicated by psychosocial challenges or stressors. One of these stressors is workplace incivility, which refers to disrespectful, biased, and rude behaviours (Andersson & Pearson, 1999). In addition, people generally foster bias against women leadership (Eagly et al., 2003) and Asian leaders (Narayanan & Zhao, 2020). Women leaders in Singapore, being both women and Asian, are facing more challenges in their leadership. These additional challenges can compromise their well-being and affect their performance at work. The proposed project aims to focus on the challenges faced by women leaders and women leaders’ cardiovascular responses to such challenges.

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests, please contact Dr. Ai Ni Teoh ([email protected]).

Dr. Jonathan Ramsay

In a world characterised by deepening ideological divides, many conflicts—whether physical or verbal—occur across religious boundaries. Consequently, many governments are keen to promote religious tolerance in their citizens, with the hope of reducing prejudice, discrimination, and hate crime. One possible route to enhancing religious tolerance is through fostering an interest in alternative worldviews, both religious and non-religious, a phenomenon that we refer to as interfaith curiosity (IFC). The proposed project would seek to characterise interfaith curiosity, develop and validate a suitable measure of this construct, and pilot test interventions designed to increase it.  

For more details on this project, or to discuss other research interests in related areas, please contact Dr Jonathan E. Ramsay ([email protected]).