Our Research Committee
Our Research Committee
Our Research Committee
Prof Mary-Louise Fleming
(Chair)
BEd, MA, PhD
Professor Fleming is a public health consultant, a Non-Executive Board Director and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health and Social Work at Queensland University of Technology. Professor Fleming is a member of the Board of Wesley Medical Research and the Metro North Hospital and Health Service in Queensland. Professor Fleming was Head of the School of Public Health and Social Work at Queensland University of Technology for over ten years.
Professor Fleming has teaching, research and engagement experience in higher education, public health and health promotion. Professor Fleming’s research interests are focused on applied research in public health and health promotion. Professor Fleming has worked as a consultant for not-for-profit organisations, for Commonwealth and state health departments and for the WHO. Professor Fleming has sat on NHMRC public health project grant review panels. Professor Fleming is widely published in the field of health promotion and public health.
Dr Stefan Blum
MBBS, PhD
Dr Blum is a staff specialist in neurology at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the Mater Centre for Neuroscience, as well as an honorary staff specialist in neurology at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Dr Blum runs dedicated multiple sclerosis and neuroimmunology clinics across these hospitals.
In addition to his clinical workload, Dr Blum has a keen interest in research, having completed a PhD in Immunogenetics of Guillain-Barre Syndrome at The University of Queensland as well as a doctoral thesis in Immunology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. Dr Blum is neurological lead in a diverse group of clinicians and scientists investigating the role of antibodies in neurological and psychiatric disease, and is Principal Investigator on multiple neurology clinical trials.
Prof Maree Smith AC
BPharm (Hons), PhD
Professor Smith AC is currently Director of the Centre for Integrated Preclinical Drug Development (CIPDD) at The University of Queensland, after leading a high-performing team for twelve years to establish the CIPDD and its commercial interface, TetraQ. CIPDD is recognised as a unique, GLP-accredited drug development centre.
Professor Smith has considerable expertise in biomedical discovery and translation with specialist expertise in the pain field. In 2005, Professor Smith formed Spinifex Pharmaceuticals to commercialise her angiotensin II type 2 (AT2) receptor antagonists technology for neuropathic pain and subsequently chronic inflammatory pain. Spinifex was acquired by Novartis in mid-2015 on the basis of successful early phase clinical trials in patients with post-herpetic neuralgia, a type of peripheral neuropathic pain that is often intractable.
Assoc Prof
Nelson Alphonso
FRCS (CTh), FRACS, MS
Associate Professor Alphonso is an internationally recognised paediatric cardiac surgeon. He is Director of Cardiac Surgery at Queensland Children’s Hospital and co-Director of the Queensland Paediatric Cardiac Research Group.
Associate Professor Alphonso’s research interests include congenital cardiac surgery with a focus on complex procedures in neonates.
Associate Professor Alphonso leads a growing research team located at the Children’s Centre for Health Research and currently supports several higher degree students as well as clinician researchers including consultants, fellows, nurses and student researchers. Associate Professor Alphonso has authored more than 60 original articles in peer reviewed journals and teaches at the national and international level.
Prof Sharon Mickan
BOccThy, MA, PhD
Professor Mickan is the inaugural head of Healthcare Innovations at Bond University, an inter-disciplinary program, run in conjunction with the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare and Bond Business School. In this role, Professor Mickan facilitates mid-career professionals who are ready to be health leaders to navigate the research evidence, critically evaluate health systems and practices and implement clinical improvements. Professor Mickan was previously Professor of Allied Health at Gold Coast Health and Griffith University, where she led a program of research to engage allied health clinicians as research users, participants and leaders.
Professor Mickan’s research interests are focussed on translating research evidence, implementing organisational improvement and building clinicians’ research capacity and engagement.
Assoc Prof Haitham Tuffaha
BPharm, MSc, MBA, PhD
Associate Professor Tuffaha is an NHMRC and Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for the Business and Economics of Health (CBEH). Associate Professor Tuffaha leads the Health Technology Assessment and his research involves the economic evaluation of health interventions. Associate Professor Tuffaha pioneers the application of Value of Information analysis in Australia as a novel approach to inform early reimbursement decisions and to design efficient and adaptive clinical trials that maximise return on research investment.
Associate Professor Tuffaha holds an MSc degree in Clinical Pharmacy (with Distinction) from Strathclyde University in Glasgow, an MBA degree from Wollongong University and a PhD in Health Economics from Griffith University. Before specialising in health economics, Associate Professor Tuffaha practiced as oncology clinical pharmacy specialist and manager.
Prof Janet Hardy
BSc, MBChB, MD, FRACP
Professor Hardy is a Senior Researcher, a co-lead of the Cancer Biology and Care Program and leads the Palliative Care Research Group at Mater Research. Professor Hardy is also Medical Director of the Mater Cancer Care Centre, the Director of Palliative Care and the Acting Medical Lead of the Cancer Care Stream at Mater Group.
With a background in medical oncology, Professor Hardy has a particular interest in the management of advanced cancer and leads a large multi-disciplinary team of health professionals dedicated to the care of people with advanced life-limiting disease. Professor Hardy has developed a wide portfolio of clinical trials and has been instrumental in ensuring a bench-to-bedside approach in research by collaborating closely with her biomedical colleagues.
Dr Stanley Ngai
MBBS, FRANZCR, FAANMS
Dr Stanley Ngai is a dual qualified Radiologist and Nuclear Medicine Specialist and is currently a staff specialist at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Dr Ngai completed his medical degree at the University of Queensland and undertook his Radiology and Nuclear Medicine training at the Mater Misericordiae, Princess Alexandra, The Prince Charles and Royal Brisbane and Women Hospitals in Brisbane. He is the Assistant Director and training supervisor for Nuclear Medicine registrars at the Princess Alexandra Hospital and is the Radiologist for the Upper G.I. and Prostate Multi-Disciplinary Meetings.
Dr Ngai’s special interest is in Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Cardiac CT and MRI imaging, which he has contributed significantly to the setting up of PET and Cardiac MRI services at the Princess Alexandra Hospital. He is interested in undertaking and promoting imaging-related research.
