Research Projects seeking HDRs
The Graduate Research School (GRS) is committed to enhancing the visibility of higher degree by research (HDR) opportunities at JCU. This page showcases current PhD and MPhil projects available for HDR candidates and is updated regularly, so keep an eye out, as your next research opportunity could be here!
Each project listing includes:
- Project Name
- Project Description
- HDR Candidate Level (PhD or MPhil)
- Project Webpage (if available)
- Contact Name and Email
- College and GECO Link
By promoting your projects on the GRS website, you help connect candidates with exciting opportunities, foster collaboration, and increase the reach and impact of your research.
Research Projects seeking HDRs
College of Arts, Society and Education
Research project description: This body of work looks to examine existing and developing standards of governance and best practice around climate-related human mobility, immobility, displacement, migration, and relocation. The work is particularly interested in how domestic and international institutions, frameworks, and other governance structures can be strengthened and adapted to better reflect and protect the needs, rights, livelihoods, and futures of affected communities and households.
HDR Candidate's Skills and Experience: I am looking for potential candidates with backgrounds in international relations, political science, human geography, migration studies, or other related fields.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil.
Contact: Liam Moore - College of Arts, Society and Education - GECO Profile
Research project description: This research investigates histories of Japanese-Australian migration and mobility, with a focus on the socio-political landscape of northern Australia. By investigating how individuals and communities navigated transnational spaces, including wartime internment and post-war transitions, the work looks to uncover complexities of identity and nationhood. Candidates will explore how 19th and 20th century legal, political, and social frameworks in Australia were influenced (or challenged by) Japan-Australia relationships.
HDR Candidate's Skills and Experience: I am looking for potential candidates with backgrounds in history, migration studies, Japanese studies, human geography, or other related fields.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil.
Contact: Tianna Killoran - GECO profile
Research project description: This project explores career education and development, with a particular focus on career choice, career decision-making, self-efficacy, resilience, and the psychological factors that shape career development. It is particularly concerned with how educational motivation and career motivation interact, and how this relationship may be strengthened to promote more informed, meaningful, and sustainable career and life choices. The project seeks to contribute knowledge that can support diverse and underrepresented cohorts, including first-in-family students and individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds, while not being limited to these populations.
HDR Candidate's Skills and Experience: Proficiency in statistical software and analytical skills
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD
Contact: Sujin Kim - GECO profile
Research Project Description: This project critically examines theories of prefiguration -- creating a desired future in the here and now, even if on a small scale. There is space for candidates to tailor the project to their own interests, with prefiguration in Indigenous, anti-racist, feminist, environmental, and many other contexts welcome.
HDR Candidate’s Skills & Experience: Intellectual curiosity, familiarity with social science theories of social change and/or social movement, awareness of critical and reflexive methodologies, ethical sensitivity.
HDR Candidate’s Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Theresa Petray - GECO profile
Research Project Description: Australia, like much of the world, is experiencing dramatic decreases in total fertility rates predominantly in capital cities. While this will not impact immediately on rural/regional Australia, overtime labour markets will potentially pull population out of regional/rural Australia and require some consideration of the future of regional townships. This project will interrogate this and how government authorities and planners are adapting or considering this, if at all.
HDR Candidate’s Skills and Experience: social research skills in either or both qualitative and quantitative research. Candidates with demography backgrounds welcome, but also those in sociology, human geography and other cognate disciplines.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD
Contact: Nick Osbaldiston - GECO profile
Research Project Description: Northern Queensland suffers significantly from high insurance for home and contents due to cyclone risks. Other research has shown that there is evidence for homeowners and renters to take risks themselves due to high costs. This project will investigate this further by examining how community members perceive risks and insurance industries in Far North/Northern Queensland coasts.
HDR Candidate’s Skills and Experience: social research skills in either or both qualitative or quantitative research. Experience with theories of risk, perceptions of danger, or other theories aligned would be advantageous.
HDR Candidate Level of Study – PhD or MPhil
Contact: Nick Osbaldiston - GECO profile
Research Project Description: This project invites HDR candidates to undertake research in education with a focus on Francophone Pacific Island contexts, including New Caledonia, Vanuatu, French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna. These settings are often underrepresented in broader Pacific education research and policy discussions, despite their distinctive linguistic, cultural, and political contexts. The project explores topics such as curriculum and pedagogy, language education and revitalisation, Indigenous and culturally responsive education, teacher practices, youth experiences, and the relationship between education, identity, and social change. Candidates are encouraged to develop projects aligned with their interests while contributing to greater visibility and understanding of education in these Francophone Pacific contexts.
HDR Candidate’s Skills & Experience: The ideal candidate will have a background or strong interest in education, along with qualitative and/or quantitative research skills. Familiarity with educational theory and/or critical or decolonial perspectives is desirable. Experience with or knowledge of the Pacific is highly desirable. French and/or Pacific language skills are advantageous but not essential.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Florence Boulard - GECO profile
Research Project Description: Rather than a single project, this is an area of research. I welcome students who are interested in environmental history and wish to pursue HDR study. Close to half of the Australian continent lies in the tropics, while most Australians live in the southeast corner of the continent. As a result, there are many, many historical topics of relevance to the north that are yet to be investigated.
HDR Candidate’s Skills & Experience: suitable undergraduate qualifications or other experience in history or a closely related discipline; a strong interest in a related research area; and an interest in engaging in original research including writing a thesis.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Claire Brennan - Orcid Profile
Research Project Description: Rather than a single project, this is an area of research. I welcome students who are interested in the ways in which new technology, particularly around digitization, archive creation, and the representation of data, are changing the ways in which history can be made.
HDR Candidate’s Skills & Experience: suitable undergraduate qualifications or other experience in history or a closely related discipline; a strong interest in a related research area; and an interest in engaging in original research including writing a thesis.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Claire Brennan - Orcid Profile
Research Project Description: This project is to conduct research in education within either Francophone or Anglophone Pacific Island contexts with an underlying aim to improve visibility of the region. The focus is to investigate how traditional games, sports and movement forms facilitate cultural understanding and can act as a preservation of language tool. As it is recognised culture is best taught through enactment, practice and negotiation, the formal inclusion of traditional games in curriculum is to be interrogated as part of this study.
HDR Candidate’s Skills and Experience: Candidates ideally are passionate about education and have knowledge about sports, games, and broader movement experiences. Familiarity with embodied learning theory would be advantageous. Possessing Pacific language skills is desirable but not essential.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Florence Boulard - GECO profile
Research Project Description: This is an area of research rather than a specific project. Students are encouraged to develop a project examining the strategic and geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific, setting their own research focus and research locale. Students should consider the geopolitical dynamics within the region, the implications for regional state/s or other regional actors, as well as regional preparedness to meet such challenges.
HDR Candidate’s Skills & Experience: suitable undergraduate qualifications or other experience in international relations or a closely related discipline; a strong interest in a related research area; and an interest in engaging in original research including writing a thesis.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Anna Hayes - GECO profile
Research Project Description: I would welcome students who are interested in projects examining the histories of human relationships with coral reefs or elements of coral reef ecosystems including birds, fishes, corals, other relevant reef-life or elements (heat, water, wind etc.). Any project should consider the cultural, economic, and political dynamics of human relationships with the marine world.
HDR skills and experiences: suitable undergraduate qualifications, especially in history or a relatable discipline. Students do not need to have qualifications in marine science, but an interest in it is important.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD or MPhil.
Contact: Rohan Lloyd - GECO profile
Research Project Description: I would welcome students who are interested in projects examining the history of marine science within Australia. In particular, I would encourage students to explore the ways in which changes in politics, society, technology, and environmental realities have encouraged or hindered the emergence of marine science within Australia.
HDR skills and experiences: suitable undergraduate qualifications, especially in history or a relatable discipline. Students do not need to have qualifications in marine science, but an interest in it is important.
HDR Candidate Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Rohan Lloyd - GECO profile
Research Project Description: This project explores thinking and teaching through wild and wicked problems that polarise communities and cultures. There is space for a candidate to explore and apply existing approaches and/or to develop their own. Problems include - but are not limited to – tensions associated with the Left-Right Spectrum (LRS) such as conservative-liberal, religious-secular, masculine-feminine, inclusive-exclusive, ecological-technological, intuitive-rational, and traditional-progressive. Educational contexts include – but are not limited to -primary, secondary, and tertiary settings.
HDR Candidate’s Skills & Experience: Experience and interest in primary, secondary, and or tertiary education. Openness to critical, creative and consilient ways of thinking and teaching. Respect for diverse perspectives and appreciation for the challenges of social cohesion and inclusion.
HDR Candidate’s Level of Study: PhD
Contact: Raoul Adam – GECO Profile
College of Business, Law and Governance
Research Project Description: This research investigates the intersection of gender, technology adoption, and digital connectivity in rural, regional, and remote (RRR) agricultural communities across Northern Australia. Women in agriculture play pivotal roles in farm management, innovation, and community resilience, yet their contributions to technology adoption remain underexplored. This project aims to understand how women engage with agricultural technologies, the barriers they face, and the role of connectivity literacy in enabling effective use of digital tools.
Building on Rachel Hay’s previous work on rural technology adoption, the project explores how women’s social positioning within farming partnerships influences their uptake of digital technologies such as IoT sensors, livestock monitoring systems, and remote water management tools. It also examines how improved connectivity, both infrastructural and cognitive, can reduce isolation, enhance wellbeing, and support succession planning in agricultural enterprises.
Research Objectives
1.Map the current landscape of technology adoption by women in agriculture, focusing on cattle grazing and mixed farming systems in Northern Australia.
2.Assess the impact of digital connectivity infrastructure (e.g., broadband, mobile networks) on RRR consumers ability to adopt and use agricultural technologies.
3.Investigate the concept of connectivity literacy, the skills needed to navigate, maintain, and optimise digital connections, and its role in enabling digital inclusion.
4.Explore the social and psychological dimensions of technology adoption, including how digital tools affect isolation, decision-making, and intergenerational knowledge transfer.
5.Develop policy and practice recommendations to support inclusive digital transformation in agriculture.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Rachel Hay - College of Business, Law and Governance - GECO Profile
College of Healthcare Sciences
Research Project Description: Deepfakes are computer-generated synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is manipulated to have another person's likeness. The public is generally poor at detecting deepfakes, performing only marginally better than chance (Somoray & Miller, 2023). A series of studies will expand on our previous work examining factors that influence deepfake detection as well as investigating the public's biases associated with deepfakes.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Ideal HDR candidate's skills and experience: A research experience is a must - this includes research projects you've conducted in university (honours/graduate diploma research project). Coding and strong quantitative skills are not necessary, but a huge plus!
However, more than technical ability, the ideal HDR candidate for me is someone who demonstrates a growth mindset — someone who is open to learning and reflective. I work best with students who are intellectually curious, proactive in seeking feedback, and committed to developing as both a researcher and a socially responsible scholar.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Klaire Somoray - College of Healthcare Sciences - GECO Profile
Research Project Description: The digitization of music has altered consumption practices - people now have the ability to listen to music in many more places and at any time (Krause, et al., 2015). Indeed, music listening is embedded into everyday life and often happens while people are doing other activities (Krause, et al., 2015). People are aware of what music they need to hear in different situations and times (DeNora, 2000; see also Krause, et al., 2021), often selecting music that ‘fit’ their purpose, goal, or the situation in some way (Krause & North, 2014). Yet, understanding the factors that influence contextual listening choices still requires research (Kamalzadeh et al., 2012; Krause & North, 2017). The proposed research would focus on understanding the contextual influences on people’s everyday listening experiences.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Interest in the psychology of music.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Project web page: http://www.researchaboutlistening.com/p/student-supervision.html
Contact: Amanda Krause - College of Healthcare Sciences - GECO Profile
Research Project Description: Projects that look at a service delivery model that relate to allied health rural and remote practice. Projects can also look service availability or capacity and capability of rural allied health professionals. Can be quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods. Projects must require minimal funding
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Organised, good time management, somewhat independent in selecting and undertaking tasks. Some experience in research methods
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Anne Jones - College of Healthcare Sciences - GECO Profile
Research Project Description: Any project looking at the self efficacy of physiotherapy students or rural physiotherapists
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Some experience with research methods. Organised, good time management, some independence in identifying and undertaking tasks
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Anne Jones - College of Healthcare Sciences - GECO Profile
Research Project Description: Digital technologies are transforming how we understand, prevent, and treat mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and parents. This project explores how digital tools, such as mobile apps, VR, serious games, telehealth, social media, and AI, can be used to promote mental wellbeing across the lifespan. HDR candidates may investigate topics such as digital interventions for perinatal parents, online help-seeking among young people, or the design and evaluation of digital programs that support family mental health in regional and rural communities.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: This project would suit candidates with backgrounds in psychology, public health, behavioural science, or digital health. Skills in quantitative or qualitative research, digital program evaluation, or user experience design would be advantageous. Candidates will gain expertise in digital mental health research, intervention development, and mixed-methods analysis.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Sam Teague - College of Healthcare Sciences - Geco Profile
Research Project Description: Technology is deeply embedded in children’s lives, shaping their development, relationships, and mental health. This project investigates the impacts (both positive and negative) of screen use, gaming, and social media engagement during childhood and adolescence. HDR candidates may explore longitudinal predictors of digital behaviour, the role of parenting practices, or evidence-based strategies to promote healthy screen habits.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Candidates with backgrounds in developmental psychology, education, behavioural science, or public health are encouraged to apply. Skills in survey design, quantitative analysis, or digital behaviour tracking would be advantageous. Candidates will gain experience in contemporary child development research, data analytics, and policy-relevant translation.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Sam Teague - College of Healthcare Sciences - Geco Profile
Research Project Description: GenAI has quickly integrated into our everyday lives and can help improve efficiency. However, people can become reliant on it, leading to missed opportunities to develop skills (e.g., cognitive, social). At this stage, the long term impact of GenAI is unclear. Therefore, the aim of this project is to investigate the long term impact of prolonged GenAI use. Outcome from this project can be used to provide recommendations and guidelines for GenAI use.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Positive attitude, conscientiousness, accountability
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD Only
Contact: Brian Law - College of Healthcare Sciences - GECO Profile
Research Project Description: The perinatal period—from pregnancy through the first year after birth—is a critical window for parental mental health and early child development. Depression, anxiety, and stress affect a substantial proportion of mothers and fathers during this time, with implications not only for parent wellbeing but also for infant mental health, early relationships, and later developmental outcomes.
This project will investigate the determinants and consequences of perinatal mental health and identify effective strategies to support families during this transition. HDR candidates may explore longitudinal cohort data to examine how parental mental health during pregnancy and the postnatal period shapes infant socio-emotional development, attachment, and early behavioural outcomes. Other potential projects include the development and evaluation of digital or telehealth interventions to support perinatal mental health, identifying predictors of resilience and risk in families, or co-designing scalable supports with parents and health professionals. The project may involve quantitative analysis of longitudinal cohort studies, mixed-methods research, or evaluation of digital mental health interventions.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Candidates with backgrounds in psychology, public health, nursing, behavioural science, developmental science, or digital health are encouraged to apply. Experience with quantitative research methods, longitudinal data analysis, systematic reviews, intervention development, or qualitative research will be advantageous. Candidates will gain experience in perinatal mental health and infant development research, advanced analytical methods, and translating research into practical interventions and policy-relevant insights.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Sam Teague - College of Healthcare Sciences - Geco Profile
College of Medicine and Dentistry
Research Project Description 1: The Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease (QRCPVD) at James Cook University and Townsville University Hospital is seeking highly motivated and capable students for exciting opportunities to be part of national and international projects funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Synergy and Investigators Schemes and supported by the Medical Research Futures Fund. The projects are aimed at investigating novel pharmacological and holistic approaches via lab- and clinical-based investigations to advance the understanding and treatment of two major vascular diseases: abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and peripheral artery disease (PAD).
AAA affects approximately 2% of men and 1% of women over 60 years and can lead to sudden death due to aneurysm rupture. Currently there are only surgical treatments for this problem, but these are either associated with risks of perioperative death, or not suitable for many older patients, and frequently do not effectively stop the aneurysm from growing and rupturing. There is a critical need to identify effective drug-based therapies. Preclinical projects will focus on testing new candidate drugs in laboratory models to assess their potential to prevent AAA progression. The work will involve in vitro, in vivo studies, and data analysis.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience:
- Prior experience in rodent handling and monitoring in compliance with ethical standards.
- Proficiency or interest in learning/performing surgical procedures in mice.
- Strong skills in scientific writing and communication in English (minimum IELTS speaking band of 7 and listening band of 8).
- An ability to work both independently and as part of a team in a research environment
- Familiarity with imaging techniques (ultrasound, laser doppler imaging) in animal models.
- Experience with data analysis software (GraphPad Prism, SPSS, R, ImageJ).
- Previous publication or involvement in academic writing.
Research Project Description 2: The Queensland Research Centre for Peripheral Vascular Disease (QRCPVD) at James Cook University and Townsville University Hospital is seeking highly motivated and capable students for exciting opportunities to be part of national and international projects funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council Synergy and Investigators Schemes and supported by the Medical Research Futures Fund. The projects are aimed at investigating novel pharmacological and holistic approaches via lab- and clinical-based investigations to advance the understanding and treatment of two major vascular diseases: abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and peripheral artery disease (PAD).
PAD affects about 6% of adults over 18 years and leads to walking impairment, reduced health-related quality of life and risk of leg amputation and other major adverse cardiovascular events. The focus in management has been on surgical operations to improve leg blood supply but other aspects of care have been neglected. Mental health problems, chronic pain and frailty affect most patients with peripheral artery disease and adversely affect outcome. Currently how to better provide integrated care to deal with these inter-related problems is not known. Our clinical projects aim to understand the association between these risk factors and to test innovative, multidisciplinary models of care. The QRCPVD seeks students to work on projects to better understand the mechanisms linking these problems and develop and test novel ways to treat these issues and examine how they affect overall outcome.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience:
- Experience in assessing mental health, chronic pain, physical activity, or health-related quality of life.
- Familiarity with patient recruitment and assessment in a clinical research setting.
- Understanding of clinical trials and research methodology.
- Strong skills in scientific writing and oral communication in English (minimum IELTS speaking band of 8 and listening band of 8).
Desirable Skills: - Previous experience working with patients with cardiovascular or chronic diseases and/or from diverse ethnic/linguistic background.
- Knowledge of frailty assessment tools or psychosocial interventions.
- Experience with data analysis and interpretation.
- Prior involvement in peer-reviewed publications or academic presentations.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD only
Contact: Jonathan Golledge - College of Medicine and Dentistry - GECO Profile
Research Project Description: The respiratory epithelium serves as the lung’s first line of defence, producing mucus that traps inhaled particles, pollutants, and pathogens. Clearing this mucus relies on the rhythmic beating of motile cilia, which work in synchrony to drive the process of mucociliary clearance. In my laboratory, we explore the fundamental biology that powers and regulates cilia activity, using a mouse tissue model to uncover the mechanisms that keep this vital system in motion. Currently, there are a range of projects available suitable for different HDR levels of study, all of them focused on understanding the how respiratory cilia motility is regulated using cell biology and advanced microscopy techniques. Please contact me for more information on potential projects.
HDR Candidate's Skills and Experience: Potential candidates should have completed some basic undergraduate biology-based subjects. As these projects are lab based, good manual dexterity and willingness to learn new techniques would also be useful.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Richard Francis - College of Medicine and Dentistry
Project Description: Antibodies are a key correlate of protection against human respiratory viruses and have a range of antiviral activities. Neutralising antibodies can block viral infections, but the high mutation rate of viruses, like influenza and SARS-CoV-2, leads to the emergence of new variants that cannot be blocked by neutralising antibodies. In my laboratory, we explore the diverse functions of antiviral antibodies beyond virus neutralisation. Currently, there are a variety of projects that focus on understanding the role of extra-neutralising antibodies in human infection, vaccination and therapy development for influenza and COVID-19. Please contact me for more information on potential projects.
HDR Candidate’s Skills and Experience: Potential candidates should have completed undergraduate biology subjects including basic immunology and virology. As these projects are laboratory-based, candidates should have basic laboratory skills and a willingness/enthusiasm for learning new techniques.
HDR Candidate’s Level of Study: MPhil or PhD
Contact: Hillary Vanderven - GECO profile
College of Science and Engineering
Research Project Description: Several potential Honours projects (or a more comprehensive MSc/PhD project) are available to study ecology, conservation, and management of endangered plant species. These are mostly Cairns based projects but can be available to Townsville students willing to travel for fieldwork.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Like plants and fieldwork, but also understand that reading and writing are essential parts of science.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Daniel Montesinos - Geco Profile
Research Project Description: Several potential projects available for Masters or PhD students on diverse aspects of invasive plant evolutionary ecology. We have available seeds from different world regions that allow us to compare different ecological, physiological, chemical, or genetic traits to compare local adaptation, evolution, and colonization dynamics during biological invasions.
HDR Candidate's Skills & Experience: Have a chat with me if you like to understand how plants (invasive or otherwise) adapta and evolve in response to different environmental conditions across the world. International fieldwork is not mandatory but desirable if you are available.
HDR Candidate's Level of Study: PhD or MPhil
Contact: Daniel Montesinos - Geco Profile