Salivary biomarkers could be the way forward in diagnosing liver fibrosis thanks to a partnership between Griffith University and Gallipoli Medical Research (GMR).
Liver fibrosis is a condition characterised by the excessive accumulation of scar tissue which replaces normal liver tissue and disrupts the organ’s structure and function.
The condition can lead to more severe liver damage culminating in cirrhosis which can cause significant complications such as liver failure, portal hypertension, and an increased risk of liver cancer.
Liver fibrosis is like a tsunami, with its incidence rate significantly higher in individuals over the age of 50 years.
Professor Chamindie Punyadeera
Griffith University researcher Professor Chamindie Punyadeera is leading the salivary biomarker research, along with Professor Darrell Crawford from GMR, and said the current diagnosis method is a liver biopsy which is both invasive and painful, and cannot be repeated frequently.
“Coupled with the biopsy, diagnosis also entails using a combination of imaging techniques and blood tests, which have their own advantages and limitations,” Professor Punyadeera said.
“We anticipate the use of salivary biomarkers can overcome these limitations for a variety of reasons, and provide significant benefits in the diagnosis of a serious disease.
“It can be used for early diagnosis, used to monitor progression of the diseases routinely, is non-invasive so is less painful and can be repeated multiple times even in people living in rural and regional communities where the disease burden is high, and is expected to be more affordable.”
Professor Darrell Crawford, from GMR believes that we need to change our approach to the diagnosis of liver fibrosis given the huge global prevalence of fatty liver disease. He said, “An accurate and easily administered point of care test that identifies those patients at risk of more advanced liver fibrosis would be a major step forward in the fight against the surging incidence of cirrhosis and liver cancer.”
“GMR are delighted to partner with GU and US Ochsner Clinic Foundation on this innovative, world class diagnostic test for liver fibrosis. The potential if this trials succeeds would be ground breaking for global access and cost effective for health outcomes and improving lives”, said GMR CEO Miriam Kent.
The study will evaluate the novel biomarkers identified in a cohort of 250 patients, provided by collaborator Ochsner Clinic Foundation in the US, and then compare the data with hepatic histology in patients and position the use of these biomarkers as a potential saliva-based test for liver fibrosis.
Griffith Enterprise, Griffith University’s technology transfer office, is interested in discussing the technology with industry partners who could take it to the market to provide quick, efficient and affordable ways to diagnose a serious disease.
In a significant milestone for Queensland’s thriving arts community, the Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre (QAEMT) has received its highest ever number of applications for the prestigious Bachelor of Musical Theatre program.
This year, more than 400 aspiring performers are competing for just 20 coveted places in the 2025 intake, marking an exciting moment for both Queensland’s cultural scene and Griffith University.
Griffith’s musical theatre program has built an exceptional reputation in little more than a decade, which has routinely seen graduates securing professional roles in major productions and achieving success as performers, directors, choreographers and producers.
Wicked, currently showing in Brisbane, stars alumni Courtney and Emily Monsma, and Jordan Malone playing Glinda; Liam Head as Fiyero, and Dominic Woodhead as the Associate Music Director.
Vidya Makan has been playing Eliza in Hamilton at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre, and Shubshri Kandiah and Jackson Head have been lighting up the stage as Belle and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.
Director of QAEMT, Professor Paul Sabey, said the success of these graduates and many more was likely a driving force behind the increased interest in Griffith’s musical theatre program.
“The fact that so many of our graduates are now working on some of the world’s biggest productions is a testament to the quality of education we offer here at Griffith,” he said.
Director of the Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre, Professor Paul Sabey
“We go well beyond technical training to focus on the whole performer — their mental health, their individuality, and their sense of community.
“We want to build artists who are ready for the challenges of the industry.”
The audition process, which has just taken place at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), offered applicants a unique opportunity to showcase their talent.
Hopefuls were taken through a warm-up in which their improvisation skills were explored, followed by demonstrations of their acting, singing, dancing, and spoken voice skills.
According to Professor Sabey, these experiences prepare students for the intensity and diversity of professional musical theatre.
“We offer an education unlike any other because our students are embedded in QPAC — the only Musical Theatre program of this kind worldwide where students train within a major performing arts venue,” he said.
“This real-world experience really sets the program apart with students not only gaining unparalleled access to industry professionals through QPAC, but also participating in fully staged productions.
“They swipe in at stage door every day, giving them unrivalled access to a magical world of professional performance.”
The QAEMT’s reputation for fostering talent through rigorous ‘quadruple threat’ training in acting, singing, dancing and being a good ‘company member’, combined with strong industry ties, is a major draw for aspiring performers from around the world.
The judging panel looks forward to welcoming a new cohort of students who will be not only technically proficient, adaptable and resilient, but also prepared to make an impact and transform the future of musical theatre.
With Queensland’s election scheduled for October 26, the state will enter ‘caretaker mode’ today, October 1. From this date until the election results are known, the government will face several restrictions under what are known as “caretaker conventions“.
What are they?
Caretaker conventions aim to check the power of the executive when there is no Parliament to which it can be accountable. They prevent the current government from making significant new policies, financial commitments, or appointments that could bind an incoming administration. These conventions also reduce the risk of the government using public resources to gain an unfair advantage in the election campaign.
Yet the business of government continues during the caretaker period, and this is where confusion arises. The challenge lies in determining what constitutes the ongoing business of government and what actions would constrain a future government.
Fixed terms reduce political uncertainty
Caretaker controversies are not uncommon in election campaigns, but the introduction of four-year fixed terms in Queensland may reduce some of these conflicts. Fixed terms provide a more orderly lead-up to elections, eliminating uncertainty over election timing. This allows parliamentary business to be completed smoothly, and major contracts and appointments can be finalized before the caretaker period begins.
One recurring issue is government advertising. When an election is called, one of the Premier’s first responsibilities is to decide whether to suspend or limit government ad campaigns. Public interest ads, like those promoting road safety or health, may continue. However, ads that highlight government achievements or policies, particularly on contentious issues, are considered political. Ultimately, it is up to the Premier to decide, though the Opposition can challenge these decisions. Yet, because these conventions are not legally binding, they cannot force a reversal.
Melbourne, Australia – July 2, 2016: A polling station in the rural town of Mossman in Queensland, Australia, on federal election day.
Opposition rights and electoral fairness
During the caretaker period, the conventions ensure the Opposition, as a potential future government, is treated fairly. Meanwhile, the governing party is expected to voluntarily restrain its actions to avoid taking advantage of incumbency. With so much at stake, decisions made during this time often become contentious. The ethical judgment required for following caretaker conventions can be overlooked amid the heat of an election campaign, and because these conventions are based on precedent rather than law, it is difficult for outsiders, including the media, to definitively call out violations.
Caretaker government after polling day
While the conventions are well-understood during the election campaign, their application after polling day has become an emerging issue. In the event of a hung Parliament or a prolonged vote count, establishing a new government could take time. During this transition, the previous Premier and Cabinet remain in office to ensure continuity. This is crucial in case of emergencies such as natural disasters, terrorist attacks, or financial crises.
To avoid locking in decisions that could bind an incoming government, any urgent or unavoidable actions during this period should be made in consultation with the Opposition.
A new study has highlighted the shared enjoyment of experiencing time in nature by surveying visitors to national parks and forests in four different countries, finding that visitors’ all five senses were activated in positive ways by their surroundings.
Led by Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckley from the School of Environment and Science with co-authors Dr Mary-Ann Cooper from Andrés Bello University and Dr Linsheng Zhong from the Chinese Academy of Science, the study surveyed 100 on-site participants in Australia, 100 in Chile, and >500 in China, and compiled 1000 relevant social media posts from Japan.
Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckley.
The key sensory experiences were universal: sights of plant shapes and colours; sounds of birdsong, running water, and rustling leaves; smells of flowers, trees, and earth; taste and temperature of clean air and water; and touch of bark and rocks.
Professor Buckley said these fine-grained but widespread experiences were the principal finding from the surveys.
“Spending time in nature is good for our mental health, that’s the idea behind nature therapies,” Professor Buckley said.
“At national scale, they might save a lot of money. But your health insurance won’t yet pay for them, because they need prescriptible products with certified providers and charge codes.
“So, researchers are trying to design nature therapy courses with all the costs and components packaged together efficiently, like a course of occupational therapy.
“But to do that, we need to know what it is about the experience of time in nature that makes us less stressed? That’s what this study did; we asked what specific sensory experiences in nature people found important and memorable, and how that might differ between different people in Australia, Japan, Chile and China.”
These sensory experiences were at a scale that was broad enough to apply for prescriptible nature therapies in any forested region, but fine enough to be used in future quantitative research to test therapeutic designs, doses and durations.
Professor Buckley said this distinguished them from prior research, that was either too broad or too fine in scale for practical therapy design.
“We know from earlier research that people see their emotions are an important step between senses and wellbeing, but we don’t yet know whether they are essential,” he said.
“So the next step will be surveys at large scale, to ask how the specific sensory experiences are perceived and valued by different individual people; and how these sensory experiences can best be provided through detailed design features of nature therapy products.”
Professor Emeritus Ralf Buckley
“Such features may include activity, group size, and guiding, but each of these remains to be tested.”
As Australian swimming athletes proved their conviction with terrific success at the Paris 2024 Games, Griffith University researchers have devised a new strategy to help athletes avoid one of the most common injuries in competitive swimming.
Shoulder injuries are prevalent for competitive swimmers, but there is a limited understanding of cause and risks.
Taking a novel approach, researchers worked with coaches, elite swimmers and experts to identify the most important shoulder injury risk factors in competitive swimming.
School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Exercise Science PhD Candidate Alec McKenzie.
School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Exercise Science PhD Candidate Alec McKenzie said the research aimed to identify the most effective prevention protocols to develop a new training protocol to prevent shoulder injuries.
“There is still very little research about the causes of shoulder injury in professional swimming, and athletes and coaches have needed to rely on their own personal experiences,” Mr McKenzie said.
“We’ve gleaned valuable first-hand data from within the competitive swimming community and pooled it into a resource to determine the top three shoulder injury risk factors for competitive swimmers.
“This emerging practice in exercise science allowed us to identify evidence-practice gaps and give coaches and athletes new tools to help elite athletes realise their full potential.”
The experts involved then pointed out the best direction for future research.
The research identified swimming practitioners should prioritize the monitoring and address of these risk factors within their injury prevention strategies.
The top three key shoulder injury risk factors for competitive swimmers includes:
Low posterior shoulder strength-endurance
Poor stroke technique
Inconsistent/acute increases in training load.
Co-author and School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Exercise Science Dr Steven Duhig.
The study allowed researchers to identify emerging ultrasound technology as a potential new norm in monitoring shoulder tendon health, which picked up subtle changes better than a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan.
Co-author and School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Exercise Science Dr Steven Duhig said the strategy allowed them to compare the changes in the muscle tissue with the athlete’s training program to discover how athletes were responding to training.
“The strategy allows us to gather data about the effect of a swimmer’s training program to identify potentially ineffective or inappropriate protocols,” Dr Duhig said.
The research paper, Identifying evidence-practice gaps for shoulder injury risk factors in competitive swimmers: uniting literature and expert opinion was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
A team from Griffith University Centre for Quantum Dynamics received the prestigious 2023 Paul Ehrenfest Best Paper Award for the most significant paper in the foundations of quantum physics published in the preceding five years.
The winning paper, published in Nature Physics, addressed a knowledge gap of the most fundamental kind in physics: What is an ‘observer’?
Associate Professor Eric Cavalcanti accepted the award in Vienna.
Associate Professor Cavalcanti was in Vienna to accept the international award from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information.
“Quantum theory is one of the pillars of modern physics, but the textbook versions of the theory are really about what observers may observe, not about what exists in the world independent of the observer,” Professor Wiseman said.
“This puts the observer at the heart of quantum physics, which is a famous problem.”
The authors tackled this by proposing an experiment analogous to tests of ‘Bell inequalities’ – experiments involving entangled quantum particles, which were awarded the 2022 Nobel prize in physics.
But there was a twist: now the observers involved in the test were themselves described with the quantum formalism.
“What we showed is that in this carefully prepared setup, the predictions of quantum theory are at odds with three widely held assumptions about how the world works,” Associate Professor Cavalcanti said.
“If the quantum predictions for this setup are confirmed experimentally, one of these assumptions must go. That is, Nature would be proven to be even stranger than what the violation of Bell inequalities taught us. It is a special honour to receive this award at a conference celebrating 60 years of Bell’s seminal work.”
The Paul Ehrenfest Best Paper Award was jointly awarded to the authors of three related papers on the role of the observer in quantum mechanics. According to the award organisers, “these theorems provide new challenges for the interpretation of quantum theory, forcing us to make some hard choices in our conception of quantum reality”.
In 2025 Griffith Business School will offer new degrees in commerce and marketing, designed in collaboration with industry experts to ensure that students are equipped with the latest insights and practical knowledge. Professor Alberto Posso, Head of the Department of Accounting, Finance, and Economics says:
“Our close collaboration with industry ensures that our graduates are prepared with the cutting-edge skills needed to excel in today’s competitive job market.”
The new commerce degrees emphasise experiential learning and sustainable business practices, encouraging students to tackle real-world challenges while developing a mindset for innovation and adaptability.
Professor Alberto Posso
“Whether you aspire to shape policy in government, lead innovation in business analytics, or drive transformative change through consultancy and entrepreneurship, these programs equip you with the critical tools to excel in diverse professional landscapes and leave a meaningful, lasting impact on the global economy,” Professor Posso said.
The new Diploma of Commerce offers a one-year pathway to transition into the Bachelor of Commerce, providing students with foundational knowledge and skills in a supportive learning environment. The new Bachelor of Commerce program is designed to provide students with technical expertise in areas such as accounting, finance, and economics, ensuring they are well-equipped to navigate the complexities of today’s fast-evolving business world.
For those looking to elevate their skills, the new Bachelor of Advanced Commerce (Honours) goes beyond traditional boundaries, offering advanced analytical and problem-solving skills essential for thriving in diverse professional settings.
The fast-evolving field of marketing technology is also at the forefront of the Business School’s new offerings. The new Bachelor of Digital Marketing and Analytics (Honours) is designed to provide students with the latest digital marketing skills that employers are seeking. In addition to core marketing, advertising, and sales competencies, students will explore the growing role of AI, data analytics, and data science in understanding consumer behavior. This program prepares graduates to create and implement effective marketing campaigns while building transferable skills essential for success in a rapidly changing industry.
“This degree enables students to transform data into actionable insights and develop cutting-edge marketing strategies,” says Dr Anita Love, Deputy Dean (Learning and Teaching), Griffith Business School.
“If you’re passionate about analysing data, understanding the world around you, and want to pursue a career in marketing, advertising, or sales, this degree is for you.”
Learn more about studying business and government at Griffith University by visiting Griffith’s website.
Outstanding Alumnus Award recipient Leona Murphy and Griffith Vice Chancellor and President Professor Carolyn Evans
Griffith University has named four winners at its prestigious Outstanding Alumni Awards 2024 ceremony in Brisbane with Leona Murphy taking out the top gong.
Ms Murphy received the Outstanding Alumnus Award for her illustrious career spanning 30 years shaping corporate strategy, operational efficiency, and large-scale transformation in the insurance industry, coupled with her philanthropic endeavours to improve the lives of individuals and communities.
Growing up on Brisbane’s southside in the 1980s, Ms Murphy developed an interest in law and finance which led her to study a Bachelor of Commerce at Griffith Business School, providing the ideal setting to combine her two passions.
Her tertiary education enabled her to gain new insights and different perspectives, helping her realise she was interested in being involved in business leadership rather than as a functional expert.
Ms Murphy’s degree led to career opportunities at RACQ, Helia, an Advisory Board Member with Griffith’s Climate Ready Initiative, and contributed to the healthcare space through WeCU.
The First Peoples Alumnus Award was presented to Nicholas Williams, a Bachelor of Business (Human Resource Management) graduate from Griffith Business School.
Mr Williams’s career has seen him reach the halls of the Australian High Commission in London as the First Secretary, Trade and Economics where he implemented and executed the Australian Government’s strategic priorities for Australia’s bilateral relationship with the United Kingdom.
As a proud Indigenous man, Mr Williams’s vision is for successful and sustainable First Nations economic development through international trade and investment.
Dr Kathryn Woodward, a Rhodes Scholar whose research aims to explore the experiences of health services among refugee populations in Queensland, was named as the recipient of the Young Alumnus Award.
Dr Woodward graduated from Griffith with a Bachelor of Medical Science in 2017 and a Doctor of Medicine in 2021, with her tertiary studies complementing her commitment to serving rural and remote communities.
She is currently undertaking her Doctor of Philosophy in Primary Healthcare at Oxford University, and hopes to return to Queensland as a primary care physician to support and uplift underserved communities and progress the shift towards more patient-orientated health systems.
The International Alumnus Award was presented to Dr Nsofwa Sukwa-Chitwa, a Bachelor of Biomedical Science and a Master of Nutrition and Dietetics graduate who has made it her personal mission to develop innovative solutions to some of the most pressing health issues of our time.
Dr Sukwa-Chitwa’s aptitude and passion for health is at the core of her work as a Clinical Research Fellow at the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research in Zambia, a country facing numerous public health challenges, with many revolving around infectious diseases and malnutrition in children.
She has made a significant contribution to the field of vaccine research and infectious disease with her research focused on the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of vaccines along with the development of methodologies to assess disease severity and vaccine effectiveness.
Griffith University emerged as a standout performer at the recent Graduate of the Year Awards (GOTYA) hosted by the Design Institute of Australia, scooping up a total of five titles.
The prestigious awards, established in 2003, recognise outstanding Australian designers at the beginning of their careers, celebrating not only their creative work but also their work ethic and readiness for the professional world.
Three graduates from Griffith’s Bachelor of Design (Visual Communication Design) program achieved remarkable success, leading to Griffith being the most awarded university in Queensland, and tied with Monash University for most awarded in Australia.
Jan Pimping: Commendation Award, Queensland — Interact Category
Kyla Little:
Graduate of the Year Award, Queensland — Interact Category
Graduate of the Year Award, Australia — Interact Category
Graduate of the Year Award, Queensland Overall
Kyla Little’s achievements stood out as she took home three awards, which progresses her to the national GOTYA later this year.
Visual Communication Design major convenor and Creative Director at Liveworm, Dr David Sargent was filled with pride and said all three graduates deserved every accolade.
“From Kyla Little’s meticulous approach and constant drive for perfection, to Rhianna Pearce’s perseverance in transforming challenges into polished design gems, and Jan Pimping’s versatile artistic range that defies expectations, these designers have shown immense dedication and creativity,” he said.
“Jan’s outcomes were often very darkly themed with beautifully intricate gothic illustrations and great use of texture, but he could so easily jump to bright, bubbly, cute illustrations for a children’s book, plus he’s one of the gentlest and most articulate people you could ever meet.
“Rhianna sets her own bar exceptionally high and I remember one of her Liveworm brand projects where my feedback was just ‘Killer. No notes.’
“Kyla first appeared on my radar when her tutor asked if she was allowed to give a student 100 per cent as she just could not fault her work.
Kyla Little
“Her outputs and work ethic are consistently set to 11 with every detail well considered and researched, top notch typographic craft and well-documented iterative development.”
Reflecting on her own achievements, Ms Little said she was humbled, particularly when she was unsure if university was even an option for her as she had struggled academically in high school.
“My path to design wasn’t exactly planned, so being recognised with these titles is incredibly validating,” she said.
“I barely met university entry requirements, and at the time, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but Business seemed like a safe bet, and Design seemed like something fun to explore, so I chose a dual degree.
“Once I began studying design, I realised how much it resonated with me.
“I’m fascinated by how people interact with the world and how those interactions influence emotions and behaviours, and this curiosity continues to inspire me as I explore new ideas in visual communication design.”
Ms Little also credited the Queensland College of Art and Design with helping her realise her potential and dive into something she was genuinely passionate about.
“I came in not really knowing what I was capable of, but the environment and support I found allowed me to explore that fully,” she said.
“The teaching staff played such a crucial role in that process, offering guidance that pushed me beyond what I thought my limits were.”
Kyla Little with her three GOTYA certificates
A unique new partnership that combines marine research with Google AI technology will enhance researchers’ understanding of humpback whale behaviours, migration patterns and marine habitats.
Monitoring the sounds and songs of humpback whales is a helpful indicator of ecosystem health. It can help scientists understand migration activity, patterns, mating calls and competitive behaviours.
Traditional whale research methods typically involved painstaking and laborious processes such as logging sightings of whales, and manually reviewing audio data.
The hydrophones are deployed at 500km intervals along the Australian East Coast.
Additionally, whale sighting data can only be gathered during daylight, so scientists were not previously able to collect detailed, comprehensive data over continuous stretches of time.
The hydrophones and Google AI technology removes research barriers and limitations, enabling automatic and continuous audio data collection and analysis.
Hydrophones are microphones used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sounds, and their use in this particular project will support whale sightings from boats and land.
“Hydrophones allow us to tune into marine soundscapes 24/7,” Dr Meynecke said.
“The Whales and Climate Program currently holds the largest whale sighting database in Australia but this is sighting data captured during the daytime, which means there is no data spanning 24-hour periods.
“The hydrophone array will help us to capture continuous data over the course of a 24-hour period and do this for the entire whale season every year. We will be collecting many terabytes of acoustic data that then will be analysed with Google’s AI technology to detect whale location and activity. We can then match that data with existing visual sightings, providing a much more holistic picture of whale movements and behaviours.”
Dr Olaf Meynecke, Griffith University
The Google/Griffith team will work with citizen science groups to deploy more hydrophones.
Three hydrophones have already been deployed off the Gold Coast, Sydney and Merimbula, with at least another three set to be deployed.
The hydrophones will be spaced at approximately 500km intervals, ensuring wide coverage of annual migrations that typically span the Australian east coast.
The project is enabled by the Digital Futures Initiative, Google Australia’s $1 billion investment in Australian research, partnerships and infrastructure.
This commitment supports a range of AI-focused projects across healthcare, sustainability, energy and more, including a search engine for bird and wildlife sounds.
“We’re delighted to partner with Griffith University to give researchers new AI tools so they can gain a richer and more comprehensive understanding of humpback whales, underwater ecosystems and the impact of climate change,” said Dr Harrell, data scientist at Google Research.
“Google’s AI technology detects whale sounds, marks the location in time and classifies the species. The model does this automatically, relieving researchers from time consuming and manual work so they can spend more time uncovering insights and exploring new, unchartered territories of research. This data can help to inform conservation decisions and will be made publicly available to the global research community.”
Dr Lauren Harrell, Google Research
The hydrophones will collect terabytes of marine soundscape data for further analysis.
The AI model will be open sourced on Kaggle and on GitHub to benefit other whale and marine researchers around the world.
Curtin University’s Centre for Marine Science and Technology is also working with the team to provide technical support for the acoustic data collection, and a range of local citizen science groups will assist with monitoring each of the hydrophone sites.
