Skip to menu Skip to content Skip to footer

You're viewing this site as a domestic an international student

You're a domestic student if you are:

  • a citizen of Australia or New Zealand,
  • an Australian permanent resident, or
  • a holder of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa.

You're an international student if you are:

  • intending to study on a student visa,
  • not a citizen of Australia or New Zealand,
  • not an Australian permanent resident, or
  • a temporary resident (visa status) of Australia.
You're viewing this site as a domestic an international student
Change

Developing a versatile platform for sensitive detection of small molecules

This project is closed.

Project summary

Program
PhD
Location
St Lucia
Research area
Chemical sciences, Engineering

Project description

Characterising metabolites in single cell scale will provide valuable insight into the functionality of individual cell, and reveal mechanisms that cannot be observed in bulk cell analysis. To address the existing challenges in this area, this project aims to develop the first carbon-assisted nanostructure-initiator mass spectrometry platform, which uses an innovative carbon material with a carefully designed nanostructure to enhance the detection efficiency. Expected outcomes include the development of a revolutionised MS platform for single-cell metabolomics analysis, and valuable intellectual property of commercial interest to provide economic benefit to Australia through technology advancement.

The PhD student will be trained for fabricating and characterizing the nanoparticles, and performing the platform validation under my supervision to execute the DECRA project and achieve the three aims as outlined in the project description.

Scholarship

This is an Earmarked scholarship project that aligns with a recently awarded Australian Government grant.

The scholarship includes:

  • living stipend of $35,000 per annum tax free (2024 rate), indexed annually
  • your tuition fees covered
  • single overseas student health cover (OSHC).

Learn more about the Earmarked scholarship.

Supervisor

You must contact the principal supervisor for this project to discuss your interest. You should only complete the online application after you have reached agreement on supervision.

Always make sure you are approaching your potential supervisor in a professional way. We have provided some guidelines for you on how to contact a supervisor.

Preferred educational background

Your application will be assessed on a competitive basis.

We take into account your:

  • previous academic record
  • publication record
  • honours and awards
  • employment history

A working knowledge of material science, nanotechnology, biomedical science, pharmaceutics and drug delivery would be of benefit to someone working on this project.

You will demonstrate academic achievement in the field/s of functional materials and their bioapplications and the potential for scholastic success.

A background or knowledge of chemistry, pharmaceutics and nanotechnology is highly desirable.

How to apply

This project requires candidates to commence no later than Research Quarter 1, 2025. To allow time for your application to be processed, we recommend applying no later than 30 September, 2024 30 June, 2024.

You can start in an earlier research quarter. See application dates.

Before you apply

  1. Check your eligibility for the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
  2. Prepare your documentation.
  3. Contact Dr Chang Lei (c.lei1@uq.edu.au) to discuss your interest and suitability.

When you apply

You apply for this scholarship when you submit an application for a PhD. You don’t need to submit a separate scholarship application.

In your application ensure that under the ‘Scholarships and collaborative study’ section you select:

  • My higher degree is not collaborative
  • I am applying for, or have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship
  • UQ Earmarked Scholarship type.

Apply now