RESEARCHER PROFILE
Dr Rikki Jones (Filmed July 2024)
Senior Lecturer in Nursing
University of New England,
New South Wales, Australia
Dr Rikki Jones completed her Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of New England (UNE) in 2000 and a Ph.D in Nursing at UNE in 2021. She has over 17 years of clinical nursing experience in emergency nursing, community health, rural and remote nursing, and theatre nursing. Since undertaking her role at UNE in 2017, Dr Jones has gained extensive experience in curriculum development/design, unit coordination, and is passionate quality meaningful research and student support.
At UNE, Dr Jones has been actively involved in and undertaking leadership roles in research, teaching and student support. Dr Jones is the HDR (higher degree research) coordinator for the School of Health (SOH), and the Chair of Research Committee SOH. Recently she has been awarded an MRFF (Medical Research Future Funds)- Early to Mid-Career Researcher Initiative 2023 for her research focusing on regional, rural and remote first responders’ mental health.
Dr Jones has been awarded to date a total of over AUD$430,000 in research funding. She is currently leading four large national research teams focusing on rural health and sustainable rural health workforce (include mental health of first responders, sexual violence in rural Australia, virtual simulated nursing placements, and nursing students experience with online learning, connection and transitioning to practice).
-
Targeting chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer patients
Dr Alex Cole, from the Centenary Institute’s Centre for Biomedical AI, is now leading the research focused on developing a new treatment to counteract a protein called follistatin (FST), known for making ovarian cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy.
By employing cutting-edge molecular biology and directed evolution techniques, the project aims to create nanobodies—small, precise molecules—that can block FST. If successful, these nanobodies could enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy and improve ovarian cancer treatment rates.
-
Genetic disease research imitating function and architecture of organs
Professor Wolvetang was among the first to bring the first human embryonic stem cells to Queensland, with his Wolvetang Group at the AIBN now renowned for its work with organoids: growing them, studying them, and using them to try and understand diseases and human development.
Using cutting edge technology, Professor Wolvetang designs and grows organoids both for their own work and for labs across the country, coaxing pluripotent stem cells or tissue samples into 3D structures that mimic the function and architecture of real brains, livers, kidneys, spinal cords, and intestines.
-
Dr Ryan O’Hare Doig
NEIL SACHSE CENTRE FOR SPINAL CORD RESEARCH (SAHMRI)
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIA
