Young female scientist pipetting solution in a laboratory setting. Wearing eye protection, a white lab coat and blue gloves. Photo: University of Tasmania.
Photo: University of Tasmania

The Centre team

HyTECH brings together an exceptional team of industry and academic scientists, with outstanding track records in delivering end-user driven research outcomes, a wide breadth of experience, and extensive histories of early career researcher mentoring and training.

  • Prof. Brett Paull

    Prof. Brett Paull

    Training Centre Director, Key investigator

    University of Tasmania

    Professor Brett Paull is a Professor of Analytical Chemistry in the School of Natural Sciences, within the College of Sciences and Engineering at the University of Tasmania. Brett was Director of the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science from 2014–2019 and Director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Training Centre for Portable Analytical Separation technologies (ASTech) from 2015–2020. His research sits at the interface of materials and analytical science, and he has been involved in research in both fundamental and applied aspects of the separation sciences for the past thirty years.

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  • Prof. Kevin Thomas

    Prof. Kevin Thomas

    Training Centre Deputy Director, Key Academic Investigator

    The University of Queensland

    Professor Kevin Thomas is Director of the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) at The University of Queensland. Kevin is an environmental health scientist with a particular interest in understanding the environmental exposures associated with contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) with the goal of protecting environmental and human health. His current research is focused on understanding human exposure to plastics pollution and developing mass spectrometric analytical methods for characterising plastics and other CECs, assessing community-wide health status through analysing wastewater (wastewater-based epidemiology), establishing alternative approaches to exposure monitoring, for example explanted silicone prostheses and wristbands.

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  • Prof. Russell Keast

    Prof. Russell Keast

    Key Academic Investigator

    Deakin University

    Dr Russell Keast is a Professor and Director of the Deakin Centre for Advanced Food Sciences at Deakin University, Melbourne. Russell is also a qualified Chef and completed his PhD in the flavour of beer at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He is a Food Scientist with specialisation in sensory science and understanding why the factors in why we overconsume certain foods.

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  • Dr Cassandra Rauert

    Dr Cassandra Rauert

    Early Career Forum Chairperson, Key Academic Investigator

    The University of Queensland

    Dr Cassandra Rauert is a Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) at The University of Queensland. Cassandra’s career has focussed on developing new methods for monitoring human and environmental exposure to chemicals of emerging concern. At QAEHS she is the project lead for investigating human exposure to microplastics within the Minderoo Centre-Plastics and Human Health, which is focussing on developing new methods for detecting micro and nanoplastics in human matrices. Her other research interests include the impact of tyre road wear particle microplastics and their chemical additives on the environment, and developing novel biomonitoring methods for assessing human exposure to a wide range of chemicals of concern (e.g., silicone wristbands and silicone implants).

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  • Em/Prof. Paul Haddad

    Em/Prof. Paul Haddad

    Early Career Forum Chairperson, Key Academic Investigator

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Paul Haddad is an Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tasmania. His research covers numerous aspects of separation science, including ion chromatography, liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis. He is interested in both the fundamentals and applications of these techniques, with a special focus on computerised methods for the prediction of retention. Within HyTECH his role will focus on providing a formal mentoring program for young scientists working within the Centre.

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  • Dr Snehal Jadhav

    Dr Snehal Jadhav

    Academic Investigator

    Deakin University

    Dr Snehal Jadhav is a lecturer in food safety and a member of the Deakin Centre for Advanced Food Sciences at Deakin University, Melbourne. Dr Jadhav is passionate about food safety and her research expertise is in solving issues related to microbial food safety using omics approaches. Her current interest is in using advanced separation science platforms to develop rapid pathogen detection workflows from food to ultimately reduce microbial food waste and promote food sustainability.

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  • Dr Jake O’Brien

    Dr Jake O’Brien

    Academic Investigator

    The University of Queensland

    Dr Jake O’Brien holds an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) at The University of Queensland. He is an environmental health scientist whose main research interests are in developing analytical techniques including high-resolution mass spectrometry coupled with chromatography to better characterise chemical threats in our environment, and developing wastewater-based epidemiology as a public health surveillance tool. He is a founder of the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program and the SewAus Census project where wastewater derived data are triangulated with Census data to understand how communities are exposed to chemical and biological hazards, and how these chemicals/biological agents are released into the environment following wastewater treatment.

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  • Prof. Robert Shellie

    Prof. Robert Shellie

    Academic Investigator

    University of Tasmania

    Professor Rob Shellie has 25 years of research experience developing hyphenated chromatographic techniques and hyphenated chromatographic analysers. Rob has worked across government, academia, and industry addressing wicked problems with multidimensional separations and multidimensional analyses. Although he describes himself as sample-impartial, Rob’s research largely centres on measurement science (analytical chemistry) of food, flavour, and fragrance.

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  • Dr Dan Dias

    Dr Dan Dias

    Academic Investigator

    Deakin University

    Dr Dan Dias is a Senior Lecturer in Analytical Biochemistry within Deakin Centre for Advanced Food Sciences at Deakin University. Dr Dias has focused on the application of hyphenated separation technologies to multidisciplinary fields. His current research focuses on producing indigo in heterologous model systems; identifying bioactive natural products from endophytes; applying metabolomics to assess the impact of Polyphenol Rich Sugarcane Extracts (PRSE) on inflammatory cell signalling pathways and identifying anti-diabetic natural products from evidence-based medicinal plants.

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  • Dr Estrella Sanz Rodriguez

    Dr Estrella Sanz Rodriguez

    Academic Investigator

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Estrella Sanz Rodriguez is a senior research fellow in the School of Natural Sciences, within the College of Sciences and Engineering at the University of Tasmania. Estrella has 25 years’ experience as an analytical chemist working with hyphenated separation techniques with mass spectrometry, including gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and ion chromatography. She has also provided hands-on advanced training of post-graduate students and early career researchers in the use of this instrumentation.

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  • Dr Vipul Gupta

    Dr Vipul Gupta

    Academic Investigator

    Deakin University

    Dr Vipul Gupta is an ARC Discovery Early Career Research (DECRA) Fellow and Lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences (Chemistry). His research is focused on 3D printing, chromatography, microfluidics, and material science. In addition to research and teaching, he also enjoys the role of an entrepreneur (co-founder of 3D MADe) and a book author (lead author of 3D Printing in Chemical Sciences).

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  • Dr Fernando Maya Alejandro

    Dr Fernando Maya Alejandro

    Academic Investigator

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Fernando Maya is a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Tasmania. His research expertise includes the synthesis of porous and hybrid materials, the development of supports for extraction and separation, and the development of novel methodologies for analytical sample preparation and their hyphenation with separation techniques.

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  • Dr Sonja Kukuljan

    Dr Sonja Kukuljan

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Noumi Ltd

    Dr Sonja Kukuljan is the Director of Science and Nutrition at Noumi, a pioneering Australian plant and dairy products company. Sonja has contributed to Noumi across technical domains, food and health, nutrition and science, research and development, innovation, and food regulation. She also holds an elected position on the Australian Food and Grocery Council’s Nutrition and Regulations Committee. Sonja’s career blends her academic experience, including a PhD that examined the clinical benefits of vitamin D and calcium enriched dairy milk on bone, muscle, and health in Australian adults, with dynamic academic and research partnerships. These collaborations continue to foster scientific excellence that translate into real-world solutions through research outcome commercialisation.

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  • Yan Li

    Dr Yan Li

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Shimadzu

    Dr Yan Li obtained his PhD in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Tasmania (UTAS), where he specialised in chromatography and the development of miniaturised analytical instrumentation. Since 2017, Yan has worked extensively within the scientific instrumentation industry, bringing a strong technical foundation in separation sciences to his professional roles.

    Currently at Shimadzu Oceania, Yan applies his expertise to support the application and advancement of high-performance analytical systems. His professional interests sit at the intersection of academic research and industry-driven innovation, with a particular interest on improving the accessibility and efficiency of advanced separation technologies through miniaturisation.

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  • Anna Barlow

    Dr Anna Barlow

    Affiliate Industry Partner Investigator

    FermentHQ

    Anna is an experienced startup, innovation and business coach and mentor. She is a non-executive board director for the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology and Fermentation Tasmania Ltd, and on the advisory boards for Cellular Agriculture Australia and The HyTech ARC Centre, and for her day job is Partner – Food & Agri Innovation at Startupbootcamp Australia.

    Previously, Anna held senior leadership and executive roles in R&D and innovation with global multinational FMCG businesses working from the UK, The Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia across food categories such as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, chocolate, coffee and biscuits.

    Originally from New Zealand, Anna is now based in Melbourne, Australia where she lives with her husband and daughter.

  • Prof. Andrew Bowie

    Prof. Andrew Bowie

    Academic Investigator

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Andrew Bowie is a Chemical Oceanographer at the Universtiy of Tasmania. His research investigates the biogeochemistry of trace elements in Southern Ocean and Antarctic sea ice environments, with projects addressing key research questions related to atmospheric dust deposition and solubilities, ocean iron fertilisation, physico-chemical speciation of trace elements and their isotopes, and the role of ocean dynamics on chemical and biological marine processes. His research outcomes are focused on assessment of trace element control of ocean productivity, ocean carbon sequestration and expanding our knowledge of marine geochemical processes.

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  • Dr Desmond Richardson

    Dr Desmond Richardson

    Affiliate Industry Investigator

    Des Richardson, Norske Skog’s Senior Scientist, obtained a PhD in analytical chemistry at the University of Tasmania and has worked in the pulp and paper industry for over 46 years in applied Research & Development in the fields of wood extractive chemistry, pulp and paper-making, wastewater treatment, and applied analytical chemistry. He has, throughout his career, co-supervised post graduate students at several universities in areas of relevance to the industry, some of whom now hold senior positions in industry. He has more recently been involved in Norske Skog’s investigations of technology associated with sustainable chemical and composite manufacture from biomass.

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  • Dr Andrew Gooley

    Dr Andrew Gooley

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Trajan Scientific and Medical

    Dr Andrew Gooley is the Chief Scientific Officer with Trajan Scientific and Medical and leads a multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers on a diverse range of projects from medical device development, separation science instrumentation prototyping, through to consumables for the global analytical science community. Andrew has been responsible for the execution of a range of collaborative programs with the Australian academic and medical research community focused on the translation of research outcomes into new product development. Andrew has led Trajan’s partner organisation activities with three previous Industrial Transformation Training Centres — ASTech (UTAS and UniSA), CPTT (University of Melbourne) and ATCI (University of Melbourne). Andrew holds a PhD in Biotechnology from Macquarie University.

  • Dr Harald Ritchie

    Dr Harald Ritchie

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Advanced Materials Technology

    Dr Harry Ritchie has over 30 years’ industry experience with a strong focus on business execution and strategic project management within separation science. He is currently the Director of Business and Market Development for Advanced Materials Technologies Inc. Harry has led development and commercialisation activities of chromatographic silica and carbon particle LC materials, UHPLC columns and Sample Preparation devices and contributed to 36 peer-reviewed publications.

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  • Mr Mark Albertson

    Mr Mark Albertson

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Thermo Fisher Scientific

    Mark Albertson is the Portfolio Manager for the Chromatography Product line of Thermo Fisher Scientific ANZ. Mark has a strong interest in the Field of Ion Chromatography dating back 36 years’, with experience in both system sales and applications support. Mark has seen the evolution of Ion Chromatography from an obscure research tool to a technique in everyday use throughout Australasia. During this time Mark has had the privilege of actualizing many new and novel applications and it has been a great journey of discovery in the field of Ion Chromatography.

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  • Mr Bart Cleeren.

    Mr Bart Cleeren

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Thermo Fisher Scientific

    Bart Cleeren is an analytical scientist with over two decades of experience in commercial and application support roles within separation sciences. He has a deep understanding of separation techniques and hyphenated methodologies. Currently, he serves as the Global Product Marketing Manager for Ion Chromatography, where he focuses on business development and marketing of innovative ion chromatography products. His work is crucial in meeting the needs of rapidly evolving applied market segments, ensuring that new products adhere to the highest standards and market demands.

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  • Dr Mark Curran. Photo: AAD/Simon Payne.

    Dr Mark Curran

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Australian Antarctic Division

    Dr Mark Curran leads the ice core research group at the Australian Antarctic Division, which he has been involved with since 1996. The overall theme of this research group is reconstruction of climate records from Antarctic ice cores. Dr Curran has 100+ peer reviewed publications and has been involved in 18 polar expeditions to both Antarctica and Greenland. He was the chief investigator of the Aurora Basin North Antarctic ice core project, which involved 17 institutions and more than 50 scientists across the world. Dr Curran supervises and mentors staff and students, and is involved in many outreach activities.

  • Dr Thusitha Rupasinghe

    Dr Thusitha Rupasinghe

    Industry Partner Investigator

    AB Sciex

    Thusi obtained her PhD in Analytical Chemistry at the La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia in 2003. She gained many years of experience in pharmaceutical and environmental industry before joining CDCO at Monash University, where she developed LC-MS based methodologies to analyse drug metabolite in biological fluids. In 2008, she joined Metabolomics Australia (MA), at the University of Melbourne. Thusi has been one of the main instrumental researchers, who developed analytical methodologies based on LC-MS for metabolomics and lipidomics at MA and has been recognised by a numerous number of publications. In 2020, Thusi has taken up a position as a Senior Field Application Specialist with SCIEX in Oceania region.

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  • Mr Stewart Carswell

    Mr Stewart Carswell

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Queensland Health

    Stewart has worked at Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services (FSS) since 1992 after completing a MAppSc at QUT. Initially employed as a graduate chemist, he worked in several of the FSS laboratories analysing manufactured products, inorganics and metals, before finally moving into organic residues in 1998. Since 2012 he has been the team leader of the Organic Chemistry laboratory. The Organics laboratory employs 33 chemists, scientists and technicians and covers a range of analyses including phycology, toxins, food complaint and compliance, and trace organic residues in environmental water, soil, air and biological matrices.

  • Mr Ben MacLeod

    Mr Ben MacLeod

    Industry Partner Investigator

    LECO Australia

    Ben MacLeod has been employed at LECO Australia since 2010 as their Separation Science Sales expert responsible for the LECO range of low and high resolution GC and GCxGC Time-of-Flight instrumentation and Restek chromatography products. Prior to joining LECO Australia Ben worked for a number of pharmaceutical and specialty chemical companies including Pfizer, Astra Zeneca and Avecia in the UK as a research and development analytical chemist before joining Thames Restek UK for a number of years as a Sales Representative. Ben is interested in the application of analytical chemistry, in particular chromatography, to solve real world challenges and in assisting analytical chemists in discovering solutions for these challenges.

  • Mr Phillip Pennisi.

    Mr Phillip Pennisi

    Industry Partner Investigator

    Derwent Estuary Program

    Phillip Pennisi is the Urban Water Scientist for the Derwent Estuary Program (DEP) — a collaborative initiative involving state and local governments, industry, researchers, and the community, aimed at restoring and promoting the Derwent Estuary in Hobart. Phillip co-leads projects with DEP partners focused on identifying sources of stormwater pollution within the urban landscape and understanding its impact on city liveability and community assets, such as local recreational beaches. His work includes developing and implementing solutions to reduce pollution at these swimming beaches. Through his research, Phillip is advancing knowledge of how urban water systems affect infrastructure, the environment, and public health. A key part of his role involves bridging the gap between science and policy-ensuring that the latest scientific insights are translated into practical, evidence-based water management strategies that benefit both the environment and the community.

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  • Dr Matt Flavel

    Dr Matt Flavel

    Industry Partner Investigator

    The Product Makers (TPM)

    Dr Matt Flavel is the Chief Scientist at The Product Makers (TPM), a multi-national flavour and bioactive company. Whilst at TPM, Matt has contributed to the development and commercialisation of a range of patented, bioactive sugarcane extracts from benchtop discovery, through to real-world impact. This success has been made possible via a global network of collaborations, which now includes the HyTECH ARC Training Centre. Matt publishes research across a wide range of scientific disciplines; however this diverse research interest is connected via a common purpose of seeking practical and sustainable solutions to improve the quality of life for all animals (including humans).

  • Dr Mara Ruiz Minano

    Dr Mara Ruiz Minano

    Centre Manager

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Mara Ruiz Minano is the new Centre Manager for HyTech. With years of experience in research funding and operational support, and having completed her own PhD in Landscape Genetics, Mara is committed to supporting researchers and helping ideas move forward with as little hassle as possible. She values collaboration and innovation and is excited to be close to research again — the curiosity, the learning, and the shared drive to make a difference. Mara will be the point of contact for all things HyTECH.

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  • Simone Lewin

    Simone Lewin

    DeCAF project manager / Admin support

    Deakin University

    Simi is a project manager within the Deakin Centre for Advanced Food Sciences at Deakin University, Melbourne. With expertise in project management and consumer and sensory research, Simi plays a pivotal role in overseeing and coordinating various research endeavours within the centre. Her skills encompass project planning, execution, and monitoring, ensuring that research initiatives run smoothly and efficiently. Simi is adept at fostering collaboration among diverse teams, from researchers to industry partners.

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  • Dr Yada Nolvachai

    Dr Yada Nolvachai

    HyTECH Postdoctoral Fellow

    Deakin University

    Dr Yada Nolvachai is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin Centre for Advanced Food Sciences, Deakin University. Her research expertise lies in the field of advanced analytical methods for food and natural product analysis, specialising in multidimensional gas chromatography and hyphenation techniques, as well as the utilisation of computer-assisted chromatography through molecular modelling and simulation approaches for experimental design and data analysis. Her current research interest is in the application of multidimensional gas chromatography for assessing food authenticity through chemical fingerprinting.

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  • Dr Elvis Okoffo

    Dr Elvis Okoffo

    HyTECH Postdoctoral Fellow

    The University of Queensland

    Dr Elvis Okoffo is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) at The University of Queensland. Elvis’s career has focussed on developing new analytical methods for characterising and monitoring environmental exposures associated with plastics and providing an understanding of plastics pollution in Australian environment. His current research is focused on developing novel sampling approaches and analytical techniques for rapid screening and monitoring of plastics (microplastics, nanoplastics, micro bioplastics, plastic additives) in environmental samples.

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  • Dr Ibraam Mikhail

    Dr Ibraam Mikhail

    HyTECH Postdoctoral Fellow

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Ibraam Mikhail is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), University of Tasmania. He has extensive expertise in pharmaceutical analysis and bioanalysis with a focus on biological samples preparation for mass spectrometry. In addition, he is interested in developing green methodologies for the routine monitoring of complex samples. His recent research involves the hyphenation of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with various portable detection systems for pharmaceutical, biological, and environmental analysis.

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  • Dr Leo Lebanov

    Dr Leo Lebanov

    HyTECH Postdoctoral Fellow

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Leo Lebanov is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS) at the University of Tasmania. His primary area of research expertise centres around the use of hyphenated analytical techniques, with a particular focus on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, for the analysis of complex sample matrices, such as natural products and industrial process samples, among others. Furthermore, Dr Lebanov leverages advanced multivariate statistical approaches to extract valuable insights from complex and convoluted spectroscopic and chromatographic data. His most recent research involves the application of advanced data curation techniques to develop portable devices for process analytical technology.

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  • Dr Harrison Stevens

    Dr Harrison Stevens

    HyTECH Postdoctoral Fellow

    University of Tasmania

    Dr Harrison Stevens is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Research on Separation Science (ACROSS), University of Tasmania. His past research focused on reconstructing the recent depositional history of nutrients, heavy metals, and fire markers in Tasmanian freshwater lakes by analysing the down-core composition of sediments. Using his expertise with hyphenated techniques such as liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and his knowledge about fire-derived markers, his current research aims to increase our understanding of the chemical signatures produced by the combustion of Australian biomass species to assist with aerosol source tracing and historical vegetation reconstructions.

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  • Yuying Feng

    Yuying Feng

    PhD candidate

    Deakin University

    Yuying Feng is a PhD candidate at the Deakin University investigating sustainability of post-consumer recycled plastic as a food contact material. Her PhD project is in collaboration with ARC HyTECH training centre. Prior to commencing her PhD, she worked as a management trainee in the Department of Health & Nutrition, SGS (a testing, inspection and certification company) from 2020 to 2023. Before joining the SGS, she obtained her master’s degree in food science from the University of Melbourne in 2019. Her research was focused on LC-ESI-QTOF/MS.

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  • Mingxia Lai

    Mingxia Lai

    PhD candidate

    University of Tasmania

    Mingxia commenced her PhD with HyTECH at the University of Tasmania (UTAS) in 2023. The objective of her project “Ice-Cores by IC-MS” is to employ hyphenated techniques, combining chromatographic technology with advanced mass spectrometric detection, to comprehensively examine ice-core samples. Before embarking on her PhD, Mingxia obtained a Bachelor of Polymer Materials and Engineering from Taiyuan Institute of Technology in China in 2011. After working for some time in industry in China Mingxia completed her Master’s in Chemistry at UTAS in 2022. During her master’s program, she gained experience in the development of new analytical methods based on chromatographic techniques coupled with mass spectrometry.

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  • Ruvini Weerasinghe

    Ruvini Weerasinghe

    PhD candidate

    The University of Queensland

    Ruvini got her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka. She then went on to pursue an MPhil degree in the same university. Her research there focused on the identification of chemicals toxicity and antifouling potential of some marine fouling organisms. She is now a PhD candidate at Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science (QAEHS). Her research aims to develop hyphenated methodologies for quantifying halogenated plastic materials.

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  • Tobias Hulleman

    Tobias Hulleman

    PhD candidate

    The University of Queensland

    Tobias got his Bachelor in Analytical Chemistry from the HZ University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. His thesis focused on applications development for a portable mass spectrometer. He then went on to pursue a Master’s in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Amsterdam. His thesis there was focused on the use of chemometrics in analytical chemistry, computational mass spectrometry and on the better understanding of the number of chemicals of emerging concern that have been analysed so far in the environment. In 2024 he started his PhD at the University of Queensland with QAEHS within the HyTECH (Hyphenated Analytical Separation Technologies) project. He is working on developing methods for the non-targeted high-resolution mass spectrometric characterisation of highly mobile and highly persistent contaminants.

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  • Nuwanthika Kaushalya

    Nuwanthika Kaushalya

    PhD candidate

    University of Tasmania

    Kaushalya earned her B.Sc. (Honors) in Chemistry from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. Her undergraduate research focused on natural product chemistry. Subsequently, she entered industry, working as a Research and Development Scientist in a standardization and regulatory standards development laboratory. During this period, she developed her skills in conducting research, particularly in developing test methods and standard operating procedures for the isolation, identification, and characterization of principal active ingredients in indigenous medicinal plants, utilizing advanced analytical instrumentation such as GC, GC/MS, and HPLC. Currently, Kaushalya is pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of Tasmania. Her doctoral research centres on the development and implementation of field-deployable and portable liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques for the in-situ detection and quantification of trace chemicals.

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  • Nanda Mrabawani

    Nanda Mrabawani

    PhD candidate

    University of Tasmania

    Nanda started her PhD at The University of Tasmania in late 2023. She is developing new and improved separation methods for target metal and non-metal species in sediment cores, plant materials, and agricultural soils by utilising high-performance suppressed ion chromatography coupled with element-specific ultra-sensitive MS detection. Prior to commencing her PhD, she obtained her master’s degree in analytical chemistry from Kwansei Gakuin University (Japan) in 2017. Her thesis there was focused on quantifying rare earth elements (REEs) concentrations in river water using single-quadrupole ICP-MS.

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  • Dilhara Dissanayaka

    Dilhara Dissanayaka

    PhD candidate

    University of Tasmania

    Dilhara is a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences (Honours) from the University Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Dilhara then joined the National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka as a Research Assistant to the Natural Products Research Group and enrolled for her M.Phil degree in Natural Products Chemistry. After completing her M.Phil degree, she joined the Industrial Technology Institute as a Research Scientist. Dilhara’s PhD research focuses on the characterisation of biosolvents and derivatives thereof using hyphenated analytical technologies, working towards the optimisation and better control of industrial production processes.

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  • Sherlyn Ardison

    Sherlyn Ardison

    PhD candidate

    Deakin University

    Sherlyn Ardison is a PhD Candidate at Deakin Centre for Advanced Food Sciences, Deakin University. Her current project investigates the influence of raw milk quality on the shelf-life prediction of UHT milk using hyphenated techniques. The findings will help to reduce food losses and wastes due to microbial spoilage and may serve as the basis for future research to develop diagnostic assays based on the putative biomarker(s) discovered in her project. Sherlyn Ardison was awarded a Deakin International 25% scholarship for academic excellence for her Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Science, Food Innovation major (2020–2022, Deakin University, High Distinction) and Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Science, Honours (2023, Deakin University, First Class Honours). Honours title: Application of GC–MS to detect foodborne pathogens (Salmonella).

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  • Kevin Ghavalas

    Kevin Ghavalas

    PhD candidate

    Deakin University

    Kevin received his Bachelor of Science majoring in Analytical Chemistry from Charles Sturt University in Australia. During his undergraduate studies, he completed a project involving supercritical fluid extraction and microwave-assisted extraction of polyphenolics from Australian native plants. He then completed his Bachelor of Nutrition Science (Honours) at Deakin University. His thesis was focused on using GC–MS and GC–FID to detect adulteration of essential oils. He is now a PhD candidate at Deakin University, where his research is on using GC×GC–TOFMS and MDGC–O to optimise the flavour of UHT milk.

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  • Arathy Parameswaran Sreeletha

    Arathy Parameswaran Sreeletha

    PhD candidate

    University of Tasmania

    Arathy started her PhD at the University of Tasmania in early 2024. Her project titled “Innovative HPLC Frit technology” is to develop high surface area, functionalized, and chemically tailored substrates, and materials to serve as selective sorbents or as functional frit materials in new column technology for various chromatographic techniques. Prior to embarking on her PhD journey, she completed her masters in Nanoscience and nanotechnology (2023), Her thesis was focused on “Investigating the use of silica thread as an Isotachophoresis matrix for use in thread-based electrofluidics” (UTAS, Australia). She also has a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and biochemical engineering (2021).

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  • Yasara Wickramasinghe

    Yasara Wickramasinghe

    PhD candidate

    Deakin University

    Yasara is a PhD student at Deakin University. Her PhD research focuses on protecting the provenance of sugarcane products using GC–MS and LC–MS metabolomics. Yasara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon. Her strong passion for food sciences led her to pursue a Master’s degree in Food Science and Technology at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, where her research focused on developing a herbal tea from moringa oleifera leaves. Driven by her commitment to environmental sustainability, Yasara completed a second Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Engineering at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, China, where she was awarded the prestigious Chinese Government Scholarship for that program.

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  • Haitao Lin

    Haitao Lin

    PhD candidate

    The University of Queensland

    Haitao Lin got his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from East China University of Technology. He then went on to pursue a Master’s in Marine Chemistry at Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources. His thesis was about research on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the waters of Xiamen Bay and their distribution and behavior on microplastics. He is now a PhD candidate at Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Science. His doctoral research centres on characterisation and quantification of nanoplastics in the environment using pyrolysis gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

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  • Di Hu

    Di Hu

    PhD candidate

    University of Tasmania

    Di obtained her master’s degree in Food Science and Engineering from Zhejiang Gongshang University, China, in 2024. During her master’s program, she gained research experience in the green extraction of natural products, protein identification based on liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS), and sample preparation using counter-current chromatography. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Tasmania, focusing on the development of green automated liquid–liquid extraction techniques combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) for the analysis of food samples.

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  • Amanda Liyanage

    Amanda Liyanage

    PhD candidate

    Deakin University

    Amanda commenced her PhD at Deakin University in 2025, with the research focus on developing a sensing platform for monitoring microbial contamination in food. Her study utilizes advanced hyphenated analytical techniques for the initial identification of metabolites associated with microbial contamination. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, where she also completed her first Master’s degree in Analytical Chemistry. During this time, she developed an electrochemical sensor to detect lead in beverages and worked on the functionalization of nanoparticles using plant extracts for the removal of industrial dyes. Amanda also holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics from La Trobe University, Australia. In addition to her academic background, she has professional experience working in the government sector in Sri Lanka as a Research Commercialization Officer.

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  • Lily Pan

    Lily Pan

    Affiliate PhD candidate

    The University of Queensland

    Lily is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland. Her research focuses on investigating the fate of nanoplastics in the human body following exposure. Specifically, she uses in vitro human cell models to examine how the physical characteristics of nanoplastics influence their interactions with key biological barriers. These findings will expand current understanding of human exposure risks and plastic-related health impacts. Prior to beginning her PhD, Lily completed her Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours), majoring in environmental toxicology. In 2022, she graduated with First Class Honours from The University of Queensland. Her Honours thesis explored the impacts of tyre wear particles and tyre leachate on the freshwater angiosperm Lemna minor.

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  • Hemavaruni Fernando

    Hemavaruni Fernando

    Affiliate PhD candidate

    Deakin University

    Hemavaruni Fernando is a PhD candidate at Deakin University whose research focuses on natural antimicrobials derived from Southern Australian marine algae to reduce microbiological food spoilage. Her work aims to translate bioactive compounds into practical food preservation solutions that support safer and more sustainable food systems. She has a professional background in the food manufacturing industry and has worked as an internal auditor for FSSC 22000, contributing to regulatory compliance, quality assurance, risk management, and supporting food safety, food defence, and fraud mitigation activities.

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