UQ ChangeMakers

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘witch’? Most people will come up with a similar image: old, haggard, ugly, bent-nosed, broomstick-laden and, above all, female. But how accurate is this stereotype? UQ ChangeMakers sat down with Dr Charlotte-Rose Millar, Research Fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at UQ and the author of ‘Witchcraft, the Devil and Emotions in Early Modern England’, to delve into the dark arts of witchcraft and the supernatural.

So much has to go right for an athlete to win a gold medal. One of those things is staying healthy. UQ ChangeMakers catches up with Chief Medical Officer for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and UQ sports medicine senior lecturer Dr Anita Green to learn how to run a healthy international sporting event, while helping athletes perform at their best when it matters most.

Hypersonics expert Professor Michael Smart explains how UQ is making space exploration more sustainable while leading the industry into the modern era.

The world is in a race to produce significantly more food to support its growing population. Find out how Professor Mark Cooper is leading the way by returning to UQ as the Chair in Prediction Based Crop Improvement – a role which aims to find innovative solutions to the world’s food-gap issue. But it's not the only race Professor Cooper is running. The Scottish native has risked polar bear attacks and frostbite in his quest to complete marathons all over the globe.

Ever wanted to pack up and move into a tiny house? Learn about the big changes tiny houses can make to your life, and your community, from The Tiny House Company co-founder and UQ architecture graduate Lara Nobel.

UQ's Chief Student Entrepreneur Ben Coughlin discusses how students are turning ideas into careers through different startup incubator and accelerator opportunities at UQ.

Some of the world's deadliest creatures are becoming the unlikely heroes in the fight to treat disease and conquer major economic problems. Researchers like UQ PhD student Jordan Debono are working to unlock the secrets of venom and its applications in a range of pharmaceuticals, from pain relief to antiparasitics.

Footballers have long been celebrated for their ability to take a hit. But what happens when they take one too many? Former Brisbane Lions star and current UQ student Justin Clarke knows all too well after a head knock at training brought his AFL career to a premature end. Clarke is now an ambassador for UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute, where scientists are tackling some of concussion’s unanswered questions, while working to improve diagnosis and management of brain injuries.

They’re at the top of the food chain, they can't get cancer, and they’re out to eat us – or maybe not. UQ alumnus and adjunct fellow marine biologist Dr Blake Chapman takes the bite out of shark myths and explains how important sharks are to our environment.

First-time blood donors don’t always make it from booking an appointment to actually showing up. To improve attendance, UQ psychology lecturer Professor Barbara Masser has continued a 15-year collaboration with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service to allay donors’ fears and bolster attendance rates.

Journalist Peter Greste never imagined he would become the story. But after 400 days in prison in Egypt on trumped-up terror charges, he unwittingly became the face of media freedom around the world. In this episode, Greste reveals how he survived prison, why freedom of the press is so important, and discusses his new role at UQ’s School of Communication and Arts.

UQ palaeontologist Dr Steve Salisbury has helped unearth thousands of dinosaur footprints along a single stretch of coastline in Western Australia. He and his team braved sharks, crocodiles, massive tides and the threat of development to unveil the most diverse assemblage of dinosaur tracks in the world. Welcome to Australia’s Jurassic Park.