KU Leuven-Melbourne Research Training Group Mini Conference

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What is the KU Leuven-Melbourne Mini Conference?

The KU Leuven - Melbourne joint PhD program is part of an international research partnership between the University of Melbourne and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven). The first mini conference was held virtually on Wednesday 19 October 2022. Graduate Researchers in the Joint PhD program represent a diverse range of faculties from across the two institutions. For this conference they delivered their research findings to-date in concise, accessible presentations.

Wednesday 19 October 2022

17:00 AEDT/ 8:00 CEST Mini Conference Introduction

Professor Justin Zobel, Pro Vice-Chancellor Graduate & International Research, UoM, will deliver the opening address.

17:05 AEDT/ 8:05 CEST Graduate Researcher Presentations

Each presentation will be 10 minutes long followed by an additional 5 minutes for Q&A.

IP3R-mediated Ca2+ signaling microdomains regulating cardiomyocyte function and growth

Graduate Researcher: Joshua Chung

Supervisors: Dr Vijay Rajagopal (UoM) and Prof H. Llewelyn Roderick (KUL)

Flexible microwave sensors for dielectric spectroscopy

Graduate Researcher: Benyamin Harkinezhad

Supervisors: Prof Stan Skafidas (UoM) and Prof Dominique Schreurs (KUL)

Relationship between eigenvalues and singular values

Graduate Researcher: Matthias Allard

Supervisors: Dr Mario Kieburg (UoM) and Prof Arno Kuijlaars (KUL)

Biomarkers for preclinical Alzheimer's Disease: the role of multimodal retinal imaging

Graduate Researcher: Hana Kulenovic

Supervisors: A/Prof Peter van Wijngaarden (UoM) and Prof Ingeborg Stalmans (KUL)

Soil-structure interaction framework for monopiles in sand under cyclic loading

Graduate Researchers: Olgu Orakci and Nazish Ullah

Supervisors: Dr Shiaohuey Chow (UoM) and A/Prof Georgios Anogiatis (KUL)

Inclusive data governance and urban sprawl management for Sustainable Cities (SDG11)

Graduate Researchers: Siqing (Julia) Yu and Kriti Pradhan

Supervisors: Prof Abbas Rajabifard (UoM) and Prof Johan (Joep) Crompvoets (KUL)

Advanced cell models and multifunctional nanoparticles for light mediated cancer therapies

Graduate Researchers: Maria Bravo and Sam Zaman

Supervisors: Prof Paul Mulvaney, Dr James Hutchison (UoM) and A/Prof Susana Rocha (KUL)

Translation policy in times of a pandemic

Graduate Researchers: Kadija Bouyzourn and Rachel Macreadie

Supervisors: Prof Anthony Pym (UoM) and Prof Reine Meylaerts (KUL)

Integrating life cycle assessment in building design to improve the environmental performance of buildings

Graduate Researchers: Lise Mouton and Fabian Prideaux

Supervisors: A/Prof Robert Crawford (UoM) and A/Prof Karen Allacker (KUL)

An approach to fairness via regularization

Graduate Researcher: Lorenzo Marchi

Supervisors: Dr Rui Zhou, Dr Benjamin Avanzi (UoM) and Prof Katrien Antonio (KUL)

Defects in neuronal wiring in the gastrointestinal tract and in Hirschsprung’s disease

Graduate Researcher: Klaas Van Mechelen

Supervisors: Dr Lincon Stamp, Dr Marlene Hao (UoM) and Prof Pieter VandenBerghe (KUL)

Applying instance space analysis to the 2D bin packing problem

Graduate Researcher: Kelvin Liu

Supervisors: Prof Kate Smith-Miles (UoM) and A/Prof Tony Wauters (KUL)

20:00 AEDT/ 11:00 CEST

Closing Remarks

Professor Stan Skafidas, Academic Lead – KU Leuven-Melbourne RTG, will conclude the conference and name the recipient of the best presentation

About the KU Leuven-Melbourne Research Training Group

The KU Leuven - Melbourne joint PhD program is part of an international research partnership between the University of Melbourne and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven). KU Leuven is a leading research and education university located in Leuven, Belgium. The program provides graduate researchers with an international research experience under the tutelage of world-class researchers.

Candidates participating in the joint PhD program can immerse themselves in the rich heritage of both Leuven and Melbourne, developing a global perspective and international research network. The program offers opportunities across the sciences and humanities, with projects grounded in the supervisory expertise, resources, and facilities offered by both universities.

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