Macquarie University Postgraduate Scholarship in Smart Stress Sensing for Hearing Health 2026

This PhD project aims to advance innovative, non-invasive stress monitoring technologies by developing next-generation biochemical sensing platforms capable of detecting stress biomarkers in both sweat and breath.

During the project, the scholarship recipient will address the following objectives:

• identify and characterise key biochemical indicators of stress in human breath and sweat, including cortisol and other volatile or soluble biomarkers
• design and fabricate novel nanosensing platforms using materials such as porous functionalised metal oxides, graphene and carbon nanotubes to enable real-time, non-invasive detection with high sensitivity and specificity.

Key research questions include:

• What are the most reliable and detectable stress biomarkers in human breath and sweat relevant to communication-related stress?
• Which nanomaterials and sensing architectures yield optimal sensitivity, selectivity and response times?
• What are the bioengineering and hardware challenges in miniaturising and integrating such sensors into existing hearing technologies?

• Table of Content
• About Macquarie University
• Macquarie University Postgraduate Scholarship
• Aim and Benefits of Macquarie University Postgraduate Scholarship
• Requirements for Macquarie University Postgraduate Scholarship Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

Macquarie University Postgraduate Scholarship

Aim and Benefits of Macquarie University Postgraduate Scholarship

The program includes:

• admission to a Macquarie University PhD program
• supervision by Macquarie University, CSIRO and an industry partner
• a four-year scholarship package totalling approximately $48,000 per annum tax exempt (2026 rate)
• a four-year project expense and development package of $13,000 per annum
• a 60 day industry engagement component with the industry partner
• a structured professional development and training program to develop your applied research skills.

Successful students are subject to:

• the policies, procedures and guidelines of Macquarie University
• the CSIRO industry PhD program terms and conditions.

Students will receive a standard PhD or MRes + PhD on completion.

Requirements for Macquarie University Postgraduate Scholarship Qualification

This scholarship is available to eligible candidates to undertake a:

• direct-entry three-year PhD, or
• four-year MRes + PhD program.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

• Submit an expression of interest (EOI) to Associate Professor Noushin Nasiri at [email protected].
• The EOI is assessed by the supervisory team and shortlisted applicants are interviewed.
• The supervisory team nominates a preferred applicant and informs the iPhD office. The nominated applicant will be instructed to apply.
• The application is then assessed against our PhD admission criteria. We will issue a letter of offer for the program if all conditions have been satisfied.

For more information, kindly visit Macquarie University scholarship webpage.