Deepa Rijal

Background

About Deepa Rijal

I am passionate about teaching and nursing. I am a lifelong learner and strive for learning new skills and reinforcing existing knowledge continuously. I joined School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Sciences since May 2022 and am working as a lecturer based in Brisbane Campus. Prior to this, I was working as a lecturer/Tutor (casual) in the School of Medical and Applied Sciences for almost 10 years teaching "Physics for Health Sciences". In addition to teaching, I have clinical experience in various Private and Public Hospitals in New South Wales and Queensland in rural, regional and metropolitan areas, especially in mental health, medical-surgical, general medicine and aged care. In the past 5 years from 2019 - 2024, I worked as a registered nurse in mental health department in private and public hospitals in Queensland. My PhD was titled "Bioethanol production potential of Agave tequilana F.A.C. Weber" In this research, eleven different species of Agave, including Agave tequilana, better known for "Tequila" production were evaluated as a feedstock for bioethanol production. A near infrared spectroscopic technique was identified to guide harvest timing and processing and fermentation conditions were optimised. An ethanol yield equivalent to 3447L/ha/year was achieved. Agave is a potential new crop suited to marginal agricultural land. With a successful career in academia and nursing as well as successful completion of a diverse PhD research requiring knowledge in various areas of science such as near infrared spectroscopy, biochemistry, microbiology and plant physiology, I am interested in multidisciplinary research involving plant science and health science.