Jessica Schults

Dr Jessica Schults is a Senior Research Fellow at the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences at The University of Queensland. She is also a Queensland Government Clinical Research Fellow and an incoming NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2026) based at the Herston Infectious Diseases Institute. With a background as a pediatric critical care nurse, Dr Schults focuses on reducing healthcare-associated infections through improved hospital surveillance, safer invasive device care, and rapid evidence translation.

Education:

• Postgraduate Diploma in Nursing Science, James Cook University
• Masters (Research) of Applied Science, Queensland University of Technology
• Doctor of Philosophy, Griffith University

Dr Schults' research program aims to reduce the burden of healthcare-associated infections through better hospital surveillance, safer invasive device care, and rapid translation of evidence. She has extensive clinical experience in critical care with a particular passion for ventilator associated infections. Her work strongly emphasizes the application of digital technologies, including AI-enabled risk prediction and clinical decision support tools. She is committed to growing the next generation of clinician-researchers, in-particular, in the underrepresented field of nursing.

Dr Schults' recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on infection prevention, particularly related to vascular access devices and pediatric critical care. Her work spans systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and consensus methodologies like Delphi studies. Key themes include catheter-related bloodstream infections, endotracheal suction practices, and healthcare-associated infection surveillance. She frequently employs advanced statistical methods and has a growing body of work on the application of technology in improving vascular access outcomes and infection prevention.

Major Awards and Fellowships:

• Queensland Government Clinical Research Fellow
• incoming NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow (2026)

Dr Schults is actively supervising three PhD students on projects related to heparinization protocols, the IVCare adaptive platform trial, and alcohol withdrawal assessment in ICU. She has received significant funding including NHMRC MRFF Clinical Trials Activity grants (2025-2030), NHMRC TCR Collaborations in Health Services Research grants (2025-2027), and several other competitive grants focused on infection prevention and vascular access. She is a Chief Investigator on the IVCare adaptive platform trial, which evaluates strategies to prevent catheter-related bloodstream infections, and leads the NHMRC-funded REBUILD project, which aims to strengthen national infection control systems using a learning health system approach.

Dr Schults holds leadership roles with the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, serves as a board member for the ANZ Intensive Care Foundation, and is a technical advisor to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. She has strong, established partnerships with national and international healthcare consumers, organizations, and health services.