Tom Aechtner
Associate Professor · UQ Experts (university-wide) · The University of Queensland
Quick answer: Tom Aechtner is Associate Professor at The University of Queensland. Tom Aechtner shows an active PhD hiring signal as of 2026-09-17.
⭐ Available for supervision. Available projects: Indian Catholic Migrants and Australia's Changing Religious Landscape (UQ–IITD Research Academy joint PhD project and scholarship).
Research interests
Associate Professor Aechtner's research analyses religion and science scepticism, misinformation, and science-religion discourse, with a focus on vaccine hesitancy, antievolutionism, scientism, mass persuasion, and public perceptions of science. He also has secondary research interests associated with religion in the African diaspora, Pentecostalism, and Global Christianity. Tom is currently lead investigator on a National Intelligence Discovery Grant Project (2026-29), 'Mapping Religious and Sacred Ideals in Australian Pseudolaw Narratives.' He has also been a Westpac Research Fellow and a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award recipient on the project 'Improving Vaccination Rates in Australia: Analysing Media, Religion and Policy.' Associate Professor Aechtner created AVAXX101, the first massive open online course dedicated to responding to antivaccination claims and vaccine hesitancy. He has served as a technical advisor to Queensland Health's Strategic Communications Branch, and he designed UQ's VaccinationChoice website. Tom's book, Media and Science-Religion Conflict: Mass Persuasion in the Evolution Wars (2020), won the International Society for Science & Religion's 2021 prize for best academic book. His most recent book is Antivaccination and Vaccine Hesitancy: A Professional Guide to Foster Trust and Tackle Misinformation. He holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, an MA from the University of Calgary, and a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of Alberta.
Religion and Science, Science scepticism, Antievolution, Creationism and Intelligent Design, Vaccine Hesitancy, Antivaccination
Selected publications (since 2023)
[2026] Journal Article: Horizons of understanding: on the social functions of the mythology of conflict between science and religion. Jones, Stephen H, Elsdon-Baker, Fern, Catto, Rebecca, Kaden, Tom, Rivera, Reynaldo, Herbert, Arturo Fitz, Aechtner, Thomas, Williams, Ryan, Sander, Amrei, Griera, Mar, Cazarin, Rafael, Delgado-Molina, Cecília, Fernando, Avanka, Hariharan, Luxshe, Hettige, Siri, Premarathna, Mahesh, Samaraweera, H Unnathi S and Mohamed, Mahees (2026). Sociology of Religion. doi: 10.1093/socrel/srag007
[2026] Book Chapter: Synthesising vaccine hesitancy research: a bibliometric analysis and structured review. Acharya, Shruti, Dhir, Sanjay, Aechtner, Thomas and Venaik, Sunil (2026). Socio-technological relationships in vaccine systems. (pp. 215-239) Singapore, Singapore: Palgra
Frequently asked questions
Is Tom Aechtner hiring PhD students at The University of Queensland?
Yes. As of 2026-09-17, Tom Aechtner's faculty page shows a PhD hiring signal: Available for supervision. Available projects: Indian Catholic Migrants and Australia's Changing Religious Landscape (UQ–IITD Research Academy joint PhD project and scholarship)..
What does Tom Aechtner research?
Associate Professor Aechtner's research analyses religion and science scepticism, misinformation, and science-religion discourse, with a focus on vaccine hesitancy, antievolutionism, scientism, mass persuasion, and public perceptions of science. He also has secondary research interests associated wi
Data last updated: 2026-09-17 · Source: phd-match.com faculty database.
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