Fields of Research

Host-parasite interactions
Conservation and biodiversity
Population ecology
Genomics
Terrestrial ecology
Biological adaptation
Behavioural ecology
Ecology
Wildlife and habitat management
Genetics
Veterinary epidemiology
Animal behaviour
Cell metabolism
Forestry management and environment
Infectious agents
Tumour immunology
Animal immunology
Cancer cell biology
Veterinary immunology
Evolutionary ecology
Cancer genetics
Animal physiological ecology
Molecular evolution
Ecological physiology
Proteomics and intermolecular interactions (excl. medical proteomics)
Animal physiology - cell
Environmental epidemiology
Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology)
Gene mapping
Animal physiology - biophysics
Microbial ecology
Infectious diseases
Other health sciences
Applied statistics
Veterinary diagnosis and diagnostics
Bioavailability and ecotoxicology
Separation science
Animal cell and molecular biology
Medical biochemistry and metabolomics
Ecosystem function
Life histories
Microbial genetics
Zoology

Research Objectives

Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in terrestrial environments
Terrestrial biodiversity
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Other environmental management
Clinical health
Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in coastal and estuarine environments
Other health
Coastal or estuarine biodiversity
Forestry
Diagnosis of human diseases and conditions
Economic issues in tourism
Expanding knowledge in the health sciences
Expanding knowledge in the biomedical and clinical sciences
Measurement and assessment of freshwater quality (incl. physical and chemical conditions of water)
Prevention of human diseases and conditions
Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems
Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems
Biodiversity in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Rehabilitation or conservation of terrestrial environments
Veterinary diagnostics
Environmental lifecycle assessment
Expanding knowledge in the agricultural, food and veterinary sciences
Fresh, ground and surface water biodiversity
Institutional arrangements
Environmentally sustainable commercial services and tourism

Career Best Publications

Biting injuries and transmission of Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease; Journal of Animal Ecology
Contact networks in a wild Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) population: using social network analysis to reveal seasonal variability in social behaviour and its implications for transmission of devil facial tumour disease; Ecology Letters
Infection of the fittest: devil facial tumour disease has greatest effect on individuals with highest reproductive output; Ecology Letters
Rapid evolutionary response to a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils; Nature Communications
Reduced effect of Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease at the disease front; Conservation Biology
Reversible epigenetic down-regulation of MHC molecules by devil facial tumour disease illustrates immune escape by a contagious cancer; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Simulating devil facial tumour disease outbreaks across empirically derived contact networks; Journal of Applied Ecology
Transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: localized lineage replacement and host population response; Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Untangling the model muddle: Empirical tumour growth in Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease; Scientific Reports

Research Publications

A transmissible cancer shifts from emergence to endemism in Tasmanian devils; Science
Age-related variation in the trophic characteristics of a marsupial carnivore, the Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii; Ecology and Evolution
Anthropogenic selection enhances cancer evolution in Tasmanian devil tumours; Evolutionary Applications
Application of metabolomics and proteomics for biomarker discovery and development of therapies for the transmissible cancer, Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease; 22nd Annual Lorne Proteomics Symposium 2017
Biting injuries and transmission of Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease; Journal of Animal Ecology
Blood parasites in endangered wildlife-trypanosomes discovered during a survey of haemoprotozoa from the Tasmanian devil; Pathogens
Cancer is not (only) a senescence problem; Trends in Cancer
Cathelicidin-3 associated with serum extracellular vesicles enables early diagnosis of a transmissible cancer; Frontiers in Immunology
Changes in spatial organization following an acute epizootic: Tasmanian devils and their transmissible cancer; Global Ecology and Conservation
Comparative landscape genetics reveals differential effects of environment on host and pathogen genetic structure in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and their transmissible tumour; Molecular Ecology
Conservation implications of limited genetic diversity and population structure in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii); Conservation Genetics
Conservation management of Tasmanian devils in the context of an emerging, extinction-threatening disease: Devil Facial Tumor Disease; EcoHealth
Conserving adaptive potential: lessons from Tasmanian devils and their transmissible cancer; Conservation Genetics
Contact networks in a wild Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) population: using social network analysis to reveal seasonal variability in social behaviour and its implications for transmission of devil facial tumour disease; Ecology Letters
Contemporary and historical selection in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) support novel, polygenic response to transmissible cancer; Royal Society of London. Proceedings. Biological Sciences
Contemporary demographic reconstruction methods are robust to genome assembly quality: a case study in Tasmanian devils; Molecular Biology and Evolution
Darwin, the devil, and the management of transmissible cancers; Conservation Biology
Demonstration of immune responses against devil facial tumour disease in wild Tasmanian devils; Biology Letters
Development of a SNP-based assay for measuring genetic diversity in the Tasmanian devil insurance population; BMC Genomics
Devils and disease in the landscape: the impact of disease on devils in the wild and on the Tasmanian ecosystem; Saving the Tasmanian devil: recovery using science-based management
Discovery of biomarkers for Tasmanian devil cancer (DFTD) by metabolic profiling of serum; Journal of Proteome Research
Discovery of serum biomarkers for Tasmanian Devil cancer (DFTD); The Australian & New Zealand Metabolomics Conference (ANZMET)
Disease swamps molecular signatures of genetic-environmental associations to abiotic factors in Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) populations; Evolution
Disruption of metapopulation structure reduces Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease spread at the expense of abundance and genetic diversity; Pathogens
Eco-evolutionary perspectives of the dynamic relationships linking senescence and cancer; Functional Ecology
Ecological and evolutionary consequences of anticancer adaptations; iScience
Evolution and lineage dynamics of a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils; PLoS Biology
Evolved dependence in response to cancer; Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Extreme competence: keystone hosts of infections; Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Genetic diversity, inbreeding and cancer; Proceedings from the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences
Global meta-analysis of over 50 years of multidisciplinary and international collaborations on transmissible cancers; Evolutionary Applications
Group phenotypic composition in cancer; eLife
Hematologic and serum biochemical changes associated with Devil Facial Tumor Disease in Tasmanian Devils; Veterinary Clinical Pathology
Hematologic and serum biochemical reference intervals for wild Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii); Veterinary Clinical Pathology
Identifying key questions in the ecology and evolution of cancer; Evolutionary Applications
Immunoglubolin dynamics and cancer prevalence in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii); Scientific Reports
Individual and temporal variation in pathogen load predicts long-term impacts of an emerging infectious disease; Ecology
Infection of the fittest: devil facial tumour disease has greatest effect on individuals with highest reproductive output; Ecology Letters
Infectious disease and sickness behaviour: Tumour progression affects interaction patterns and social network structure in wild Tasmanian devils: Sickness behaviour in Tasmanian devils; Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Is adaptive therapy natural?; PLoS Biology
Isotopic niche variation in Tasmanian devils Sarcophilus harrisii with progression of devil facial tumor disease; Ecology and Evolution
Large-effect loci affect survival in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) infected with a transmissible cancer; Molecular Ecology
Learning to live with cancer: insights from local adaptations in Tasmanian devils and transmissible tumours; Saving the Tasmanian devil: recovery using science-based management
Life-history change in disease-ravaged Tasmanian devil populations; National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America. Proceedings
New insights into the role of MHC diversity in devil facial tumour disease; PLoS One
On the need for integrating cancer into the One Health perspective; Evolutionary Applications
Oncogenesis as a selective force: adaptive evolution in the face of a transmissible cancer; BioEssays
Quantifying 25 years of disease-caused declines in Tasmanian devil populations: host density drives spatial pathogen spread; Ecology Letters
Rapid evolutionary response to a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils; Nature Communications
Rare and unique adaptations to cancer in domesticated species: An untapped resource?; Evolutionary Applications
Rate of intersexual interactions affects injury likelihood in Tasmanian devil contact networks; Behavioral Ecology
Reduced effect of Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease at the disease front; Conservation Biology
Reversible epigenetic down-regulation of MHC molecules by devil facial tumour disease illustrates immune escape by a contagious cancer; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Seasonal, demographic and density-related patterns of contact between Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii): Implications for transmission of devil facial tumour disease; Austral Ecology
Sex bias in ability to cope with cancer: Tasmanian devils and facial tumour disease; Proceedings from the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences
Simulating devil facial tumour disease outbreaks across empirically derived contact networks; Journal of Applied Ecology
Spatial variation in gene expression of Tasmanian devil facial tumors despite minimal host transcriptomic response to infection; BMC Genomics
Spontaneous tumor regression in Tasmanian devils associated with RASL11A activation; Genetics
Tasman-PCR: A genetic diagnostic assay for Tasmanian devil facial tumour diseases; Royal Society Open Science
Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease: ecology and evolution of an uncommon enemy; Wildlife Disease Ecology: Linking Theory to Data and Application
Telomere length is a susceptibility marker for Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease; EcoHealth
That Old Devil Called Tasmanian; The Column
The Devil is in the detail: Conservation biology, animal philosophies and the role of animal ethics committees; Science Under Siege: Zoology under Threat
The ecology and evolution of wildlife cancers: Applications for management and conservation; Evolutionary Applications
The evolution of resistance and tolerance as cancer defences; Parasitology
The genomic basis of tumor regression in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii); Genome Biology and Evolution
The importance of cancer cells for animal evolutionary ecology; Nature Ecology and Evolution
The interface between ecology, evolution, and cancer: More than ever a relevant research direction for both oncologists and ecologists; Evolutionary Applications
Tracing the rise of malignant cell lines: distribution, epidemiology and evolutionary interactions of two transmissible cancers in Tasmanian devils; Evolutionary Applications
Transcriptomics of Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) ear tissue reveals homogeneous gene expression patterns across a heterogeneous landscape; Genes
Transmissible cancer and the evolution of sex; PLoS Biology
Transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: localized lineage replacement and host population response; Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Transmissible cancers in an evolutionary perspective; iScience
Transmission dynamics of Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease may lead to disease-induced extinction; Ecology
Two decades of the impact of Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD); Integrative and Comparative Biology
Untangling the model muddle: Empirical tumour growth in Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease; Scientific Reports
Variants in the host genome may inhibit tumour growth in devil facial tumours: evidence from genome-wide association; Scientific Reports

Research Projects

A new disease in disguise: ecology and epidemiology of the second transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils (DFT2) ; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF FORESTRY PLANTATION MACROPOD CULLING PROGRAMS ON LEAD EXPOSURE IN TASMANIAN DEVILS; Paddy Pallin Foundation (PadPF)
Attendance at the Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases conference; Ian Potter Foundation (IPF)
Contact Networks, Immunity, and Evolution in Competing Cancer Epidemics; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Demography and epidemiology of Tasmanian devil populations and DFTD in long-diseased areas; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Demography and epidemiology of Tasmanian devils and facial tumour disease in long-diseased areas; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Development of an early diagnostic liquid biopsy for DFT2; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Distribution, prevalence and epidemiology of DFTD and DFT2 on the d Entrecasteaux channel area; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Does differential growth rate of tumour strains contribute to the variant epidemic patters of facial tumour disease in northwest Tasmania?; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Ecology and Evolution of Transmissible Cancers; French National Research Agency (ANR) (ANR)
Emergence, transmission and evolution of Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Epidemiology and Transmission Dynamics of the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD); Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Epidemiology, distribution and population effects of a novel transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils: implications for managing DFT2 in southern Tasmania; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Evaluating epidemiological and population dynamics in response to devil translocations; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Evaluating the benefits in Tasmanian devils of immune responses to transmissible cancer; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
From epidemic to endemic? Modelling coexistence and evolutionary adaptations in Tasmanian devils and devil facial tumour disease; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
INTECOL (The International Association for Ecology); University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Linking spatial movements and social contacts to understand the transmission of Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease.; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Living with cancer: adaptations in Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Metabolomics for Tasmanian devil DFTD biomarkers discovery; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Nature's solution, do immunoglobulins fight cancer in Tasmanian devils, Sarcophilus harrisii?; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Proteomics for Tasmanian devils: a DFTD pre-clinical test; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Saving the Tasmanian Devil from extinction in the wild through understanding the interaction between the devil and its contagious tumour; Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MBZSCF)
Social networks, behaviour and transmission of facial tumour disease in the Tasmanian devil; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Tasmanian devil conservation physiology: Role of devil immune system in Devil Facial Tumour Disease progression; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
The effects of plantation forestry operations on Tasmanian devil behaviour and health; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
The effects of plantation forestry operations on Tasmanian devil behaviour and health.; University of Tasmania Foundation Inc (UTF)
Understanding ecological processes and selective mechanisms involved in tolerance to Tasmania devil facial tumour disease; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Understanding variant disease susceptibility to save the Tasmanian devil and the biodiversity it protects from extinction; National Geographic Society (NGS)
Will natural selection save the Tasmanian devil from extinction?; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Will natural selection save the Tasmanian devil from extinction?; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Eric Guiler Research Grant for DFTD
International Association Laboratory
Managing Tasmanian Devil Populations Affected by the Devil Facial Tumour Disease
Monitoring the spatial spread and population response of a novel transmissible cancer: implications for managing DFT2 in southern Tasmania
The effects of plantation forestry operations on Tasmanian devil behaviour and health
The effects of plantation forestry operations on Tasmanian devil behaviour and health

Research Candidate Supervision

Social networks, behaviour and transmission of facial tumour disease in Tasmanian devils
The microbial ecology of transmission sites of Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease