Fields of Research

Veterinary parasitology
Terrestrial ecology
Host-parasite interactions
Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology)
Biological adaptation
Genomics
Biostatistics
Zoology
Disease surveillance
Veterinary immunology
Microbial ecology
Virology
Infectious diseases
Veterinary epidemiology
Computational ecology and phylogenetics
Forestry management and environment
Forest biodiversity
Biological mathematics
Wildlife and habitat management

Research Objectives

Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in terrestrial environments
Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences
Disease distribution and transmission (incl. surveillance and response)
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Expanding knowledge in the biomedical and clinical sciences
Terrestrial biodiversity
Expanding knowledge in the agricultural, food and veterinary sciences
Native forests
Prevention of human diseases and conditions
Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in marine environments
Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in fresh, ground and surface water

Career Best Publications

Research Publications

Beetle communities associated with the tree fern Dicksonia antarctica Labill. in Tasmania; Australian Journal of Entomology
Complex evolutionary history of felid anelloviruses; Virology
Cross-sectional association of Toxoplasma gondii exposure with BMI and diet in US adults; PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Distance, environmental and substrate factors impacting recovery of bryophyte communities after harvesting; Applied Vegetation Science
Emerging phylogenetic structure of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic; Virus Evolution
Environment, vector, or host? Using machine learning to untangle the mechanisms driving arbovirus outbreaks; Ecological Applications
Evaluation of oral baits and distribution methods for Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii); Wildlife Research
Frequent cross-species transmissions of foamy virus between domestic and wild felids; Virus Evolution
Global emergence and evolutionary dynamics of bluetongue virus; Scientific Reports
Host relatedness and landscape connectivity shape pathogen spread in the puma, a large secretive carnivore; Communications Biology
Hunting alters viral transmission and evolution in a large carnivore; Nature Ecology & Evolution
Living near the edge: being close to mature forest increases the rate of succession in beetle communities; Ecological Applications
Machine-learning model led design to experimentally test species thermal limits: The case of kissing bugs (triatominae); PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Mainstreaming microbes across biomes; Bioscience
Microclimate through space and time: microclimatic variation at the edge of regeneration forests over daily, yearly and decadal time scales; Forest Ecology and Management
Moving beyond the guild concept: developing a practical functional trait framework for terrestrial beetles; Ecological Entomology
MrIML: Multi-response interpretable machine learning to model genomic landscapes; Molecular Ecology Resources
Parasites as conservation tools; Conservation Biology
Strong trait correlation and phylogenetic signal in North American ground beetle (Carabidae) morphology; Ecosphere
Temporal persistence of edge effects on bryophytes within harvested forests; Forest Ecology and Management
Towards an eco-phylogenetic framework for infectious disease ecology; Biological Reviews
Trophic position determines functional and phylogenetic recovery after disturbance within a community; Functional Ecology
Urban Landscapes can change virus gene flow and evolution in a fragmentation-sensitive carnivore; Molecular Ecology
Urbanization impacts apex predator gene flow but not genetic diversity across an urban-rural divide; Molecular Ecology
Using host traits to predict reservoir host species of rabies virus; PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Research Projects

A functional trait approach to understanding the impacts of current forest management practices on beetle diversity; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Contact Networks, Immunity, and Evolution in Competing Cancer Epidemics; Australian Research Council (ARC)
The Effects of Forest Influence and Successional Stage on beetle Diversity; Institute of Foresters of Australia (IFA)
Using genomic signatures of natural selection to elucidate the genetic architecture of multiple sclerosis; National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
Using genomic signatures of natural selection to elucidate the genetic architecture of multiple sclerosis; Multiple Sclerosis Australia (MSA)

Research Candidate Supervision