School of BioSciences

Researchers are targeting essential microorganisms inside insect pests in an approach that could revolutionise agricultural pest management

Delays to reporting test results and contact tracing from an overloaded system slows the containment of COVID-19. Victoria’s testing strategy needs to recognise this risk and allocate resources accordingly

New research shows atrazine, a herbicide banned in the EU but widely used in Australia, causes abnormalities in marsupial genitalia

Meet Dr Jen Martin, award winning science communicator, teacher and ecologist. Jen founded the University of Melbourne’s Science Communication program, was named Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication for 2019 and recently won the David White Award for Teaching Excellence. Jen is a faculty member of the Homeward Bound program, an Australian-based global initiative that empowers women in STEM through leadership training. In 2019, as part of Homeward Bound, she and 110 other women formed the largest ever all-female expedition to Antarctica. Jen is also a co-host of 3RRR’s Sunday science show, Einstein-a-go-go and every Wednesday morning she presents the Weird Science segment on 3RRR Breakfasters.

Meet Ashton Dickerson, a PhD candidate who is examining the effect of light on the nocturnal song rate of willie wagtails. Ashton grew up in a rural town in Victoria and moved to Melbourne when she started her Bachelor of Science. Ten years on, she is in the final stages of her PhD supervised by Dr. Therésa Jones and Dr. Michelle Hall in the Urban Light Lab at the University of Melbourne. Ashton is also highly musical, as her analysis of birdsong might attest, and in her spare time enjoys playing piano and guitar.

Meet Jessica Gardner, a plant scientist, foodie and gardener with a passion for native Australian food plants. Jess completed her Master of Science (BioSciences) at the University of Melbourne last year and her project investigated how native Australian sweet potatoes grow and what their nutrient profile looks like. Jess is now a Senior Curation Assistant at the National Herbarium of Victoria where she is processing and mounting plant specimens that are between 100 and 150 years old.

Dr Belinda van Heerwaarden will also be joining the School of Biosciences to begin her Fellowship.

A Faculty of Science team has been awarded funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to study the movement of bacteria that live inside corals.

Meet Dr Andrew Katsis, a behavioural ecologist who studies prenatal learning in songbirds. Andrew completed his undergraduate and Master’s degrees at the University of Melbourne in the Department of Zoology, and is now based in the BirdLab at Flinders University in Adelaide. Andrew credits his Master’s research for making him “fall in love with tiny songbirds’”, and is a strong advocate for fieldwork to help young researchers find out what they are most passionate about. Earlier this year, he achieved a major item on his bucket list when he spent two months observing Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos Islands. A special highlight from this fieldwork included a “quiet encounter with two American flamingos”.

Meet Kevin Newman, who has just completed his Honours with Professor Michael McCarthy in the Quantitative and Applied Ecology Group (QAEco). Kevin’s interest in animals and the natural world has inspired him to explore different careers in science, from aspiring to be a vet and a schoolteacher, and working in animal welfare, before discovering his passion for research. During honours, Kevin developed a case study for optimising surveillance methods to increase detections of the critically endangered Leadbeater's possum across a specific survey site. Utilising survey methods such as camera trapping, spotlighting and thermal cameras, his research is crucial to support monitoring programs that involve threatened or endangered species.

Meet Tom Keaney, a graduate researcher whose PhD is focused on how evolutionary forces like sexual selection affect the fitness and persistence of animal populations. Tom has always been enthralled by the natural world, ecology and the animal kingdom, but wasn’t motivated to pursue science until he discovered a fascination for evolutionary biology. Tom’s path to postgraduate studies was challenging, especially during his undergraduate years, however his experiences taught him that it is okay to struggle, and that “immediate good grades aren’t essential for postgraduate success”.

Meet Farley Connelly, whose passion for birdwatching inspired him to pursue his PhD on how urban pollution impacts cognition and sleep in Australian magpies. Growing up in Chicago, Farley was inspired to explore science as a career after watching Steve Irwin on television. He has worked as a wildlife biologist at ceser and EnviroDNA since 2014 and also co-hosts the lively Animalia podcast.

Meet Shona Elliot-Kerr who is in her final year of a Master of Science (BioSciences) degree. Shona conducts research with the Quantitative and Applied Ecology Group (QAEco) and uses statistical modelling to predict the roadkill risk for different native mammals across Victoria. Shona’s passion for science and conservation have developed from her enduring curiosity and interest in the natural world.

Meet Dr Anne Aulsebrook, a research and teaching assistant in the School of BioSciences with a passion for bird watching. Anne completed her PhD in 2019 on the ways street lights affect sleep in urban birds, and was recently awarded a Marie Curie Research Fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany. Anne also co-hosts and produces the Animalia science podcast about the weird and wonderful things that animals do.

Meet Dr Paolin Rocio Cáceres Vélez, a J.N. Peters Fellow in the School of BioSciences. Pao investigates antioxidant therapy for visual disorders and aims to combine botanical compounds from native Australian plants and preclinical visual models to improve drug efficacy. Pao’s passion for biology has taken her around the world, from Colombia, to Brazil, Spain and Germany, and now to Australia.

Pest insects, like mosquitoes, are becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides. So how are these genetic invasions threatening pest control?

Dr Andy Cutting is a co-coordinator and teacher of first year Biology of Cells and Organisms. He teaches all things biology - from evolution, plant circulation, the menstrual cycle and everything in between. He is part of the Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology Domain in the School of BioSciences.

Meet Kinjia May Munkara-Murray, a Tiwi and Rembarrnga woman who grew up in the leafy tropics of Darwin. It was there that she first developed a love for insects, and is now pursuing this interest through a major of zoology in the Bachelor of Science.

Environmental microbiologist, Professor Linda Blackall, has been recognised by the Australian Academy of Science for pioneering work that revealed microbes and their functions in natural and engineered systems.

Meet Jim Yuan, an undergraduate student who has a passion for biology and fundamental mechanisms that drive the functioning of organisms.

Scientists are investigating novel technologies and management strategies to control insect pests in Australian grain crops through a new research initiative.

Meet Adam Cooper, whose high school and undergraduate journey inspired him to study biology and helped him find a passion for science.

Scientists from the University of Melbourne, CSIRO and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have successfully produced in a laboratory setting a coral that is more resistant to increased seawater temperatures.

Meet Aakash Gupta who recently completed his PhD on characterising the cell wall of Talaromyces marneffei, a human pathogenic fungus that mostly affects immunocompromised patients. As one of the world’s most feared fungi, it is vital to understand how a fungal spore interacts with the human body. Aakash discusses his dedication to his research and shares his love for cricket.Aakash completed his PhD through the Melbourne India Postgraduate Program (MIPP) and was co-supervised by Professor Alex Andrianopoulos at the University of Melbourne and Professor Rintu Banerjee at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.

SWARM technology has brought together the country’s leading experts from Australian universities to work on our recovery after COVID-19.

Meet Dr Ana Leitão, who completed her PhD in 2019 on the ecology and breeding biology of the lovely fairy-wren. Her research entailed months of field work spent in the wet tropics chasing birds and presents the first comprehensive study on this species. Now back in Portugal, Ana shares what she most loves about research, what she will do next, and reflects on how important human connections and friendships were during her PhD.

Jane Elith, Professor of Biodiversity Modelling in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne, was this week elected an international member of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in the USA.

Meet Moshe Jasper, Research Assistant for PEARG. Moshe shares what inspired him to become a scientist and what he wishes he had known when he was an undergraduate student.

Meet Juan Manuel Valero Rodríguez, who recently submitted his PhD on the uses of freshwater and marine macroalgae as bioremediation agents. Now back in Spain, Juanma shares what it was like to complete a PhD, what he will do next, and what he will miss most about Melbourne.

The Conversation: Brendan Wintle and Casey Vinintin explore the 'Intriguing things that sometimes happen in places deserted by people...'

Meet Alys Young, a Research Assistant in the Quantitative and Applied Ecology (QAEco) group and the National Centre for Coasts and Climate (NCCC) at the University of Melbourne.

Meet Sneha Gupta, who recently submitted her PhD on the impacts of soil salinity on global agriculture and productivity. Sneha shares what she will be doing next and the newly discovered benefits of post PhD-submission, sleeping and yoga.

Forecasting the spread of COVID-19, including the likely number of undetected cases, is fraught and difficult, but a sense of the numbers is important for appreciating the challenges ahead

Larger animals tend to live longer than smaller ones, but within the dog kingdom it pays to be short.

Head of the School of BioSciences, Professor Ute Roessner, has been named a Trailblazer on the Victorian Honour Roll of Women.

We will be running laboratory and issues workshops for VCE Biology students from 13 to 24 July 2020. Book now to secure your school's place.

The swamp wallaby, an iconic Australian marsupial, has accomplished an incredible reproductive feat as the only mammal known to be pregnant and lactating throughout the female’s entire adult life

Ideal for working professionals, these programs are designed to be taken part-time and can be studied anywhere in the world.

Australia’s season of bushfires shows us just how easily our unique biodiversity and ecosystems could be wiped out. Now is the time for long-term planning for climate change to protect them

Anti-viral bacteria used to control dengue-carrying mosquitoes can bounce back from heatwaves, according to new research

University of Melbourne researchers are redesigning wheat to create healthier versions of one of the world’s favourite foods – bread

It’s International Day of Girls and Women in Science. Although there’s still inequality in STEMM, the largest ever all-woman expedition to Antarctica is working to challenge the future.

Anti-viral bacteria used to control dengue-carrying mosquitoes can bounce back from heatwaves, according to new research

University of Melbourne researchers are redesigning wheat to create healthier versions of one of the world’s favourite foods – bread

Two scientists, who today are colleagues, were on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall when it came down 30 years ago. Here they reflect on 1989 and what it meant.

New research shows that revegetation programs need to consider incorporating plants with a varied genetic background for long-term success.

Animals like beetles and birds are teaching us new ways of understanding colour at a nanoscale, which could change the way we manufacture it.

The Highly Cited Researchers list from the Web of Science Group identifies scientists and social scientists who have demonstrated significant influence through publication of multiple highly cited papers ranked in the top 1% in their field during the last decade.

Scientists are facing up to the challenge of food security and sustainability on myriad fronts.

The Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) scheme provides focused research support for early career researchers in both teaching and research, and research-only positions. It supports research in areas of critical national importance by enabling outstanding Australian and international early career researchers to conduct their research in Australia.

Professor Wedell will join the School of BioSciences to take up the Fellowship for her project, 'Sexual conflict and evolutionary dynamics of insecticide resistant genes'.

Through a molecular quirk, two distant mammalian cousins evolved to look more like twins finds new research

A rare insect species, the Key’s Matchstick Grasshopper, was thought to be extinct in Victoria but has now been rediscovered, giving hope for conserving its future

The Wolbachia bacteria has successfully suppressed dengue-fever carrying mosquitoes in a trial, but more work is needed to understand how the insects move to infest new areas

Dr Chris Murray has enjoyed a successful career in dentistry, but to contribute to a better future, he’s leaving a gift in his Will to support his personal passion – environmental preservation.

Like most things in life, careers don’t always have a clear and straightforward path. Hear the career stories of the Faculty of Science's Frances Separovic and Theresa Jones. You just never really know what you are capable of, and sometimes you have to follow your nose and just take the opportunities as they happen.

The BioInspiration Seed Funding Competition is designed to have teams develop creative, nature-inspired solutions to global/ practical/ human technological and design challenges.

Science Magazine has published a feature article on the research being conducted by Madeleine van Oppen to develop more resilient coral.

This is the highest award of the SSR and given in recognition of a career of research and scholarly activities in the field of reproductive biology.

Working with juvenile in vitro embryo (JIVET) production, Bethany’s research could help maximise the offspring from an individual cow over her lifetime.

Kim-Anh Lê Cao and Stephen Leslie have been awarded 2019 Moran Medals from the Australian Academy of Science for their contributions to research.

Professor Lesley Head from the School of Geography and Professor Linda Blackall from the School of BioSciences were on the Australian Academy of Science expert panel that reported that insufficient flows and poor management led to the massive fish kills in the Darling River this summer.