Meet the academics and researchers in the BEAM research group.
Our people
Dr Iliana Medina Guzman
I am a behavioural ecologist and evolutionary biologist and I am fascinated by the evolution of animal behaviour. I am originally from Colombia and did my PhD at ANU (2012-2016) and now have a group based at University of Melbourne. We explore the drivers of variation in behaviours and the consequences that behavioural interactions have at a broad scale. My work focuses mainly on two topics: the evolution of warning colourations and the evolution of bird traits, such as colour and nest design.
iliana.medina@unimelb.edu.au
Chenyue Yang
Chenyue is a PhD student (2025–2029) from China, co-supervised by Prof. Shai Meiri. She is broadly interested in avian behavioural ecology and macroevolution. Chenyue’s research focuses on the macroevolution of flexibility in birds’ nest-building behaviours, combining museum collections, field measurements, and comparative analyses.
Dr Jessica McLachlan
Jessica is our incredible research assistant and who coordinates and leads all our field seasons. She is an amazing birder and brilliant biologist who loves nature, and who happens to be a wonderful photographer too!
jessica.mclachlan@unimelb.edu.au
Kei-Lin Ooi
Kei-Lin is a PhD student (2021-2025) co-supervised by Prof. Devi Stuart-Fox. Kei-Lin explores the drivers and consequences of having warning signals in butterflies and insects from a macroevolutionary approach.
keilin.ooi@unimelb.edu.au
Tara Jindal
Tarani is an international MSc student from India (2024-2026), co-supervised by Dr. Damien Esquerre. She is Interested in behavioural and evolutionary biology. Her research will focus on studying sex-biased dispersal in Harlequin bugs. Having worked with birds, fish and snakes in India, she is keen to explore the incredible fauna in Australia, both marine and terrestrial. Outside of research, Tarani enjoys performing arts (such as theatre and dance).
tara.jindal@unimelb.edu.au
Amy Carboon
Amy is a MSc student (2023-2025) co-supervised by Prof. Devi Stuart-Fox. Amy’s work explores the links between courtship behaviours and visual effects in bird feathers. She collates detailed measures of iridescence on museum feathers from many different species and will relate these measures to mating behaviours.
a.carboon@unimelb.edu.au
Alexis Goh
Alexis is a PhD student (2024-2028) from Singapore, co-supervised by Prof. Devi Stuart-Fox and Prof. Megan Head. She has a keen interest in conservation, entomology, and behavioural ecology. Alexis will be investigating how native leaf beetles can deter predators, using their colourful appearances, behaviours, and toxic defenses.
alexis.goh.1@unimelb.edu.auPrevious students and team members
- Claire Taylor (post-doc): All things nests and fairy-wrens. Visit Claire’s website.
- Fabian Salgado-Roa (PhD student): Evolution of colour polymorphic spiders. Visit Fabian’s website.
- Justin Cally (MSc student): Links between sexual selection and speciation in birds.
- Wen-Yun Liao (MPhil student): Near-infrared reflectance as an adaptation in bird eggs.
- Oliver Wardle (MSc student): Nesting preferences in red-tail black cockatoos.
- Emmet Mulcahy (Honours): Variation within species in near-infrared reflectance.
- Sophie Roberts (Honours): The evolution of warning signals in frogs.