Research Fellows
The Institute's research fellows are early career researchers who are successful in their chosen scientific field, and are well regarded by their supervisors and colleagues.
Dr Samantha Andres is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is currently investigating the utility of drone-facilitated restoration strategies to restore biodiversity within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Sitaram Aryal is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is currently working as a postdoctoral research fellow in nematology. He is investigating to find new biocontrol measures to manage and control honeybee (Apis melifera) pests using entomopathogenic nematodes within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Travis Britton is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is currently part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, working with Distinguished Professor Ian Wright. He is currently researching adaptation to water and heat stress in Eucalyptus, as part of a larger project in the CoE within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Hannah Carle is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is working with A/Professor Paul Rymer to investigate the climate sensitivities and critical thresholds of species in the Cumberland Plains woodlands, as part of the Cumberland Plains Conservation Plan research program within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Karen Catunda is a Research Fellow in Animal Feeding and Nutrition in the Institute. She joined a multi-institutional research team led by Associate Professor Ben Moore and supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources entitled Improving the feedbase for captive and rehabilitating koalas within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Doctor Manjunatha H Chandregowda is a Research Fellow in the institute. His current research involves understanding pasture species' responses to predicted changes in climate, such as seasonal variations in precipitation regimes and atmospheric warming within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Sachin Chavan is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is currently working on the project entitled ‘Research and operations to trial innovation glass and photovoltaic technologies in protected cropping’ with Distinguished Prof David Tissue within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Lily Chen is a Research Fellow in the Institute. Her research relates to understanding the role C4 sensors and whether changing sensing can improve crop productivity with A/Prof Oula Ghannoum within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Doctor Shubham Chhajed is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is currently studying how leaf and wood physiology and biomass allocation affect growth in woody angiosperms within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Jamil Chowdhury is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is investigating pine root microbiomes, specifically how their diversity is altered by different fertilizer and fungicide application practices in nurseries across Australia within the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme.
Dr James Clugston is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is a passionate conservation biologist with broad research interest in understanding molecular, morphological diversity and evolution of gymnosperms and angiosperms, with a focus towards species conservation of cycads (Cycadales) in the Ecosystem Function and Integration research theme.
Dr Donovin Coles is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is developing novel technologies to bolster the immunity of broccolini against major leaf and root diseases experienced by Australian growers within the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme.
Dr Suz Everingham is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is a a passionate ecologist with broad research interests in the impacts of global change drivers on plants and plant-consumer interactions within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Ayomide Fadiji is a Research Fellow at the Institute. He is currently involved in a multi-disciplinary project on soil biological mechanisms underpinning the effects of biological amendments on soil health, productivity, and resilience within the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme.
Dr Michael Franklin is a Research Fellow in the Institute. His current research is focused on the restoration, conservation and monitoring of species and threatened ecological communities in the Sydney Basin within the Soil Biology and Genomics research theme.
Dr Min Gao is a Research Fellow in the Institute. Min is currently engaged in studying the ecological drivers of plant pathogenic microorganisms under the climate change, while also participating in the exploration of soil microfauna distributions, under the supervision of distinguished Professor Brajesh Singh.
Dr Christopher Gordon is a Research Fellow in the Institute. His research will concentrate on using remote sensing products and statistical techniques to determine how drought impacts wildfire occurrence and activity in wet forest types (e.g. rainforests) of eastern Australia within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Anne Griebel is a Research Fellow in the Institute. Her research is broadly interested in understanding the underlying processes that determine ecosystem properties and functioning, but also in assessing how ecosystems are affected by disturbances, management practices and changes in our climate, within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Assaf Inbar is a Research Fellow in the Institute. His currently working with Professor Belinda Medlyn on her Laureate project aimed to develop a community Dynamic Vegetation Model for Australia within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Vin Jacob is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is currently part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture, working with Distinguished Professor Ian Wright. His research is aimed at better understanding physiological adaptations to heat and water stress in target clades of Australian Andropogoneae grasses with a primary focus on water relations and gas exchange within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Alihan Katlav is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He currently is a member of a team led by Prof. Markus Riegler working on a Hort Innovation funded project entitled, 'Entomopathogenic nematodes as biological control agents of important honey bee pests in Australia' within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Juergen Knauer is a Research Fellow within the Institute. His research focuses on vegetation modelling and model-data integration of ecophysiological processes and their responses to climate change. He is currently working on modelling Australian vegetation dynamics within Professor Belinda Medlyn’s ARC Laureate fellowship project within the Ecosystem Function and Integration research theme.
Dr Hongwei Liu is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is currently involved in a multi-disciplinary project 'Supporting Healthy Bees and Healthy Crops' that is aimed to better understand and protect Australian bees within the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme.
Dr James Makinson is a Research Fellow in the Institute. He is currently studying stingless bee biology and pollination services within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Jennifer Morrow is a Research Fellow within the Institute. She has a particular interest in pest insects and in applying molecular biology tools to understand their biology and ecology and ultimately improve pest management strategies.within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Tess McBride is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is researching the role of small secreted proteins in the host range of ectomycorrhizal fungi within the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme.
Dr Kazi Mehnaz is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is currently working on an ARC Discovery Project entitled 'Feast or famine: how Australian plants stay productive under low phosphorus' with Professor David Ellsworth within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Demi Sargent is a Research Fellow in the Institute. Her research aims to determine whether superior photosynthetic traits can be transferred to commercial cotton cultivars to improve cotton’s productivity and abiotic stress resilience under increasingly challenging climates within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Tadeo Saez Sandino is a Research Fellow in the Institute. His research aims to advance our understanding of biodiversity and the functioning of natural, agricultural, and urban ecosystems within the context of global change within the Soil Biology and Genomics research theme.
Dr Eleanor Stalenberg is a Research Fellow in the Institute. Her research aims to understand the factors that drive the distribution and survival of mammalian folivores, with a particular focus on nutrition, physiology and biophysical modelling within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Clare Stephens is a Research Fellow within the Institute. Her current research involves working with Distinguished Professor Belinda Medlyn on her ARC Laureate Fellowship project ‘A unified dynamic vegetation model for Australia’ within the Ecosystem Function & Integration theme.
Dr Emi Stuart is a Research Fellow at the Institute. Her research is largely focused on the ecosystem roles of soil-dwelling and/or plant-associated fungi and other microorganisms, particularly in the context of anthropogenic change within the Soil Biology & Genomics research theme.
Dr Emma Sumner is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is working within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. Emma is working with Distinguished Professor Ian Wright on adaptations to heat and water stress in Andropogoneae grasses within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Lina Teckentrup is a Research Fellow in the Institute. Her broad research interests include vegetation dynamics in semiarid and arid ecosystems and their responses to ongoing climate change, the contribution of terrestrial vegetation to the global carbon cycle on interannual to multidecadal timescales, and developing both statistical and dynamic models of fire dynamics within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Natascha Weinberger is a Research Fellow in the Institute. Her research interests centre on plant-microbe interactions, with a specific focus on beneficial root symbionts known as Arbuscular Mycorrhiza fungi (AM fungi) within the Soil Biology and Genomics research theme.
Andrea Westerband is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is a plant ecologist and field ecophysiologist with an interest in plant acclimation and adaptation to resource limitation. She combines large-scale field campaigns with greenhouse projects to test ecological theories, with the goal of understanding how trait variation impacts higher order ecological processes within the Plants, Animals & Interactions research theme.
Dr Laura Williams is a Research Fellow in the Institute. She is currently working with Distinguished Professor Belinda Medlyn on developing DAVE – a dynamic vegetation model for Australia within the Ecosystem Function & Integration research theme.
Dr Nicholas Wu is a Research Fellow within the Institute. His current research is an ARC Linkage project under the supervision of Dr Christopher Turbill and A/Professor Justin Welbergen. The project aims to develop predictive models of vulnerability to white-nose syndrome (WNS) for populations of Australian bats by gaining critical information about their risk of exposure and sensitivity to mortality from developing WNS within the Plants, Animals and Interactions theme.
Dr Chao Xiong is a Research Fellow in the Institute. His research interests centre on soil and plant microbiomes, environmental pathogens, and plant-microbiome interactions within the Soil Biology and Genomics research theme.
Dr Zhen-Zhen Yan is a Research Fellow within the Institute. Her current research relates to soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions under the supervision of Professor Brajesh Singh within the Soil Biology and Genomics theme.
Dr Kasia Ziemińska is plant ecologist and trained wood anatomist passionate about understanding how anatomical diversity drives tree functions and ecology.
