Our people

  1. Macquarie University
  2. Faculty of Science and Engineering
  3. Schools and departments
  4. Applied BioSciences
  5. Our people

Head of Applied BioSciences

StaffDetails
Chris Evans
Operations Manager

Chris Evans
E: christopher.evans@mq.edu.au
T: + 61 (2) 9850 8421
Li Zhang
Finance and HR

E: li.zhang@mq.edu.au
T: +61 (2) 9850 4190
StaffDetails
Professor Phil Taylor

Prof Phillip Taylor

E: phil.taylor@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Sustainable insect pest management
  • Fruit fly biology and management
  • Sterile Insect Technique
Dr Bishwo Mainali

Dr Bishwo Mainali

E: bishwo.mainali@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Insect ecology
  • Biological control
  • Sustainable pest management
Dr Mary Whitehouse

Dr Mary Whitehouse

E: mary.whitehouse.mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Integrated pest management
  • Biological control
  • Spider behavioural ecology
Dr Piotr Trebicki

Dr Piotr Trebicki

E: piotr.trebicki@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Climate change and food security
  • Pests and diseases of food crops
  • Vector biology and ecology
  • Plant virology

Dr Syed Zulfiqar Rizvi

Dr Syed Rizvi

E: syedzulfiqar.rizvi@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Biosecurity
  • Integrated pest management
Dr Fazila Yousuf

Dr Fazila Yousuf

E: fazila.yousuf@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Biological control
  • integrated pest management
  • Plant-insect-microbe- interactions
  • Microbiology
Eitan Taylor

Eitan Taylor Research Assistant

E: eitan.taylor@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Insect colony maintenance
  • Research support
Members
Dr Solomon Balagawi
NSW DPI
Research Office
E: solomon.balagawi@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Dr Peter Brown
CSIRO
Principal Research Scientist
E: peter.brown@csiro.au
Dr Toni Chapman
NSW DPI
Senior Research Scientist
E: toni.chapman@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Dr Jenny Ekman
Applied Horticultural Research
Research Scientist
E: jenny.ekman@ahr.com.au
Dr Bernard Dominiak
NSW DPI
Scientific Publications Coach
E: bernie.dominiak@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Dr Katharina Merkel
SARDI
Fruit Fly Entomologist
E: katharina.merkel@sa.gov.au
Professor Max Suckling
NZ Institute for Plant and Food Research
Science Group Leader
E: max.suckling@plantfood.co.nz
Tek Tay
CSIRO
Senior Research Scientist
E: weetek.tay@csiro.au
Dr Tom Walsh
CSIRO
Principal Research Scientist
E: tom.walsh@csiro.au
Dr Maarten Van Helden
SARDI
Senior Researcher
E: maarten.vanhelden@sa.gov.au
Professor Jim Yoder
EMU
E: yoderjm@emu.edu
Dr Darren Kriticos
Cervantes Agritech
Co-founder and Managing Director
E: darren@cervantesagritech.com
Dr Tania Yonow
Cervantes Agritech
E: tania@cervantesagritech.com
Dr Leigh Pilkington
NSW DPI
Director of Emergency Management
E: leigh.pilkington@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Dr Chronis Rempoulakis
NSW DPI
Leader Plant Biosecurity Entomology
E: polychronis.rempoulakis@dpi.nsw.gov.au
Professor Ali Rajabpour
ASNRUKH
Professor of Entomology
E: ali.rajabpour@mq.edu.au
PhD and MRes students
Sanjana Akter
Behavioural assessment of males towards female sex pheromone based on age, mating status and host plant in both sexes in the Fall Armyworm (FAW).
E: sanjana.akter@students.mq.edu.au 
Principal Supervisor: Dr Bishwo Mainali
Shahinur Islam
Generalist predators for pest control in Macadamia orchards.
Principal Supervisor: Dr Mary Whitehouse
Vaanathi Chadambara Thanu
A multi-omics pipeline for insect olfactory receptors.
E: vaanathi.chadambarathanu@mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Professor Shoba Ranganathan
Md Forhad Hossain
Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) for community-based regional management of Queensland fruit fly.
E: mdforhad.hossain@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Professor Phil Taylor
Rabia Ali
Biocontrol of Fall armyworm (FAW) in Australian context- potential of parasitoids species.
E: rabia.ali@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Bishwo Mainali
Rajendra Regmi
Fall army worm pheromone blends.
E: rajendra.regmi@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Bishwo Mainali
Asif Khandaker
Biochemistry of accessory gland fluids that are transferred with the ejaculate of tephritid fruit flies.
E: khandaker-asif.ahmed@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Ronald Lee
Ngocmaihan Nguyen
Developing a transgenic ‘genetic sexing’ strain of Queensland fruit fly.
E: ngocmaihan.nguyen@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Professor Phil Taylor
Beatrice Nonthakorn
Identifying Australian fungi that have pathogenic properties in Spodoptera caterillars, including fall armyworm.
E: nonthakorn.apirajkamol@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Bishwo Mainali
Chris O'Connor
Investigating the origin of invasive arthropods using signatures evident in stable isotopes and biometal compositions.
E: chris.oconnor@mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Bishwo Mainali
Shirleen Prasad
Investigating the genetics underlying reduced stress tolerance of domesticated fruit flies, and heritability of stress tolerance.
E: shirleen.prasad@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Professor Phil Taylor
Amanda Tinoco
Seeking to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying heat and bleaching tolerance in reef-building coral.
E: amanda.tinoco@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Maciej Maselko
Nikki Van de Weyer
What triggers house mouse outbreaks in Australian cropping systems: Understanding the role of social structures on population regulation to better inform mouse management.
E: nikki.vandeweyer@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Kevin Oh
Cynthia Vargas
Investigating chemical ecology of Queensland fruit fly.
E: cynthia.castro-vargas@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Professor Phil Taylor
StaffDetails
Dr Maciej Maselko

Dr Maciej Malseko

E: maciej.maselko@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Synthetic biology
  • Bioremediation
  • Sustainable waste management
  • Insect biomanufacturing
  • Genetic biocontrol
Dr Sheemal Kumar

E: sheemal.kumar@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Invertebrate genetic biocontrol
  • Sustainable waste management
  • Insect synthetic biology
Dr Chandran Pfitzner

E: chandran.pfitzner@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Fish genetic biocontrol
  • Bioremediation
  • Genome engineering
Dr Binh Nguyen

Dr Binh Nguyen

E: thi-binh.nguyen@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Invertebrate genetic biocontrol
  • Insect synthetic biology
  • Genome engineering

Dr Aidan Tay

Dr Aidan Tay

E: aidan.tay@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Bioinformatics (Genomics)
  • Machine learning
  • Synthetic biology
  • Biosecurity
Dr Anthony Waddle

E: anthony.waddle@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Disease Ecology
  • Conservation
  • Synthetic Biology
Dr Anu Jayaweera

Anu Jayaweera

E: anu.jayaweera@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Insect Pest Management
  • Insect ecology
  • Insect mating systems
  • Genetic improvement methods

Michael Clark

Michael Clark

E: michael.clark@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Animal genome engineering
  • Animal genetic biocontrol
  • Synthetic biology

Dr Nadee Jayawardana

Nadee Jayawardana

E: nadeeka.jayawardana@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Developmental genetics
  • Bioremediation
  • Genetic engineering
Dr Kate Tepper

 Dr Kate Tepper headshot

E: kate.tepper@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Synthetic biology
  • Bioremediation
  • Sustainable waste-management
  • Sustainable biomanufacturing

Ngoc Mai Han Nguyen

Ngoc Mai Han Nguyen

E: ngocmaihan.nguyen@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Molecular biology
  • Genetic engineering
  • Insect husbandry
  • Bioinformatics

Dr Elisabeth Fung

Nadee Jayawardana

E: elisabeth.fung@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genome Engineering
  • Insect Virology and Ecology
  • Biosecurity
Members
Dr Owain Edwards
CSIRO
Group Leader
Environmental & Synthetic Genomics
E: owain.edwards@csiro.au
Dr Phil Cleves
Carnegie Institute of Science
Principal Investigator
Department of Embryology
E:  cleves@carnegiescience.edu
PhD and MRes students
Tien Hung Nguyen
Developing pesticide resistant predatory natural enemy for IPM.
E: tienhung.nguyen1@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Maciej Maselko
Carly Carter
Keratinase function in heterologous insect hosts.
E: carly.carter@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Maciej Maselko
Samuel Beach
Develop transgenic strains of fruit flies and other pest insects in order to rapidly remove females from the wild populations.
E: sam.beach@hdr.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Maciej Maselko
StaffDetails

Associate Professor David Field

David Field

E: david.field@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Population and conservation genomics
  • Evolutionary ecology
  • Plant adaptation
  • Plant-pollinator interactions
Dr Patrick Buerger

E: patrick.buerger@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Molecular ecology
  • Coral microbiomes
  • Coral thermal resilience

Dr Amanda Padovan

Amanda Padovan

E: amanda.padovan@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Molecular ecology
  • Genotype-phenotype linkage
  • Pest Genomics

Dr John Whale

John Whale

Areas of expertise:

  • Molecular ecology
  • Population and adaptive genomics
  • Adaptive capacity

Dr Avneet Kaur

Avneet Singh

Areas of expertise:

  • Genotype-Phenotype map
  • Genetics of adaptation
  • Population genomics
  • Ecological genetics

Dr Frank Stadler

E: frank.stadler@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Maggot therapy (MT)
  • MT supply chain management
  • Biological and societal adaptation

Dr Amara Jabeen

Dr Amara  Jabeen

E: amara.jabeen@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Structural bioinformatics
  • Machine learning
  • Data analysis and visualisation

Professor Shoba Ranganathan

Prof Shoba Ranganathan

E: shoba.ranganathan@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Metaproteomic analysis
  • Early disease detection from human plasma proteomics
Members
Dr John Oakeshott
CSIRO
Chief Research Scientist
E: john.oakeshott@csiro.au
Dr Tanya Strive
CSIRO
Principle Research Scientist, Group Leader
E: tanja.strive@csiro.au
Dr Denis Bauer
CSIRO
Group Leader,
E: denis.bauer@csiro.au
Yatish Jain
CSIRO
Bioformatics IT Advisor
E: yatish.jain@CSIRO.au
Dr Rahul Rane
CSIRO
Postdoctoral Fellow
E: rahul.rane@csiro.au
Dr Daniel Reti
CSIRO
Research Officer
E: daniel.reti@csiro.au
Dr Natalie Twine
CSIRO
Team Lead
Genome Insights team
E: natalie.twine@csiro.au
Dr Lawrence Wilson
CSIRO
Group Leader
Digital Genome Engineering team
E: lawrence.wilson@csiro.au
Dr Arash Bayat
CSIRO
E: arash.bayat@csiro.au
Dr Sui Fai (Ronald) Lee
E: ronald.lee@mq.edu.au
Dr Kevin Oh
E: kevin.oh@mq.edu.au
PhD and MRes students
Pallavi Khodlan
Somatic hybridization of symbiotic microalgae to increase thermal tolerance.
Principal Supervisor: Dr Patrick Buerger
StaffDetails
Dr Vivian Mendez Alvarez

E: vivian.mendez@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Behavioural biology
  • Insect cuticular chemistry
  • Semiochemical-based pest management
Dr Soo Jean Park

E: soojean.park@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Synthetic chemistry
  • Analytical chemistry
  • Semiochemical-based pest management

Professor Peter Karuso

E: peter.karuso@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Natural products chemistry
  • Chemical ecology
  • Applied fluorescence
  • Chemical biology

Dr Danny Wong

Danny Wong

E: danny.wong@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Electrochemical sensing
  • Analytical chemistry
  • Chemometrics

Dr Zeheng (Joe) Lin

Zeheng (Joe) Lin

E: joe.lin@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Electrochemical sensing
  • Catalysis
  • Electrosynthesis

Dr Md Jamil Hossain Biswas

Jamil Hossain Biswas profile photo

E: mdjamil.biswas@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management (AW-IPM)
  • Insect spatial ecology
  • Insect chemical ecology
Dr Rehan Silva

Headshot of Rehan Silva.

E: rehan.silva@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Behavioural biology
  • Insect-plant interactions
  • Insect chemical ecology
Dr Paul Mirzayans

A headshot of Paul Mirzayans. 

E: paul.malekmirzayans@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Natural product synthesis
  • Medicinal chemistry
  • Reaction mechanism exploration and method development

Dr Sabira Sultana

A photo of Sabira Sultana.

E: sabira.sultana@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Behavioral biology
  • Climate change
  • Species distribution modelling
Vaughan Moon 

A headshot of Vaughan Moon. 

E: vaughan.moon@mq.edu.au

Areas of expertise:

  • Chemistry technical services
  • Research support
Members
Dr Gunjan Pandey
CSIRO
Senior Research Scientist
E: gunjan.pandey@csiro.au
Dr Md. Hafiz All Amin
Department of Agroforestry and Environment at the Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University in Bangladesh
Researcher 
E: mdhafiz.allamin@mq.edu.au
PhD and MRes students
Fozia Masood
Metabolic effect of phytochemical lure intake in three species of Bactrocera fruit flies.
E: fozia.masood@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Vivian Mendez Alvarez
Most Mottakina Akter
Phytochemical lure ingestion in males of Bactrocera fruit flies: benefits and costs of a metabolic boost.
E: mostmottakina.akter@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Vivian Mendez Alvarez
Md Sahadat Hossain
Investigating essential oils as botanical insecticides and/or repellents.
E: md-sahadat.hossain@students.mq.edu.au
Principal Supervisor: Dr Soo Jean Park