Postgraduate Students
The Institute's higher degree research students are actively engaged in projects relevant to the current research agenda within Australia and overseas. Our cohort gain valuable experience from research-active academic staff, while contributing fresh ideas and knowledge to their chosen field.
Current Students
Please note: Students with active web site links have successfully completed their Confirmation of Candidature milestone.
- Mr Yagiz Alagoz - Thesis title - Environmental regulation of RNA, epigenetic and metabolic processes in plants
- Mr Yazen Al-Salman - Thesis title - Physiology of C4 Photosynthesis
- Ms Sidra Anwar - Thesis title - Regulation of health-related carotenoid micronutrient biosynthesis and root development in greenhouse crops by abiotic and probiotic factors
- Mr Sitaram Aryal - Thesis title - Interactions of Entomopathogens and Australian Fruit Fly
- Ms Vicky Austin - Thesis title - Investigating the structure and function of mimetic song in female superb lyrebirds (Menura novaehollandiae)
- Ms Diana Backes - Thesis title - Enhancing climate-hardiness and climate change preparedness for horticultural plants
- Ms Fiona Bachouse - Thesis title - Explaining geographic variation in the multimodal display of the Albert's lyrebird Menura alberti
- Ms Kirsten Ball - Thesis title - Microbially mediated soil carbon sequestration in agroecosystems
- Mr Marvin Beckert - Thesis title - Manipulation of Black Carbon to Increase Soil Carbon Sequestration
- Mr Urs Benning - Thesis title - Functional Genomics of C4 Photosynthesis
- Ms Olivia Bernauer - Thesis title - Insect Pollination of Crops
- Mr James Bickerstaff - Thesis title - Discovering the weevil within (trees): The diversity, phylogeography, and ecology of Pinhole Borers (Curulionidae, Platypodinae)
- Mr Eric Brenya - Thesis title - Elucidating how environmental change can alter RNA, epigenetic and metabolic processes to promote cross-acclimation to plant stresses.
- Ms Lisa Bromfield - Thesis title - Individual Strategies to Cope with Environmental Change: A test of the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis.
- Ms Laura Castaneda Gomez - Thesis title - Mycorrhizae-mediated mechanisms for soil organic matter decomposition under elevated CO2
- Ms Karen Catunda - Thesis title - Abiotic effects on habitat quality for the koala
- Ms Anthea Challis - Thesis title - Genotypic variation in Marri may facilitate physiological tolerance to drought
- Mr Sachin Chavan - Thesis title - Modelling the leaf-to-canopy photosynthetic response of wheat to eCO2 under drought and heat
- Mr Jeffrey Chieppa - Thesis title - Effects of drought and phosphorus availability on plant and microbial communities in pasture grasslands in Australia
- Ms Zineb Choury - Thesis title - Determining the acclimation capacity of Australian rainforest trees growing in warm and cool climates
- Ms Ximena Ciblis Stewart - Thesis title - Down to earth defence: How mutualistic fungi augment silicon-based defence against above-and belowground insect pests
- Mr Donovin Coles - Thesis title - Controlling Contagion: Identifying and targeting genetic loci in agricultural crops to improve broad-spectrum disease resistance
- Ms Danielle Creek - Thesis title - Forests for the Future: Making the Most of a High CO2 World
- Ms Chathurika Daulagala - Thesis title - Ecological relationships between resident and inoculant rhizobia in pulse crop
- Mr Brendan Delroy - Thesis title - Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza on the accumulation of Salicylic Acid in B. distachyon root systems
- Ms Coline Deveautour - Thesis title - Influence of water availability on arbuscular mysorrhizal fungi and plants
- Mr Namraj Dhami - Thesis title - Environmental regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in plants
- Mr Jonathan Finch - Thesis title - The co-evolution and maintenance of obligate pollination mutualisms in the Australian Phyllantheae
- Ms Alice Gauthey - Thesis title - Non-Invasive Imaging of Drought-Induced Cavitation in Plants
- Ms Patricia Gilarte Padilla - Thesis title - Role of soil fauna in nitrogen cycling and plant succession in Eastern Australia natural plant communities
- Ms Nicola Hanrahan - Thesis title - The acoustic ecology of the ghost bat (Macroderma gigas): form, function and applied uses of vocalisations
- Mr Kamrul Hassan - Thesis title - Global change impacts on plant-soil feedbacks: consequences for ecosystem functioning and stability
- Ms Kelly Heckenberg - Thesis title - The energetics of relocated animals: monitoring thermal and metabolic physiological responses to improve the outcomes of conservation translocation
- Mr Richard Hill - Thesis title - Genes beyond organisms: Using machine learning and pan-omic datasets to unravel the complex perception/response systems of plants during microbial symbiosis
- Ms Katie Howard - Thesis title - Extinction of Turtles in the River Murray: Consequences and Solutions
- Ms Chioma Igwenagu - Thesis title - Soil Nutrient Management & Microbial Ecology in Pasture Systems under climate extremes
- Mr Walter Israel - Thesis title - Regulation and Diversification of C4 Photosynthesis
- Mr Vinod Jacob - Thesis title - The Effects of Elevated Temperature and Drought on the Productivity and Sustainability of Pasture Systems
- Mr Ramesha Jayaramaiah - Thesis title - Metagenomics approaches to predict efficiency of bioremediation
- Mr Alihan Katlav - Thesis title - The role of reproductive parasites in the biology of invasive pest thrips
- Ms Simranjit Kaur - Thesis title - Plant-Microbiome interactions and communication
- Mr Shiva Khanal - Thesis title - Objective quantification of national forest cover and carbon stocks in support of the REDD Programme - a methodological study combining remote sensing, forest inventory data and statistical modeling
- Ms Leah Koloadin - Thesis title - Xylem Pit Membrane Physiology in Callitris Species
- Mr Dushan Kumarathunge - Thesis title - Scaling the impact of temperature on overall plant growth: A modeling approach
- Mr Ximeng Li - Thesis title - Identifying regions of high drought mortality risk for tree species in NSW
- Ms Elle McDonald - Thesis title - Genetic co-variation and fitness consequences of resting energy expenditure in mice
- Mr Robert Mueller - Thesis title - The ecology and evolution of microbial symbioses in Australian ambrosia beetles.
- Ms Jennifer Peters - Thesis title - Hydraulic function of Australian woody plants; surviving and recovering from drought
- Ms Johanna Pihlblad - Thesis title - Mechanisms by which nitrogen availability for plants changes under elevated CO2
- Mr Juan Piñeiro Nevado - Thesis title - Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on fine root production and activity in a P-limited Australian mature woodland.
- Mr Rocky Putra - Thesis title - How silicon kick-starts nitrogen fixation I legumes and what this means for insect food webs
- Mr Desi Quintans - Thesis title - How do Plant-Insect interactions change along steep environmental gradients?
- Mr Alexis Renchon - Thesis title - Constraints on Ecosystem Carbon and Water Flux Estimates in Temperate Australian Evergreen Brodleaf Forests
- Mr Rohan Riley - Thesis title - Plant and fungal traits interact to control Mycorrhizal outcomes in a multifunctional context
- Ms Katie Rolls - Thesis title - Local adaptation and species distribution limits along climatic gradients
- Ms Bronwen Roy - Thesis title - Assessing pathogen risks to honeybees and native bees in NSW
- Ms Julia Ryeland - Thesis title - Evolutionary ecology, conservation biology and management of emus
- Mr Julius Sagun - Thesis title - Regulation and diversification of C4 photosynthesis
- Mr Md Golam Sarwer - Thesis title - Novel tools for molecular biosecurity and their use in understanding the incursions of white spot syndrome virus in shrimp
- Ms Lena Schmidt - Thesis title - Pollinators, Floral Resources and Climate Change
- Mr Stephen Sharpe - Thesis title - Biotic Mortality Factors of Australian Fruit Fly
- Ms Elisa Stefaniak - Thesis title - Do plants hedge their bets? Modelling optimal plant behaviour
- Ms Emiko Stuart - Thesis title - The effect of mycorrhizal cheaters on plant:fungal symbiosis
- Mr Christopher Todd - Thesis title - The ecology and conservation of the critically endangered Christmas Island Flying-Fox
- Ms Sharon Towett - Thesis title - Wolbachia and other Endosymbionts of Australian Fruit Fly
- Ms Jenendra Wadduwage - Thesis title - Identify the impacts and mechanisms of fertiliser types on soil and crop health
- Ms Melissa Walker - Thesis title - The physiological and environmental drivers of grey-headed Flying Fox movements
- Mr Jamie Waterman - Thesis title - Primed to retaliate: How silicon helps plants to ‘Anticipate and remember’ attack by insect herbivores
- Mr John Whale - Thesis title - A scientific basis for assisted gene migration under climate change.
- Ms Johanna Wong - Thesis title - Identification of key regulatory signals in symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi:eucalypts interactions
- Mr Deane Woruba - Thesis title - Development of probiotics to increase adult Queensland fruit fly male performance as part of the sterile insect technique
- Mr Jinyan (Jim) Yang - Thesis title - Predicting LAI: What leaf area do plants need and how do they decide?
Graduates
- Doctor Kirk Barnett - Thesis title - Hidden herbivory, precarious precipitation and punished pastures: Australia's grasslands under root herbivory and altered rainfall
- Doctor Sarah Beck - Thesis title - The spatial dynamics of below-ground fungal communities: a study of pattern and process
- Doctor Aimee Bourne - Thesis title - Forest ecosystem water use: does species identity and ecosystem composition matter?
- Doctor Kylie Brice - Thesis title - Bugs in "Bears"- are Mismatches between Diets and Gut Microbial Communities a Bugbear for Translocated Koalas?
- Doctor Courtney Campany - Thesis title - Resource allocation in Eucalyptus
- Doctor Nicholas Colman - Thesis title - Morphological variation and ecological interactions of Australia's apex predator (Canis dingo)
- Doctor Federica Colombo - Thesis title - Diversity, Functioning and Stability in Microbial Communities
- Doctor Nathalie Curlevski - Thesis title - The impacts of forest management practices and climate change on soil fungal communities.
- Doctor Honglang Duan - Thesis Title - How will the main and interactive effects of elevated [CO2] and elevated temperature affect tree response to drought and drought-induced tree mortality?
- Doctor Benjamin Feit - Thesis title - Can Water Exclusion Limit the Ecological Impacts of Cane Toads?
- Doctor Sarah Facey - Thesis title - Resilience vs. decline: precipitation and atmospheric change drive contrasting responses in invertebrate communities
- Doctor Adam Frew - Thesis title - How the soil environment affects root feeding scarabs with particular emphasis on the canegrub
- Doctor Caroline Fromont - Thesis title - Molecular ecology, geography and species interactions of Mycopsylla insects with their bacterial endosymbionts, parasitoids and host fig trees
- Doctor Andrew Gherlenda - Thesis title - Effects of CO2 and temperature on Eucalyptus insect herbivores from individuals to communities
- Doctor Christopher Gordon - Thesis title - Dingo (Canis dingo) extirpation and associated trophic restructuring as a mechanism influencing shrub encroachment in arid Australia?
- Doctor Aidan Hall - Thesis title - Ecology and evolution of Cardiaspina psyllids, their bacterial endosymbionts and parasitoid wasps
- Doctor Guomin Huang - Thesis title - Differential response to climate change among populations for woody plant species: An ecological and physiological approach
- Doctor Ali Ijaz - Thesis title - Taxonomic and Environmental Annotation of Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences via Shannon Entropy and Database Metadata Terms
- Doctor Kerry Keniry - Thesis title - Climate change impacts on ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Australian eucalypts.
- Doctor Peter Kern - Thesis title - Wolbachia in Eurema butterflies: endosymbiont effects on host sex ratios and population genetics
- Mr Shiva Khanal - Thesis title - Quantifying post-fire recovery of forest canopy structure and its environmental drivers using satellite image time-series.
- Doctor Yan-Shih Lin - Thesis title - How will Eucalyptus tree species respond to global climate change?: CO2 responses and seasonal temperature adjustment.
- Doctor Yaojie Lu - Thesis title - Optimal and Competitive Stomatal Behaviour
- Doctor Catarina Martins - Thesis title - Identifying drivers of greenhouse gas flux feedback responses to global change.
- Doctor Jennifer Morrow - Thesis title - Molecular studies of Wolbachia and sex-determination genes in Australian Bactrocera species - complementary approaches to improved fruit fly control
- Doctor Duong Thi Nguyen - Thesis title - Genetic diversity, reproductive systems and endosymbionts of two invasive thrips species.
- Doctor Linh Nguyen - Thesis title - Cotton Farming and N Cycling: Adaptation to Climate Change
- Doctor Josephine Ontedhu - Thesis title - Interactive effects of elevated carbon dioxide concentration, temperature and soil P on growth and physiology of eucalypts.
- Doctor Varsha Pathare - Thesis title - Grass and herb photosynthesis and productivity in a resource-limited Eucalyptus woodland under elevated atmospheric CO2
- Doctor Harshini Pinto - Thesis title - Resource use efficiency of C4 grasses with different evolutionary origins.
- Doctor Smriti Rayu - Thesis title - The interactions between xenobiotics and soil microbial communities
- Doctor Jessica Rigg - Thesis title - Microbial influences on the conservation and recovery of the Wollemi Pine
- Mr Giles Ross - Thesis title - Impacts of elevated CO2 and ecosystem restoration on belowground biodiversity in Cumberland Plain Woodlands
- Doctor James Ryalls - Thesis title - The impacts of climate change and belowground herbivory on aphids via primary metabolites
- Doctor Tracey Steinrucken - Thesis title - To determine the mechanism for dieback in the invasive pant, Parkinsonia aculeata
- Doctor Balasaheb Sonawane - Thesis title - Environmental regulation of CO2 concentrating mechanisms in C4 grasses with different biochemical subtypes
- Doctor Timothy Sutton - Thesis title - Evolutionary ecology of fig wasps associated with the Port Jackson fig
- Doctor Chanda Trivedi - Thesis title - Application of Ecological Theory to Explain Microbial Regulation of Soil Function
- Doctor Anita Wesolowski - Thesis title - The effects of drought, heat and elevated atmospheric CO2 on physiology and growth of Eucalyptus – Does climate-of-origin matter?
