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.

• Ms Claire Allison - Thesis title - Stingless Bees as Crop Pollinators
• Ms Samantha Andres - Thesis title - Addressing drivers of dieback in an endangered tree species, persoonia hirsuta (hairy geebung)
• Mr Yazen Al-Salman - Thesis title - Determinants of Leaf Water Use Efficiency in the C₄ Crop Sorghum Bicolor
• Ms Sidra Anwar - Thesis title - A carotenoid-derived signal controls root architecture in Arabidopsis
• 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 - The Plasticity of the Thermal Tolerance of Horticultural Species and their Susceptibility to Heatwaves
• Ms Fiona Backhouse - Thesis title - Explaining geographic variation in the multimodal display of the Albert's lyrebird (Menura alberti)
• Ms Kirsten Ball - Thesis title - Nutrient use efficiency and carbon sequestration in the plant-soil environment: novel application of spectral data to inform and optimise agroecosystem management
• Ms Alice Barratt - Thesis title - Thermal ecology of the bare-nosed wombat: linking physiology, behaviour and conservation
• Mr Urs Benning - Thesis title - Regulation of Photosynthesis by Sugar Sensing in C₃ and C₄ Plants
• 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 Fikadu Biru - Thesis title - Effect of CO₂ on Si uptake and how this affects physical traits and herbivore attack
• Ms Karen Catunda - Thesis title - Nutritional ecology of pasture systems under climate extremes
• Ms Anthea Challis - Thesis title - Genotypic variation in Marri may facilitate physiological tolerance to drought
• Mr Manjunatha Chandregowda - Thesis title - Pasture systems ecology and climate extremes
• Mr Yogesh Chaudhari - Thesis title - Regulation of C₄ Photosynthesis by Sugar Sensing
• Mr Matt Chaumont - Thesis title - Cultural evolution in lyrebirds
• 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 Anne-Cecile Colin - Thesis title - Saving Our Species: Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change
• Ms Chathurika Daulagala - Thesis title - Ecological Interactions of Rhizobia and Their Effects on the Nitrogen Nutrition of Field Pea
• Mr Brendan Delroy - Thesis title - Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza on the accumulation of Salicylic Acid in B. distachyon root systems
• Ms Annabel Dorrestein - Thesis title - The social organisation of the Christmas Island flying-fox (Pteropus melanotus natalis)
• Mr Charlie Filippou -Thesis title - Bioprospecting for fungal-based biocontrol agents
• Mrs Kathryn Fuller - Thesis title - The Biogeography of Fire: Mapping Key Fuel Types Across NSW
• Ms Wajira Galhena - Thesis title - Harnessing emerging microbiome technology to improve farm productivity
• 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 Lea Hannah - Thesis title - Insect Pollination of Almonds
• 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 Xin He - Thesis title - Physiological and molecular insight into fruit development and quality of Capsicum annuum L. under Smart Glass and CO₂ Treatments
• 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 Tarikul Islam - Thesis title - How does silicon in plants affect insect effector proteins?
• Mr Walter Israel - Thesis title - Carbon isotope discrimination and stomatal function in C4 grasses
• 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 - Sex allocation in Kelly's citrus thrips, Pezothrips kellyanus: mechanisms, constraints and the role of endosymbionts
• 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
• Mr Mohammad Kibria - Thesis title - Urban Forest: Testing Tree Performance to Future Hotter and Drier Conditions
• Ms Leah Koloadin - Thesis title - Intraspecific and Interspecific Variation in the Xylem Functional Traits of Callitris Species Growing along an Aridity Gradient
• Mr Ivan Kotzur - Thesis title - Understanding and mapping how thermal and dietary constraints combine to restrict koala habitat and determine refugia
• Mr Arjunan Krishnananthaselvan - Thesis title - Brown is the new green: Grassland responses to heat and drought
• Ms Jiayu Li - Thesis title - Plant and Soil Microbiome Interactions
• Mr Premchand Maisnam - Thesis title - Drought impacts on microbial assemblage structure and functional attributes
• Mr Scott Nacko - Thesis title - Stingless Bees as Crop Pollinators (Temperate)
• Mr Jwalit Nayak - Thesis title - A Carotenoid-derived Metabolite Regulates RNA Structure and Carotenoid Gene Expression Controlling Pro-vitamin a Accumulation in Crops
• Mr Peter Nzie - Thesis title - Stingless Bees as Crop Pollinators (Glasshouse)
• Mr Osazee Oyanoghafo - Thesis title - Adaptive Capacity to Drought in the Diverse and Climatically Variable Plant Species in the Proteaceae Family
• Mr Lucky Paudel - Thesis title - National Tree Genomics - Functional genotype predicition for horticulture
• Ms Victoria Perez - Thesis title - Can Eucalyptus drought vulnerability be explained by climate of origin, life history and functional traits?
• Ms Mahfuza Pervin - Thesis title - Deciphering how mechanical stress can prime plant defence mechanisms and train a hardier crop plant
• Ms Johanna Pihlblad - Thesis title - Mechanisms by which nitrogen availability for plants changes under elevated CO₂
• Ms Caroline Ponsonby - Thesis Title - Flies as Crop Pollinators
• Mr Rocky Putra - Thesis title - The Functional Role of Silicon in Legumes: From Root Nodulation to Community level Responses
• Mr Desi Quintans - Thesis title - How do Plant-Insect interactions change along steep environmental gradients?
• Ms Kumari Rajapaksha - Thesis title - Searching for Meaningful Belowground Indicators of Heath in Threatened Ecological Communities
• Mr Alejandro Rios Villamil - Thesis title - Diet Sexual Conflict and the Evolution of Lifespan in the Sexes
• Ms Katie Rolls - Thesis title - Local adaptation and species distribution limits along climatic gradients
• Mr Giles Ross - Thesis title - Phylogeographic Analysis of Antarctic Soil Invertebrates
• Mrs Amy Rowles - Thesis title - Seasonal Migration of Australian Tree Roosting Microbats
• 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
• Ms Sunayana Sajith - Thesis title - Interdisciplinary studies on the uptake of new approaches to crop pollination
• Mr Md Golam Sarwer - Thesis title - Impact of Ecological Changes on Sydney Rock Oyster Genetics and Microbiomes
• Ms Lena Alice Schmidt - Thesis title - Selective floral enhancement of native flora for healthy and diverse pollinator populations in Australian agro-ecosystems under climate change
• Ms Mahmuda Sharmin - Thesis title - Green Accounting: Evaluating the benefits of urban greening under future climates
• Mr Stephen Sharpe - Thesis title - Biotic Mortality Factors of Australian Fruit Fly
• Mr Gaurav Singh - Thesis title - Stingless Bees as Crop Pollinators
• Mr Pankaj Singh - Thesis title - Plant and Soil Microbiome Interactions
• Ms Hannah Smart - Thesis title - Evolution of Dynamic Anti-predator Behaviour of Insects
• Ms Magnolia Song - Thesis title - Modelling the Carbon Balance of Australian Forests
• Mr Matthew Stanton - Thesis title - Unravelling the roles of climatic and dietary specialisation in creating and maintaining species and population boundaries in brushtail possums
• 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 Jerzy Szejgis - Thesis title - Causes and consequences of biogeochemical mismatches during drought
• Ms Sharon Towett-Kirui - Thesis title - Wolbachia and other Endosymbionts of Australian Fruit Fly
• Ms Jenendra Wadduwage - Thesis title - Impacts and Mechanisms of Biostimulants on Soil Health and Crop Yield
• Ms Melissa Walker - Thesis title - The physiological and environmental drivers of grey-headed Flying Fox movements
• Mr Jamie Waterman - Thesis title - Using Simulated Herbivory to Mechanistically Understand Inducible Specialised Metabolites and Silicon-based Plant Defences
• Ms Natascha Weinberger - Thesis title - Friends with benefits, or a reluctant threesome? Plant-microbial partnerships and their effects on crop pathogens
• Mr John Whale - Thesis title - A scientific basis for assisted gene migration under climate change.

Graduates