About me

I am an ARC DECRA Fellow and Group Leader at the Department of Microbiology at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, within the Biomedicine Discovery Institute. I study the composition and activities of microbial communities, often in extreme environments, to understand how they persist under challenging conditions. My research involves a very nice balance of field work, lab work, bioinformatics, writing and teaching.

I received my PhD in 2018 from The University of Western Australia in Perth, where I studied paediatric nasopharyngeal and middle ear microbiomes to identify bacteria protective against recurrent ear infections. It was here that I gained most of my bioinformatics skills through a combination of helpful colleagues and self-directed learning. In 2019, I moved to Melbourne to join the Greening Lab where I initially worked on the RISE program. I then worked on a series of environmental microbiology projects exploring how microbes in a range of environments use atmospheric trace gases as a source of energy. I have recently been awarded an ARC DECRA Fellowship, launching my own research program on microbial life in the atmosphere.