CV

Updated 17-02-23

Employment

2023 - present: ARC DECRA Fellow and Group Leader - Department of Microbiology, Monash University

2019 – 2022: Postdoctoral Fellow – Greening Lab, Department of Microbiology, Monash University

2018 – 2019: Research Assistant – Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia

2015 – 2018: Laboratory Demonstrator and Tutor – The University of Western Australia

2019: Doctor of Philosophy (Microbiology), The University of Western Australia

2014: Bachelor of Science – First Class Honours (Microbiology and Genetics), The University of Western Australia

Thesis title: Determination of the microbiome of the upper respiratory tract and its influence on the development of otitis media

JG Russell Award (Australian Academy of Science, 2023)
Best Oral Presentation (ECR), AusME Conference (2022)
ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (2023-2025)
Jim Pittard Early Career Award (Australian Society for Microbiology, 2022)
Monash University Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences ECR Travel Award (2022)
ECR Showcase Prize for Snapshot Talk, Monash Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences ECR Symposium (2021)
Best ECR Poster Prize, 10th Annual Joint Academic Microbiology Symposium (JAMS10) (2021)
Top 3-minute thesis presentation award, Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Scientific Retreat (2017)
Allegra Scafidas Development Award, Telethon Kids Institute (2017)
Travel award from the Centre of Research Excellence in Ear and Hearing Health (2016)
Co-investigator on Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases seed funding research grant (2016)
Travel award from the Telethon Kids Friends of the Institute (2015, 2016)
Wesfarmers Centre of Vaccines and Infectious Diseases PhD Top-Up scholarship (2015)
Australian Postgraduate Award/Research Training Program scholarship (2015)

Professional Member of the Australian Society for Microbiology (2012 – present, Professional since 2021)
Member of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (2020 - present)
Member of the ECR Advisory Panel for the Biomedicine Discovery Institute Infection Program (2021 – present)
Organising committee member for MicroSeq 2022
Chair of the Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s ECR Mentoring Subcommittee (2021 – 2022)
Member of the Biomedicine Discovery Institute’s ECR Social Subcommittee (2021)
Session chair for MicroSeq 2021
Organising committee member and session chair for Microbial Ecology and Environmental Microbiology (MEEM) in Victoria (2020, two symposia)
Organising committee member for Research Bazaar (ResBaz), Perth (2018)
Organising committee member for Global Microbiome, Perth (2017-2018)
Peer reviewer of six articles for six journals (Frontiers in Genetics, Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, PLoS One, ISME J, Microbial Ecology, Ecology)

2023: Global Young Scientists Summit, Singapore (oral presentation, available on Youtube)
2022: AusME 2022, Melbourne, Australia (oral presentation, awarded Best Oral Presentation)
2022: 18th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME18), Lausanne, Switzerland (oral presentation)
2022: Australian Society for Microbiology conference, Sydney, Australia (oral presentation and award presentation)
2021: MicroSeq 2021 conference, Virtual (oral presentation and session chair)
2021: 10th Annual Joint Academic Microbiology Symposium (JAMS10), Virtual (poster presentation, awarded best ECR poster prize)
2021: Australian Society for Microbiology conference, Virtual (oral presentation)
2020: MicroSeq 2020 conference, Virtual (oral presentation)
2019: Microbial Ecology and Environmental Microbiology (MEEM) in Victoria symposium, Melbourne, Australia (oral presentation)
2018: Global Microbiome II Symposium, Perth, Australia (oral presentation)
2018: Australian Society for Microbiology conference, Brisbane, Australia (oral presentation)
2016: Otitis Media Australia Conference (OMOZ), Newcastle, Australia (oral presentation)

Monash University (tutorial facilitator and lecturer):

The University of Western Australia (casual laboratory demonstrator, during PhD studies):

Bioinformatics workshops (volunteer instructor and helper, during PhD studies)

Co-authored an article for The Conversation based on our marine hydrogen paper, which received attention from several media outlets (2023)
Pen Pal program. Wrote a series of letters about my research and scientific careers to 12-year-old students (2021 – 2022)
Contributor to the International Microbial Literacy Initiative: author of topic framework Environmentally transmitted diseases (2021)
Australian Society for Microbiology Communications Ambassador (2020 – present)
Produced and edited a video abstract for mSystems (2020)
Social media presence through Twitter account (>1100 followers) and blog
Volunteer at Discover Day, Telethon Kids Institute’s annual public event for children (2015, 2017)
Sciguide at Scitech Discovery Centre, Perth Western Australia (2012 – 2015)