Postgraduate study in plant biosecurity

Dr Kirsty Bayliss is the CRCNPB Program Leader for Education and Training. She is a plant pathologist and has worked on plant diseases affecting many crops including pastures, legumes, and oilseeds as well as native ecosystems and plantations. Dr Bayliss has also worked in plant tissue culture and plant breeding, specifically in the production of doubled haploids and molecular marker-assisted breeding. In her current role Kirsty is responsible for coordinating the PhD training program within the CRCNPB. She also develops various workshops and training days for staff and students working in plant biosecurity, and oversees the running of a successful school education program. Dr Bayliss is also a member of the international QUADs education program, aimed at developing international standards for teaching biosecurity. Based at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, Kirsty lectures in biosecurity, plant pathology and plant biotechnology and is currently the Academic Chair for biosecurity courses.

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Tony Clarke completed his PhD in entomology from The University of Queensland in 1992. After graduating, he spent 10 years as a research fellow working on various aspects of pure and applied insect ecology at the University of Tasmania, The University of Queensland and Griffith University. In 2002 he took up a substantive position as a quantitative ecologist with the Queensland University of Technology. Most of his research in the last eight years has focused on insect pest management in tropical and subtropical systems, with an emphasis on horticultural crops. He has participated in several Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research projects which have seen him work with international colleagues in Bhutan, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa. Tony first became involved with plant biosecurity through work on fruit flies and participation on a Standards Working Group looking at quarantine approved premises. His current research is focused on the tropical fruit flies, with personal or collaborative projects that cover fruit fly systematics, basic and applied ecology, market access and parasitoids. Tony is the author or co-author of over 75 refereed publications and he has graduated 14 masters and PhD students.

Expertise: Mike Keller is an entomologist who joined the University of Adelaide in 1987. His research largely focuses on insect natural enemies and their role in biological control of insect pests. Research Interests: Biology (Evolution), Pest Management, Biosecurity, Viticulture, Teaching Methology and Curriculum Development. Research on predators and parasitic wasps aims to provide ecological strategies for the enhancement of biological control in agricultural systems through a combination of experimental and theoretical advances. His research is funded by the Australian Research Council and Horticulture Australia Ltd. In addition, he contributes to research on the domestication of blue-banded bees for pollination of tomatoes in greenhouses. More »

Expertise: Organization and Function of Cells and Organisms, Plant Science, Plant Biotechnology – analysis of plant gene function, plant genomics and genetics, Sustainable Plant Production Research interests: My research is focused on the interactions of pathogenic fungi and plants. The main goal of my research is to understand the mechanisms involved in interactions between fungal pathogens and their plant hosts. The ultimate aim will be to identify and isolate the genes involved in these interactions with a view to improving the plant’s natural resistance barriers to diseases and pests. More »

Research Interests: Tropical floodplain ecology, Plant population ecology, Weed ecology. Professional Highlights National Carrick Institute Citation (2006) for An engaging, flexible postgraduate program, focusing on tropical Australia and building skills and understandings for regional Professionals in authentic learning contexts. ($10,000) http://www.carrickinstitute.edu.au/carrick/go/pid/97. In collaboration with Dr Keith Mc Guinness, Dr Lindsay Hutley, Dr Diane Pearson and Dr Samantha Setterfield (CDU). More »

Expertise: Crop protection (weed management, herbicides, herbicide resistance); crop protection (resistance); weeds (management and control) Research Interests: The Weed Science lab has a range of interests in weed management issues. These include the evolution, biochemical mechanisms of herbicide resistant weeds, gene flow from herbicide tolerant crops and its implications for farm management, risk assessment for weeds and herbicide tolerant crops and patterns of genetic diversity in weed populations. More »

Expertise: Risk analysis, Biological Invasions, Ecological Statistics, Ecological modelling, Pest Management Selected Research Projects: Modelling spatial spread of invasive organisms, Approximate Bayesian Computation, Bayesian model averaging and decision analysis, Predictive modelling of coastal algal blooms, Bayesian Net modelling.