I am passionate about bees and working with the beekeeping industry on applied projects. I co-lead Plan Bee, Australia’s honey bee genetic improvement program, bringing modern animal breeding methods to the beekeeping industry so that we can have healthier more productive bees, which is imperative for a sustainable honey bee industry and the more than 35 industries that depend upon them for pollination. This is particularly the case now that varroa is in Australia. Breeding is an essential part of integrated pest management and a sustainable way forward for resilient beekeeping in the face of varroa. As a keen science communicator I co-lead the extensionAUS Professional Beekeepers Community of Practice and avidly write articles for that website and manage their social media channels.
See staff profile here for a full list of publications and contact information.
Awards and Honours
- Rural Research and Development Corporation’s Eureka Prize for Rural Innovation (finalist), 2015
- Science and Innovation Award for Young People in Agriculture, 2015
- Fisheries and Forestry: CSIRO Biosecurity Flagship, Safeguarding Australia’s honeybee industry – testing for Africanization to enable importation of Varroa-resistant stock
- Best PhD thesis (USyd), Jabez King Heydon Memorial Prize in Biological Sciences Postgraduate, 2010
- Best Honours thesis (USyd), Professor Spencer Smith White Prize for Honours (Biology)