I am an early-career research scientist at Agriculture Victoria, combining the taxonomy of Australian ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with arthropod pest diagnostics and assisting with the curation of the Victorian Agricultural Insect Collection (VAIC).

My current areas of interest include Victorian ant species, improving Australian Nylanderia identification, exploring molecular and morphological variation in mid-sized Iridomyrmex, revising the Camponotus claripes group (collaboration with WAM researchers), and revising the Rhytidoponera victoriae group.

The Agriculture Victoria diagnostics lab also endeavours to publish first records on a wide variety of arthropod groups, support AVR research, produce improved diagnostic methods, and collaborate with other experts on taxonomic work whenever possible.

In November 2023, I delivered a presentation at the Biosystematics 2023 conference: 'The taxonomic potential of integrating morphological and molecular approaches to enhance ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) identifications for biosecurity.'

I hope to encourage the integration of biosecurity and taxonomic work in Australia as well as improve our ability to appreciate the importance of ants, among the most diverse and ecologically dominant members of Australian terrestrial ecosystems. I am especially keen to collaborate with ecology projects, which so often find the importance of exciting findings associated with ant interactions and changes to assemblage structure limited by a lack of species-level understanding.