Laurene started her PhD candidature in 2021 under the supervision of Professor Nathan Lo and Associate Professor Brendan Burns (Burns Lab, UNSW). Her project involves identifying and analysing Australian tick-borne pathogens, creating an Australian tick-bite test, and understanding the biology of the Ixodes holocyclus tick endosymbiont, Midichloria mitochondrii.
Prior to joining the MEEP lab, Laurene completed a Bachelor of Advanced Science at UNSW with First Class Honours. Her Honours project focused on computationally analysing Australian tick RNA sequencing data sets for the detection of tick-borne pathogens.
Laurene is also a passionate advocate for women in STEM. Through her involvements in organising and being a guest speaker at numerous science outreach events, she encourages young women to consider and pursue STEM careers.