MEEP in 2023. L-R: Braxton Jones, Simon Ho, Laurene Leclerc, Kyle Ewart, Sharaf Fozdar, Susie Coady, Jack Savage, Maxim Adams, Zhuzhi Zhang, Karen López, Younis Menkara, Nate Lo, Antonio Rayos, Yasmin Asar. Absent: Toby Kovacs, Joseph Schubert, Beth Flaxman, Eilish McMaster.
MEEP in 2022. L-R: Mark de Bruyn, Jack Savage, Fred Jaya, Toby Kovacs, Nate Lo, Laurene Leclerc, Yasmin Asar, Braxton Jones, Jack Marsden, Yi-Kai Tea, Joseph Schubert, Simon Ho, Zhuzhi Zhang, Kyle Ewart, Younis Menkara, Al-Aabid Chowdhury. Absent: Alice Dolin, Maxim Adams.
MEEP in 2021. L-R: Mark de Bruyn, Nate Lo, Kyle Ewart, Yasmin Asar, Matthew Booth, Michelle Chua, Toby Kovacs, Al-Aabid Chowdhury, Simon Ho, Yi-Kai Tea, Mezzalina Vankan, Fred Jaya, Braxton Jones.
MEEP in 2020. L-R, 1st row: Braxton Jones, Simon Ho, Perry Beasley-Hall. 2nd row: Yasmin Asar, Fred Jaya, Xin Xu. 3rd row: Daej Arab, Yi-Kai Tea, Mark de Bruyn. 4th row: Nate Lo, Zoe Patterson Ross, Toby Kovacs.
MEEP in 2019. L-R: Simon Ho, Perry Beasley-Hall, Katie Robinson, Sam Traves, Andrew Berg, Cara Van Der Wal, Yi-Kai Tea, Holly Nelson, Daej Arab, Toshihisa Yashiro, Giulio Facchini, Nate Lo, Mark de Bruyn, Tim Lee. Absent: Kyle Ewart, Zoe Patterson Ross.
MEEP in 2018. L-R: Toshihisa Yashiro, Arong Luo, Aaron Parker, Nate Lo, Yi-Kai Tea, David Duchene, Sally Potter, Fangluan Gao, Nik Mather, Matteo Barbato, Charles Foster, Cara Van Der Wal, Perry Beasley-Hall, Mark de Bruyn, Daej Arab, Simon Ho. Absent: Kyle Ewart.
MEEP in 2017. L-R: Nathan Lo, David Duchene, Charles Foster, Thilanka Galappaththi, Kyle Ewart, Fangluan Gao, Perry Beasley-Hall, Cara Van Der Wal, Simon Ho, Mark de Bruyn, Daej Arab, Toshihisa Yashiro, Arong Luo, Sally Potter. Absent: Nik Mather, Jun Tong, Andrew Ritchie.
MEEP in 2016. L-R: Charles Foster, Tim Lee, Luana Lins, Kyle Ewart, Nathan Lo, Cara Van Der Wal, Jun Tong, Daej Arab, David Duchene, Andrew Ritchie, Thomas Bourguignon, Simon Ho, Katalina Bobowik. Absent: Sally Potter.
MEEP in 2015. L-R: Daej Arab, Nathan Lo, Monica Fahey, Evelyn Todd, Thomas Bourguignon, Sarah Vargas, Andrew Ritchie, Charles Foster, Cara Van Der Wal, Tim Lee, Luana Lins, Jun Tong, Simon Ho, Shirley Che.
MEEP in 2014. L-R: Sebastian Duchene, Tim Lee, Jun Tong, Daej Arab, Nathan Lo, Martyna Molak, Luana Lins, Charles Foster, Anna Namyatova, Frank Jia, Andrew Ritchie, Simon Ho, Grace Wei. Absent: Yoshinobu Hayashi.
MEEP in 2013. L-R: Jun Tong, Sebastian Duchene, Nathan Lo, Ashley Montagu, Simon Ho, Tim Lee, Luana Lins, Charles Foster, Katie Robinson, Martyna Molak, Vicky McCarl, Grace Wei. Absent: Yoshinobu Hayashi, Daej Arab.
MEEP in 2012. L-R: Nathan Lo, Sebastian Duchene, Luana Lins, Tim Lee, Yoshinobu Hayashi, Martyna Molak, Vicky McCarl, Kiyoto Maekawa, Simon Ho. Absent: Katie Robinson, Ainsley Seago.
MEEP in 2011. L-R: Simon Ho, Tim Lee, Martyna Molak, Luana Lins, Nathan Lo.
Research staff
Fred Jaya (2020–2022), research assistant
Mark de Bruyn (2017–2022), senior lecturer
Xin Xu (2019–2020), Hunan Normal University, visiting researcher
Tim Lee (2019–2020), postdoctoral research associate
Katie Robinson (2019–2020), postdoctoral research associate
Toshihisa Yashiro (2017–2019), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow
David Duchêne (2016–2018), postdoctoral research associate
Niklas Mather (2017–2018), research assistant
Fangluan Gao (2017–2018), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, visiting researcher
Arong Luo (2017–2018), Chinese Academy of Sciences, visiting researcher
Thomas Bourguignon (2015–2017), University of Sydney Postdoctoral Fellow
Yanli (Shirley) Che (2015–2016), Southwest University, visiting researcher
Sarah Vargas (2015), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, postdoctoral fellow
Yoshinobu Hayashi (2012–2014), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow
Vicky McCarl (2012–2013), postdoctoral researcher
Postgraduate research students
Yi-Kai Tea (2022), supervised by Simon Ho, Nathan Lo, Anthony Gill, & Joey DiBattista (Australian Museum)
PhD thesis: Evolution on coral reefs, with systematic treatments of the pencil and fairy wrasses (Teleostei: Labridae: Pseudojuloides et Cirrhilabrus)
Beth Flaxman (2021), supervised by Simon Ho, Mark de Bruyn, Laetitia Gunton (Australian Museum), & Elena Kupriyanova (Australian Museum)
MSc thesis: Opening a can of worms: Investigating the depth range of a deep-sea polychaete species complex
Daej Arab (2021), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & Thomas Bourguignon (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology)
PhD thesis: Insects and their endosymbionts: Phylogenetics and evolutionary rates
Perry Beasley-Hall (2020), supervised by Nathan Lo & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: Digging deeper: phylogenetics and parallel evolution of Australian native cockroaches, their allies, and endosymbionts
Kyle Ewart (2020), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, Rebecca Johnson (Australian Museum), & Rob Ogden (University of Edinburgh)
PhD thesis: Phylogeography and population genetics of Australian threatened and invasive birds
Cara Van Der Wal (2020), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & Shane Ahyong (Australian Museum)
PhD thesis: Total-evidence analyses of crustacean evolution
Zoe Patterson Ross (2019), supervised by Edward Holmes & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: Inferring viral evolutionary history and dynamics using time-structured molecular sequence data
Jun Tong (2018), supervised by Nathan Lo & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: Investigating evolutionary history using phylogenomics
Charles Foster (2018), supervised by Simon Ho & Murray Henwood
PhD thesis: Using phylogenomic data to untangle the patterns and timescale of flowering plant evolution
Andrew Ritchie (2018), supervised by Simon Ho & Nathan Lo
PhD thesis: Evaluating the performance of diversification models for reconstructing evolutionary history
Thilanka Galappaththi (2017), supervised by Nathan Lo
MSc thesis: A timeframe for the evolution of ticks based on molecular clock analysis of mitochondrial genomes
David Duchêne (Australian National University, 2017), supervised by Marcel Cardillo, Lindell Bromham, & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: The importance of phylogenetic model assessment for macroevolutionary inference
Timothy Lee (2016), supervised by Nathan Lo & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: Molecular phylogenetic, ecological, and evolutionary studies of Australian rhinotermitid termites
Daej Arab (2015), supervised by Nathan Lo
MSc thesis: Australian Nasutitermitinae: Phylogenetics, evolution, and biodiversity
Sebastián Duchêne (2015), supervised by Simon Ho & Edward Holmes
PhD thesis: Understanding evolutionary rate variation in viruses
Luana Lins (2015), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & Buz Wilson
PhD thesis: Molecular phylogenetics, evolution and systematics of Isopoda
Martyna Molak (2014), supervised by Simon Ho
PhD thesis: Evolutionary analysis of ancient DNA sequences
Fangzhi (Frank) Jia (discontinued in 2014), supervised by Simon Ho & Nathan Lo
Discontinued – transferred to medicine (University of Sydney)
Katie Robinson (2013), supervised by Nathan Lo & Steve Simpson
PhD thesis: DNA methylation and phenotypic plasticity in the migratory locust
Julien Soubrier (University of Adelaide; 2012), supervised by Alan Cooper, Wolfgang Haak, Michael Lee, & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: What (molecular) time is it? Using ancient DNA to accurately date evolutionary events
Honours students
Sharaf Fozdar (2023), supervised by Simon Ho & Vanessa Hayes
Thesis: Refining the root region of the human mitochondrial tree
Susannah Coady (2023), supervised by Nathan Lo & Ros Gloag
Thesis: Evolutionary ecology and conservation of Panesthia lata, the Lord Howe Island Wood-Roach
Maxim Adams (2023), supervised by Nathan Lo & Simon Ho
Thesis: Biogeography, systematics and conservation genetics of the Australian Panesthia cockroaches
Genevieve Law (2022), supervised by Ros Gloag & Nathan Lo
Thesis: Examination of the trajectory of speciation in the Australian stingless bee Tetragonula hockingsi (Apidae: Meliponini)
Younis Menkara (2022), supervised by Simon Ho, Nathan Lo, & Anthony Gill
Thesis: Wirrah did you go: A taxonomic evaluation of Acanthistius ocellatus, the Eastern Wirrah, and Acanthistius paxtoni, the Orangelined Wirrah
Alice Dolin (2022), supervised by Simon Ho & Mark Post
Thesis: Borrowed traits and dubious dates: A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of the Tani subbranch of the Trans-Himalayan family
Jack Savage (2022), supervised by Mark de Bruyn & Greta Frankham (Australian Museum)
Thesis: The murky turtle pool: A first population genetic analysis of the invasive red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) within Australia
Al-Aabid Chowdhury (2022), supervised by Simon Ho & David Duchêne (University of Copenhagen)
Thesis: Genomic perspectives of avian evolution
Amy Locke (2021), supervised by Alyson Ashe & Nathan Lo
Thesis: Ecology and diversity of Caenorhabditis elegans and other nematodes in Sydney and surrounds
Matthew Booth (2021), supervised by Mark de Bruyn, Nathan Lo, & Greta Frankham (Australian Museum)
Thesis: Genetic assessment of the Broad Headed Snake (Hoplocephalus bungaroides) for conservation management and wildlife forensic purposes
Michelle Chua (2021), supervised by Mark de Bruyn, Simon Ho, & Clive McMahon (University of Tasmania)
Thesis: Dispersal in southern elephant seals from Davis Base, Antarctica: Combining population genetics and tracking data
Toby Kovacs (2021), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & James Walker (Australian Government Department of Agriculture Water & Environment)
Thesis: Molecular phylogenetics, evolution, and taxonomy of the enigmatic cockroach family Nocticolidae
Mezzalina Vankan (2021), supervised by Simon Ho & David Duchêne (University of Copenhagen)
Thesis: Accounting for conflicting signals of evolutionary history in the phylogenomics era
Yasmin Asar (2020), supervised by Simon Ho & Hervé Sauquet (Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney)
Thesis: Testing the link between rates of morphological and molecular evolution in flowering plants
Holly Nelson (2019), supervised by Mark de Bruyn, Mark Eldridge (Australian Museum), & Viyanna Leo (Australian Wildlife Conservancy)
Thesis: Long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta) population at North Head, Sydney, Australia
Andrew Berg (2019), supervised by Mark de Bruyn, Simon Ho, & Patrick Faulkner (Archaeology)
Thesis: Holocene population dynamics of the Australasian southern elephant seal
Yi-Kai Tea (2018), supervised by Simon Ho, Nathan Lo, & Anthony Gill
Thesis: From a land down under: Historical biogeography and systematics of the anti-equatorial fish Microcanthus strigatus (Teleostei: Microcanthidae)
Aaron Parker (2018), supervised by Nathan Lo, & Rebecca Johnson & Matthew Lott (Australian Museum)
Thesis: Metabarcoding of invertebrates from Darwin International Airport
Cara Van Der Wal (2015), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & Shane Ahyong (Australian Museum)
Thesis: Phylogeny and evolution of the Stomatopoda (Crustacea: Malacostraca) inferred using molecular data
Evelyn Todd (2015), supervised by Simon Ho & Natasha Hamilton (Veterinary Science)
Thesis: Inbreeding and its effects on Thoroughbred racing performance
Monica Fahey (2015), supervised by Simon Ho & Maurizio Rossetto (Royal Botanic Garden)
Thesis: Local persistence of regional connectivity: Contrasting gene flow barriers in Tristaniopsis (Myrtaceae)
Julia Dowe (2015), supervised by Madeleine Beekman & Nathan Lo
Thesis: Weird things mitochondria do: The slime mould’s tale
Ashley Montagu (2013), supervised by Nathan Lo & Ben Oldroyd
Thesis: Testing for conflicts in reproduction and genetic polyethism in the polygynous termite Nasutitermes exitiosus
Jun Tong (2013), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & Dieter Hochuli
Thesis: The evolution of Australian burrowing cockroaches
Charles Foster (2013), supervised by Simon Ho, Murray Henwood, & Barry Conn (Royal Botanic Garden)
Thesis: Gone with the wind? A systematic revision and biogeographic treatment of Logania R.Br. (Loganiaceae)
Timothy Lee (2011), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & Buz Wilson (Australian Museum)
Thesis: Systematics and biogeography in the genus Spherillo, with a focus on Spherillo grossus
Lauren van der Kraan (2011), supervised by Kathy Belov (Vet), Nathan Lo, & Beata Ujvari (Veterinary Science)
Thesis: Characterisation of natural killer cell receptor genes in the Tasmanian devil genome
Shannan Langford Salisbury (2011), supervised by Jaime Gongora (Veterinary Science) & Simon Ho
Thesis: Genetic study of chickens from Norfolk Island
Interns and volunteers
Aidan Lowe (2024), volunteer
Jack Marsden (2021-2022), Denison Research Scholar
Toby Kovacs (2019–2020), Denison Research Scholar
Samuel Traves (2018–2019), intern
Blake Johnson (2018–2019), Denison Research Scholar
Matteo Barbato (2018), intern
Eugene Kwok (2018), Denison Research Scholar
Courtney Wood (2017), Denison Research Scholar
Toby Kovacs (2017, 2019), Talented Student Program intern
Gabriela Arratia (2016–2017), volunteer
Elise Winch (2016–2017), volunteer
Katalina Bobowik (2016), intern
Amanda Chen (2015), Talented Student Program intern
Juanita Chui (2015), Talented Student Program intern
Tayler Wishart (2014), Talented Student Program intern
Felipe Cini (2014), intern
Lindsay Kemp (2013), volunteer
Shuravi Paul (2012–2013), volunteer
Craig Coorey (2012), volunteer
Katy Schlotfeldt (2012), volunteer
Academic visitors
David Duchêne (2020–2023), University of Copenhagen
Sally Potter (2018–2022), Australian National University
Giulio Facchini (2019), University of Roehampton (London, United Kingdom)
Zongqing (Wayne) Wang (2015), Southwest University (Chongqing, China)
Gerry Cassis (2014), University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia)
Anna Namyatova (2013–2016), University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia)
Xiaofeng (Hans) Liu (2013–2014), Capital Normal University (Beijing, China)
