MEEP in 2024. L-R: Toby Kovacs, Eilish McMaster, Zhuzhi Zhang, Maxim Adams, Leo Featherstone, Yu-Hsiang Ho, Simon Ho, Braxton Jones, Karen López, Antonio Rayos, Younis Menkara, Jorge Gutiérrez, Yasmin Asar, Kyle Ewart, Laurene Leclerc, Nate Lo. Absent: Joseph Schubert.
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.
Research staff
Amy Tims (2025), postdoctoral research associate
Yasmin Asar (2024–2025), postdoctoral research associate
Kyle Ewart (2023–2024), postdoctoral research associate
Karen López (2023–2024), postdoctoral research associate
Fred Jaya (2020–2022), research assistant
Xin Xu (2019–2020), Hunan Normal University, visiting researcher
Tim Lee (2019–2020), postdoctoral research associate
Katie Robinson (2019–2020), postdoctoral research associate
Mark de Bruyn (2017–2022), senior lecturer
Toshihisa Yashiro (2017–2019), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellow
Niklas Mather (2017–2018), research assistant
Fangluan Gao (2017–2018), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, visiting fellow
Arong Luo (2017–2018), Chinese Academy of Sciences, visiting fellow
David Duchêne (2016–2018), postdoctoral research associate
Thomas Bourguignon (2015–2017), University of Sydney Postdoctoral Fellow
Yanli (Shirley) Che (2015–2016), Southwest University, visiting fellow
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
Laurene Leclerc (submitted 2026), supervised by Nathan Lo & Brendan Burns (University of NSW)
PhD thesis: Host–symbiont interactions, evolution and horizontal gene transfer in Ixodidae and Myriapoda
Antonio Rayos, Jr (2026), supervised by Simon Ho & Matthew Renner (Botanic Gardens of Sydney)
PhD thesis: Using genomic data to elucidate the evolution and historical biogeography of the liverwort family Lepidoziaceae (Jungermanniales; Jungermanniopsida)
Toby Kovacs (2026), supervised by Simon Ho & Carolyn Hogg
PhD thesis: From Koalescence to Conservation: Genomic insights into marsupial demographic history and climate vulnerability
Zhuzhi Zhang (2026) supervised by Nathan Lo & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: Phylogenetic relationships and horizontal gene transfer in panesthiine and geoscapheine cockroaches
Joseph Schubert (2026) supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho, & Jane Melville (Museums Victoria)
PhD thesis: Integrative systematics of the Australian peacock spiders and their allies
Braxton Jones (2025) supervised by Nathan Lo & Simon Ho
PhD thesis: A tree of sticks: Dispersal and speciation of Australian Phasmatodea
Yasmin Asar (2024), supervised by Simon Ho & Hervé Sauquet (Botanic Gardens of Sydney)
PhD thesis: Exploring evolutionary rates and patterns of diversification across the Tree of Life
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
Nina Knowles (2025), supervised by Simon Ho & Elena Kupriyanova (Australian Museum)
Thesis: Untangling the Ficopomatus, a genus of invasive and biofouling calcareous brackish water tubeworms
Niamh Ryan (2025), supervised by Simon Ho & Elena Kupriyanova (Australian Museum)
Thesis: Phylogenetics and population structure of a species complex of deep-sea scale worms
Ethan Seow (2025), supervised by Nathan Lo, Simon Ho & Chris Reid (Australian Museum)
Thesis: Phylogeographic and taxonomic insights into the radiation of Xylotoles longicorn beetles of Lord Howe Island
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
Danny Burton (2023), supervised by Dieter Hochuli & Nathan Lo
Thesis: The effect of habitat traits on the presence and activity of arboreally nesting Nasutitermes sp. termites in urban bushland greenspaces
Dineth Pathirana (2023), supervised by Camilla Whittington, Mitchell Hodgson, & Nathan Lo
Thesis: Biology of egg-laying and live-birth in the lizard Saiphos equalis
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
Denison Research Scholars:Jack Marsden (2021-2022), Toby Kovacs (2019–2020), Blake Johnson (2018–2019), Eugene Kwok (2018), Courtney Wood (2017), Katalina Bobowik (2016)
