Environmental Biotechnology

Centre for Marine Bioinnovation (CMB)
Biological Sciences Building (D26)
University of New South Wales
Sydney NSW 2052
nbarraud@unsw.edu.au
phone +61 2 9385 1594

Advanced Waste Water Management Centre
The University of Queensland
Gehrmann Building (60)
Brisbane Qld 4072
damienb@awmc.uq.edu.au

phone +61 7 3346 9051

Damien has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Queensland (2000). He is an internationally recognised researcher in the fields of biosolids management, anaerobic wastewater treatment, and process modelling. Key vocational interests include application of research in industrial projects, and Damien is an active consultant. Damien is the Project Leader for EBCRC's Small and Medium Scale Biosolids Project.

Director, Biotechnology Research Institute, Emeritus Professor of Biology, Macquarie University;

Emeritus Professor of Molecular Genetics, Auckland University

Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University

North Ryde
, Sydney, NSW 2109

Peter is an advisor for three EBCRC projects: Rapid pathogen detection strategies for the environment; Novel coatings for biofilm control and bioremediation; and bioremediation of contaminated sites.

Advanced Waste Water Management Centre
The University of Queensland
Gehrmann Building (60)
Brisbane Qld 4072

phil.bond@awmc.uq.edu.au

phone +61 7 3346 7841

Phil obtained his PhD at the University of Queensland (1998) on activated sludge microbial ecology. He is interested to unravel the complexities of microbial communities, by combining molecular and other approaches to elucidate microbial metabolic processes and determine molecular details of microbial functions directly in their environments. Phil is the project leader of EBCRC's Aerobic granulation technologies for domestic wastewater project.

Centre for Organic Waste Management
Division of Science and Engineering
Murdoch University, South Street
Murdoch WA 6150
cord@murdoch.edu.au

Ralf obtained his Masters in Germany (Microbial Corrosion) and PhD in France (Microbial hydrogen metabolism). After a CSIRO position as researcher on wool scour effluent treatment he has worked as an industrial and environmental scientist at Murdoch University. Over the years research projects have included microbial corrosion, biogas production, nutrient removal from wastewater, production of recombinant E.coli, bioleaching of copper minerals, microbial reductive dechlorination, microbial fuel cells. These projects have lead into sophisticated computer controlled bioreactors and also mathematical modelling of microbial processes. Ralf has lead the project of solid municipal waste conversion to renewable energy and compost and is an advisor on the bioremediation and odour control projects.

Veterinary Biology Building
Murdoch University
South Street
MURDOCH WA 6150
w.ditcham@murdoch.edu.au

Will started his scientific career working on vaccines for the control of mastitis in dairy cows. His interest in milk production led to work on the development of biosensors for on-line monitoring of progesterone levels in milk. After migrating to Australia in 2001, he studied at Murdoch University, gaining his PhD in 2007. His research involves the application of biosensors and molecular techniques in environmental monitoring, as well as maintaining an interest in non-invasive monitoring of reproductive status in endangered native animals.Will is the co-leader of EBCRC's microbial detection project.

School of Biotechnology & Biomolecular Sciences
Room 132
Samuels Building (F25)
UNSW SYDNEY NSW 2052
Phone: +61 2 9385 2032
b.ferrari@unsw.edu.au

Belinda is currently project leader in the Environmental Biotechnology CRC’s microbial detection programme. Belinda has major interests in the detection and characterisation of microorganisms from the environment using fluorescence-based technologies.

Her PhD, awarded in 2001, described the development of a novel two-colour flow cytometric detection method for Cryptosporidium and Giardia in water. Since that time she carried out a postdoctoral fellowship in Denmark at the University of Copenhagen. Belinda returned to Macquarie University in Sydney in 2003, where she recently developed a novel cultivation strategy for previously ‘uncultured’ bacteria. The pathogen detection group she now leads concentrates on a suite of projects which range from the application of proteomics to environmental pathogens with the aim of diagnostic development to the use of fluorescence assays for multiplexed detection of pathogens.

Belinda's research incorporates the use a combination of tools largely relying on fluorescence, DNA probes, antibodies, flow cytometry and confocal microscopy.

Professor in Environmental Engineering
Chair of ETC Board
G.Ho@murdoch.edu.au
Office: Environmental Science Building ES 2.49
Phone: +61 8 9360 2167

Goen is a project leader for EBCRC's odour control project as well as advisor on the commercial scale integrated biosystem for organic waste project.

Professor & Director, Advanced Wastewater Management Centre
Gehrmann Building (60)
St. Lucia The University of Queensland QLD 4072
Phone +61 7 3365 4727
Fax +61 7 3365 4726
j.keller@awmc.uq.edu.au

Jürg is an advisor for EBCRC's projects on advanced aeorobic granulation and commercial scale integrated biosystem for organic waste and wastewater treatment for the livestock and food processing industries.

Prof. Staffan Kjelleberg

School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS)
University of NSW Sydney NSW 2052
Phone +61 2 9385 2102
s.kjelleberg@unsw.edu.au
www.babs.unsw.edu.au/about/cmbb_centre_staff.asp

Staffan received his PhD from the University of Gotenburg, Sweden in 1981, and joined the staff of the then School of Microbiology and Immunology in 1993 as Professor of Microbiology. He has a long-standing interest in various aspect of environmental microbiology.

Staffan is the Project Leader for EBCRC's project on Biofilm control, and is also project advisor for the projects on biofilm applications and bioremediation projects.

Principal Scientist and Program Leader Centre South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI)
West Beach, South Australia, 5024
Phone +61 8 8207 5446
Fax +61 8 820 7481

Kumar.martin@saugov.sa.gov.au

Martin received his PhD in 1982 and worked as Assistant Professor in Faculty of Fisheries, Konkan Agricultural University, Ratanagiri, India before migrating to Australia in 1990. He is a Graduate member of Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). Martin managed to create a unique blend of expertise in scientific and technical aspects, demonstrated in wide range of research projects, combined with the experience in fisheries resource management.

Martin is the Project Leader for EBCRC’s project – Commercial scale integrated biosystem for organic waste and wastewater treatment for the livestock and food processing industries.

School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS)
University of NSW Sydney NSW 2052
Phone +61 9385 3919

manefield@unsw.edu.au

Mike received his PhD from the University of New South Wales, Australia in 2000. Since then he has carried out postdoctoral research in laboratories in the United Kingdom, Denmark and Japan. Mike is the Project Leader for EBCRC's the Bioremediation of contaminated sites project.

Centre for Marine Biofouling and Bio-Innovation
School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS)
University of NSW Sydney NSW 2052

Phone +61 2 9385 2090
D.McDougald@unsw.edu.au

Diane received her PhD from the University of New South Wales, Australia in 2000. She is now a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Marine Biofouling and Bio-Innovation at UNSW working on adaptive responses of marine bacteria and the role that surface-attached bacterial communities called biofilms play in these processes. In addition, Diane investigates the role of quorum sensing in adaptation to stress and biofilm formation in these bacteria, as well as its role in virulence and resistance to grazing by protozoans.

Diane is the Project Leader for EBCRC's Molecular Toolbox Porject as well as being Co-Project Leader for the advanced aerobic granulation project.

Advanced Wastewater Management Centre
Gehrmann Building (60)
St. Lucia The University of Queensland QLD 4072
Phone +61 7 3346 9021
Fax +61 7 3365 4726

maite@awmc.uq.edu.au

Maite received her PhD on Environmental Engineering in 2004 at the University Autonoma of Barcelona.

In 2005, she moved to the University of Queensland to start her postdoctoral research in the EBCRC P5 project about nutrient removal from high strength wastewater. Her research interests are the development and optimization of biological nutrient removal systems working with aerobic granules. Maite is the project leader for the EBCRC’s Advanced Aerobic Granulation project.

Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation
The University of New South Wales
Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
L.Yee@unsw.edu.au
Ph: +61-2- 9385-8775
Fx: +61-2-9385-2554
http://www.babs.unsw.edu.au/staff_directory/l_yee.html

Broadly I am fascinated by the use of polymers in the microbial community both as structures towards biofilm through to adhesion of bacteria to polymer surfaces along with the host of interactions between these highly diverse surfaces structures and microbial entities.

My current research projects are application based from these fundamental considerations.

1. Living paints. Bacteria capable of releasing antifouling metabolites can be immobilised into polymer structures that are then deployed in the marine environment to protect surfaces from colonisation from marine organisms.

2. Polymer assisted bioremediation. Polymers can provide both delivery and nutritional environments for bacteria to degrade chemical toxins in various environmental arenas. Industrially contaminated soil waste is my current focus.

Lachlan is a project leader on EBCRC's project on Biofilm Applications.