About me
Through out my career I have maintained a diverse research program focused on applied sheep production and the adoption of outputs from this research on farms across Australia and internationally.
Since commencing at Murdoch University in 2011, I have developed and lead a dynamic research group widely recognised as leaders in sheep reproduction research. My key research areas include sheep reproduction, methane production and climate resilience, and application of novel sensor technologies to improve animal welfare and production in a farming systems context. I have been Principal investigator or co-investigator for almost 50 new competitive grants valued at $30.8M, with most involving multiple institutes and industry partners across Australia and New Zealand.
My research prior to joining Murdoch University focused on understanding how managing sheep nutrition and genetics can be used to manipulate the quantity and quality of wool produced; as well as leading the National Lifetimewool project and development of the Lifetime Ewe Management program for sheep producers. This program has since been delivered to over 5,000 sheep producers managing 40% of the national sheep flock with industry wide benefits estimated to exceed $1B in Australia alone.
I have had several industry research leadership roles including managing the Sheep Production Program for the Sheep Industry CRC (2008-2014) and Sheep Reproduction Program for Australian Wool Innovation (2015-2017).
My contribution to research outputs has been complemented with a career focus on agricultural industry engagement and leadership, evidenced by delivery of almost 100 invited presentations to industry stakeholders over the last 5 years.