Skip to content
Animal Animal WelfareRights, Science

EXPERT ALERT – NATIONAL SCIENCE WEEK

La Trobe University 2 mins read

La Trobe University has academic experts available to talk to the media on a range of science-related topics ahead and during National Science Week (10 - 18 August).

Dr John Morgan
Head of Environment and Genetics Department

Contact: [email protected]; 0427 852 727

Expertise: Dr Morgan is an expert in threatened plants and ecological communities.

Dr Morgan can speak to the following topics:

  • Threats to Australian plants
  • How threatened plants are faring with climate change
  • Unexpected ways threatened plants survive
  • Recovering threatened plants from extinction using novel approaches 
  • Even in 2024, we are still discovering new plant species    
  • Why the most important ecosystems are the ones that humans also love to occupy

Dr James Van Dyke
Associate Professor, Environment

Contact: [email protected] or 0468 708 580

Expertise: Dr Van Dyke is a vertebrate ecologist specialising in freshwater turtle conservation, vertebrate reproduction and invasive species management

Dr Van Dyke can discuss the following topics:

  • Freshwater ecology
  • Turtle conservation
  • Citizen science
  • Invasive species management
  • Community conservation
  • Wildlife ecology


Dr Jim Radford
Associate Professor, Department of Environment and Genetics Department and Co-Director, Research Centre for Future Landscape

Contact: [email protected] 0400 815 811

Expertise: Dr Radford is an expert in wildlife conservation and management, threatened birds and woodland ecology.

Dr Radford can speak to the following topics:

  • Threats to Australian birds – habitat loss, climate change, introduced predators, unsustainable farming practices, altered fire regimes, forestry
  • Trends and trajectories of Australian birds – how are our birds faring?
  • Protecting and enhancing bird populations in agricultural landscapes
  • Fire ecology, fire management and impacts on threatened birds
  • The importance of sustainable agriculture and changing the way we produce food and fibre to be nature positive
  • Emerging nature markets and tools for sustainability reporting and engaging with new markets – how farmers can benefit from nature
  • Ecosystem services provided by nature in agricultural landscapes
  • Woodlands as an example of an ecosystem under immense pressure and facing collapse (terrestrial equivalent to coral reefs)

Contact details:

[email protected] 
0487 448 734

More from this category

  • Building Construction, Science
  • 06/03/2026
  • 12:48
Parliament of Australia

Public Works Committee to examine the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s cyclotron decommissioning

TheParliamentary Standing Committee on Public Workswill considerthe Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s proposed decommissioning and demolition of its research facility in Camperdown NSW, known as the National Research Cyclotron Facility (NRCF),under thePublic Works Committee Act 1969.The proposed works were referred for inquiry and report on Tuesday, 3 March 2026. ANSTO is proposing the decommissioning of the NRCF after its permanent shutdown in 2021, after 30 years of operation. After shifting radiopharmaceutical research and nuclear medicine production functions to Lucas Heights, ANSTO is required to decommission and demolish the old NRCF before returning the site to the Sydney Local Health…

  • Science, Women
  • 06/03/2026
  • 12:24
Monash University

Women in STEM take the fast lane

Monash University helped shine a spotlight on gender equity in motorsport and STEM at In Her Corner, an event presented in partnership with the…

  • Contains:
  • Medical Health Aged Care, Science
  • 05/03/2026
  • 07:00
Dementia Australia

Targeted treatment for dementia project shares in $4.5 million research funding

The Dementia Australia Research Foundationhastoday announced funding for23new researchprojectswith a combined total of$4.5millioninvested into Australian dementia research. Examples of projectsfunded in the 2025 Grant Programinclude oneaiming to develop personalised dementia prevention strategies. Another will explore how the way brain cells produce energy could holdthe key to understanding the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Adelaide University’s Dr Maddison Mellowwas awardedtheDr Maree Farrow MemorialPost-Doctoral Fellowshipworth$450,000to conduct thestudy intohowwe canpersonalise dementia prevention strategies. “Although we can’t changegetting older, genetics or family history, weknow that there are a range of things we can do to reduce our dementia risk, such as getting enough exercise, eating…

Media Outreach made fast, easy, simple.

Feature your press release on Medianet's News Hub every time you distribute with Medianet. Pay per release or save with a subscription.