Co-leads

Dr Rahul Rane

Rahul Rane

Senior Research Consultant, Co-lead

  • My teams work involves building partnerships to unlock the use of genomics and AI in for tangible decision making in biosecurity, environment, health and agricultural sectors. This includes decision-support as well as diagnostics. My research involves development of new methods and genomic platform technologies for user driven research in integrated ‘omics or synthetic-biology driven pest management, engineering insects for beneficial outcomes and genetic surveillance of diseases and pests. How can we collaborate to make your ‘omics journey more effective?
Tom Walsh

Tom Walsh

Principal Research Scientist, Co-lead

  • My research is focused on using genomic and other ‘omics techniques to understand the response of organisms to substances in the environment. My research takes the advances in genomics and molecular biology and applies these to generate impact, both scientifically and in practical terms in the field. An integrated omics approach refers not only to applying the different Omics tools to research questions but also the integration of Omics technologies into applied industrial, agricultural and environmental settings for impact.

Activity leads

Gunjan Pandey

Gunjan Pandey

Senior Research Scientist, Genome bioinformatics/Platforms

  • Gunjan Pandey is a senior research scientist at CSIRO Land and Water, with expertise in both wet experimental biology and genome bioinformatics. Gunjan’s specific area of interest is novel gene-enzyme discovery using traditional biochemistry and modern multi’omics and analytical chemistry tools.
  • In this project, he plays a key role of assembling and delivering high quality genomes to respective stakeholders in an interactive and timely fashion.
Leon Court

Leon Court

Senior Experimental Scientist, Project management/NGS technology implementation

  • Leon Court is a Senior Experimental Scientist within the CSIRO Land and Water Business Unit. He is a molecular geneticist with expertise in Next-Generation sequencing. Leon project manages the ‘data-generation’ activities for our increasing number of species of interest, supervises and trains staff in DNA extraction methods, method development and sample QC. He also contributes to the identification and realisation of opportunities for the team.
Chris Hardy

Chris Hardy

Principal Research Scientist, Genome Bioinformatics/Environmental surveillance

  • Chris Hardy’s expertise is in molecular genetics and he has a strong interest in understanding the evolutionary history of biodiversity and developing ecological applications from his research. He is currently applying a multidisciplinary approach (ecology, biogeochemistry, genomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics) to understand the factors that influence the responses of ecosystems to perturbations and using this knowledge to develop next generation eDNA-based environmental monitoring tools.

Core ‘omics team

Heng Lin Yeap

Heng Lin Yeap

Experimental Scientist, Genetic Biocontrol Genomics

  • Heng Lin Yeap is an experimental scientist in Health and Biosecurity currently working on risk assessment of pest population control by CRISPR gene drive. He develops novel approaches and pipelines for analysis of large and complex data sets. Working with the team on building high-throughput solutions for processing large population and transcriptomic datasets, he hopes to harness population and quantitative genetic data for efficient assessment of population biocontrol methods.

Demi (Yi-Chun) Cho

Research Projects Officer, Bioinformatics platforms

  • • Demi (Yi-Chun) Cho is a Genomic and Molecular Research Project Officer in CSIRO, Health and Biosecurity team. Her work includes conducting molecular biology experiments in high throughput sequencing and developing automated browser-based platforms to analyse genomic data. She hopes to assist our team to understand invasive insect pest issues
  • LocationCSIRO Innovation Precinct
  • AddressClunies Ross StreetActon ACT 2601 Australia

Andy Bachler

Postdoctoral fellow, Gene discovery

  • Andy is a bioinformatic Postdoctoral fellow in the AGI team focusing on genome annotation and pangenomics. He completed his PhD at ANU developing the first pan-genome for a pest insect (Cotton Bollworm) and has experience in sequence techniques from sample extraction to down-stream analysis. His current focus in on improving genome annotation pathways for eukaryotic organisms and improving understanding of uncharacterised genes in prokaryotes.
  • LocationCSIRO Innovation Precinct
  • AddressClunies Ross StreetActon ACT 2601 Australia

Asif Ahmed

CERC Fellow, Foundational genomics and animal health

  • Asif is a postdoctoral fellow at CSIRO ACDP, Geelong, working on vector competency of Biting midges (Culicoides spp) for different arboviruses. He has >10 years of work experiences on different insect species of agricultural importance. His specialization is in insect molecular biology, functional genomics and multi-omics bioinformatics.

Andrew Gock

Research Technician, Molecular biology and sequencing technologies

  • Andrew Gock is a molecular biologist in the AGi team. Andrew’s work involves complex sample preparation and optimisation of molecular biology protocols to suit the experimental needs.
  • LocationCSIRO Innovation Precinct
  • AddressClunies Ross StreetActon ACT 2601 Australia

Core platform team

Nava Serey

Senior Business Analyst

  • Nava, a Senior Business Analyst at CSIRO, blends expertise in product management, operations, and professional services. Her primary focus lies in driving innovation and efficiency within projects, which encompasses activities such as discovery, user research, and requirements gathering. Committed to continuous learning, Nava is well-prepared to tackle new challenges in the dynamic fields of business and technology.

Paul Kidd

Solution Architect

  • Paul Kidd trained in Marine Physics before embarking on a career in programming, modelling, and data management. At CSIRO he is helping scientists find new tools, systems, and processes to help them unlock the potential of the research they are undertaking. He is the Solution Architect for the Applied Genomics Initiative, ensuring that the information technology components adhere to best practice so that they can enable faster and more reliable generation of value from genomics.

Alex Alvarez

Project Manager

  • With an MBA from the AGSM@UNSW and a wide range of industry certifications in project management and other related disciplines, Alex relies on an experienced-backed toolkit of leadership skills and best practices to provide direction, to communicate openly and to cut through the noise in roles that bridge the gap between technology-focused engineers and value-focused stakeholders. He considers it a privilege to work for an organisation that is focused on building a talent powerhouse by promoting cross-functionality and rewarding purposeful learning.

Ali Zamani

IT advisor, Bioinformatics platforms

  • Ali is a Data Science and IT Advisor within the IM&T team. With a focus on the Applied Genomics Initiative, Ali works on the development of automated pipelines and cutting-edge platforms for analysing genomic data. Ali helps the team in technical implementation of the platforms, ensuring their objectives are met with precision and efficiency.

Impact area leads

Tek Tay

Principal Research Scientist, Pest Genomics

  • Tek Tay is a senior research scientist and leads the Pest Genomics team in CSIRO. His has extensive experience in molecular biology, evolutionary and population genetics or genomics, and applying these techniques for applied pest biocontrol use cases. Dr Tay is applying next generation sequencing techniques to characterise the metagenomics of insect pests, and to provide in-depth understanding of genome diversity in highly invasive insect pests with the aim of developing and applying global genetic networks to assist with identifying incursion pathways.

Sharon Hook

Principal Research Scientist, Marine Environments

  • Sharon Hook trained as an environmental toxicologist/coastal oceanographer, and has broad research interests in how systems respond to and adapt to perturbations, such as pollution or temperature stress. Current research includes applies modern omics based approaches to environmental problems, determining the impacts of low level, long term environmental stresses, and the design and implementation of toxicity testing. She is currently the coordinator of CSIRO’s genomics cross cutting capability community of practice.
David Beale

David Beale

Senior Research Scientist, Ecosurveillance

  • Adjunct A/Professor Beale is a senior research scientist in the Industry Environment research program in Land & Water where he delivers research outcomes and creates impact in the area of environmental applications of functional omics (i.e., proteomics, lipidomics and metabolomics) coupled with traditional contaminant analysis. David develops high-throughput tools for detecting, quantifying and tracking contaminants in the environment and assessing their biological impact using omics-based tools and techniques.