Current lab members

Maryane Gradito

PhD, commenced 2024

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Maryane's project aims to examine the ‘arms race’ between a fish host and its nematode parasite, determined by examining the physiology and performance of the host and parasite in isolation and in their host-parasite context.

Yi Zhi

Honours student

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Yi's project seeks to understand the phenomenon of “heat hardening” in fishes, whereby a brief exposure to high temperature can build longer-term resilience to heat stress in that individual.

Jake Martin

Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow, completed 2026

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Jake is an ecologist and ecotoxicologist investigating the impacts of human-induced rapid environmental change on wildlife. As an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Jake worked on a project to characterise the risk posed by antimicrobials on the gut microbiota of fish and connect potential effects to metabolism, development, behaviour, and population outcomes.

Josefin Sundin

visited 2015

Home institute: Uppsala University, Sweden

Josefin conducted a collaborative project to investigate the effects of elevated dissolved carbon dioxide (ocean acidification) on the behaviour and physiology of coral reef fish.

Mirjam Amcoff

visited 2015

Home institute: Stockholm University, Sweden

Mirjam conducted a collaborative project to investigate the effects of elevated dissolved carbon dioxide (ocean acidification) on the behaviour and physiology of coral reef fish.

Fernando Mateos-González

visited 2015

Home institute: University of Texas (Austin), USA

Fernando conducted a collaborative project to investigate the effects of elevated dissolved carbon dioxide (ocean acidification) on the behaviour and physiology of coral reef fish.

Graham Raby

visited 2015

Home institute: University of Windsor, Canada

Graham visited on an Endeavour Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate the effects of elevated dissolved carbon dioxide (ocean acidification) on the behaviour and physiology of coral reef fish.

Luis Kuchenmüller

PhD, completed 2026

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Luis's project investigated the allometry of oxygen uptake and transport in fishes, with a goal to determine whether oxygen limitations play a role in performance decrements throughout life.

Beth Hoots

PhD, completed 2026

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Beth's project focused on the physiological and behavioural mechanisms that underlie inter-specific differences in growth and thermal performance of fish.

Michael Skeeles

PhD, completed 2024

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Mike's project focused on the role of reproduction and energy reallocation in the ‘temperature-size rule’ phenomenon, whereby aquatic organisms like fishes tend to grow faster but don't grow as large in warmer waters.

Hanna Scheuffele

PhD, completed 2023

Deakin University, Geelong, Australia

Co-supervisor: Dr Fredrik Jutfelt

Hanna's project investigated the physiological mechanisms underlying the ‘temperature-size rule’ phenomenon, whereby aquatic organisms like fishes cannot grow as large in warmer waters.

Alyssa Bowden

PhD, completed 2018

University of Tasmania and CSIRO, Australia

Co-supervisors: Dr Sarah Andrewartha, Dr Nick Elliott, Prof Peter Frappell

Alyssa's thesis investigated the interaction between temperature and amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon, with a particular focus on understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying performance decrements in AGD-infected salmon.

Andrew Wood

PhD, completed 2018

University of Tasmania and CSIRO, Australia

Co-supervisors: Dr Sarah Andrewartha, Dr Nick Elliott, Prof Peter Frappell

Andrew's thesis investigated the impacts of developmental hypoxia on the physiology and long-term performance of Atlantic salmon, with application to natural rearing environments and aquaculture facilities.

Katharina Alter

PhD, completed 2017

University of Tasmania and CSIRO, Australia

Co-supervisors: Dr Sarah Andrewartha, Dr Nick Elliott, Prof Peter Frappell

Katharina's thesis investigated the physiological and behavioural mechanisms underlying improved growth performance and environmental tolerance in hybrid abalone compared with pure-bred blacklip and greenlip species.

Geoffrey Collins

PhD, completed 2017

Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Australia

Co-supervisors: Dr A. Guy Carton, Prof Dean Jerry

Geoffrey's thesis investigated the intraspecific diversity of hypoxia tolerance across populations of the iconic barramundi, to understand the potential for acclimation and adaptation to increasingly hypoxic coastal waterways.

Vinay Udyawer

PhD, completed 2016

Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Australia

Co-supervisors: Dr Michelle Heupel, Prof Colin Simpfendorfer

Vinay's thesis investigated the spatial ecology and energetics of tropical sea snakes using acoustic telemetry and bi-modal respirometry, with a particular aim to understand temporal and spatial interactions with commercial fisheries.

Ian McLeod

PhD, completed 2014

Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Australia

Co-supervisors: Prof Geoffrey Jones, Prof Philip Munday, Dr Jodie Rummer

Ian's thesis investigated the interaction between temperature and food availability on the growth rates and survival of larval coral reef fishes, particularly with regard to latitudinal temperature gradients.

Tommy Norin

PhD, completed 2013

Australian Institute of Marine Science and Aarhus University, Denmark

Co-supervisor: Dr Hans Malte

Tommy's thesis investigated intraspecific and interindividual metabolic diversity in fishes, to understand whether particular metabolic phenotypes have superior performance under challenging environmental conditions.

Thomas Schmitt

MSc, completed 2017

University of Melbourne, Australia

Co-supervisor: Dr John Morrongiello

Thomas' thesis investigated the ‘pace-of-life’ syndrome (i.e., live fast, die young) by examining the interplay between growth, metabolism and behaviour in juvenile brown trout.

Alison Collins

MSc, completed 2012

University of British Columbia, Canada

Co-supervisor: Prof Scott Hinch

Alison's thesis investigated the impacts of intraperitoneal implantation of acoustic tags on the swimming performance of juvenile sockeye salmon, to help refine models that use acoustic tag data in assessments of salmon ecology and productivity.

Pasang Tenzing

BSc (Hons), completed 2014

Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Australia

Co-supervisors: Dr Michelle Heupel, Prof Colin Simpfendorfer

Pasang's thesis investigated the interaction between water temperature and digestive performance in tropical stingrays, to provide physiological explanations for the daily movement patterns of stingrays in coastal mangrove habitats.

Georgia McGee

BSc (Hons), completed 2013

Australian Institute of Marine Science and James Cook University, Australia

Co-supervisor: Prof Mark McCormick

Georgia's thesis investigated the role of temperature in regulating the inflation response of black-saddled pufferfish, to understand how ocean warming may impact the unusual predator defence strategy of these charismatic fish.