The Keogh Lab

Keogh Lab Hall of Fame:

Former Postdocs

Dr. Phil Byrne

ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, 2002-2004 (Visit Phil's web site)

Phil won an ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship (and major grant) to support his research. Phil did his PhD in Dale Robert's Lab at the University of Western Australia on sexual selection and multiple mating in frogs and he is continued this work in my lab. Phil is also doing lots of very interesting work on frog call structure and other aspects of frog mating behaviour. Phil is now on a Claude Leon Postdoctoral Fellowship with our good friend Martin Whiting in South Africa. Following that Phil will be heading up his own lab at Monash University while on a Monash Research Fellowship, starting in mid-2007!!

 Dr. Sharon Downes

ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, 2001-2003

Sharon won an ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship and a Large ARC Grant to support her exciting experimental research on conservation and ecology of lizards. She did lots of amazing things which are explained much better on her web site, so check it out. While Sharon was here she was on the Editoral Boards of the journals Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology and Journal of Herpetology. Sharon is now a Research Scientist at CSIRO Entomology.

 Dr Ian Scott

ARC Postdoctoral Research Officer, 1999-2001, ARC Postdoctoral Research Associate, 2002-2003

Ian and I worked together on a variety of molecular phylogeny projects including the phylogenetics of Australo-Papuan and African elapid snakes and the phylogeography of water skinks and tiger snakes (plus lots of other things). Ian is now a postdoctoral fellow in New Zealand.

Dr. Nicki Mitchell

Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, 2002-2003

Nicki is working with Dale Roberts and I on the comparative biology of myobatrachid frogs. Nicki did her PhD on frog ecophysiology and behaviour with Roger Seymour at the University of Adelaide and postdocs in New Zealand with Charlie Daugherty on tuatara before coming back to Oz. After leaving our lab, Nicki went on to a LaTrobe University Postdoctoral Fellowship and following that she headed to Perth where she is now an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in Dale Roberts lab.

Dr Paul Doughty

ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, 2000-2001

Paul worked on the evolution of plasticity in developmental rates, using tadpoles as a model system - heavy duty theoretical stuff that the rest of us didn't understand. Paul sometimes liked to dress as a policeman. Paul co-supervised honours student Eleanor Wilson (below) while he was here. Paul is now the Curator of Herpetology at the Western Australian Museum.

Former Postgraduate Students (check out the PhD celebration shots)

Vimoksalehi Lukoschek

PhD student - supported by an APA at James Cook University, 2001 onward, I was a co-supervisor.

Vimoksalehi worked on the higher level phylogenetic systematics of sea snakes and the population genetics of several sea snake species. She is now on a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the lab of Prof. John Avise.  

Vimoksalehi's web site

Vimoksalehi's sea snake info web site

Matt Morgan (Visit Matt's web site)

PhD student (ANU PhD Scholarship, 2003-2007). Matt's thesis was titled: The theory and practice of molecular data analysis and application to current problems in Australian frog biology.

Matt worked on a variety of complex issues including population and conservation genetics of frogs, biogeography and phylogenetic theory. He did important work on the performance of POY, the concept of homology with molecular data, the population and conservation genetics of the endangered corroborree frogs and the biogeography of southern Australian frogs. Matt is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin with Prof. David Canatella and Prof. David Hillis.

Louise Osborne

PhD student from Scotland (IPRS, 2001-2004). Louise' thesis was titled: Male contest behaviour and information content of signals used by the Australian Tawny Dragon, Ctenophorus decresii.

Louise worked on various aspects of social structure and intraspecific behavioural interactions, in particular focussing on male behavior.  Her work was supported by several grants she won from various sources and she has submitted all of her research for publication. Louise now works in research administration, she worked for a wile at the ANU Research Office as a Grants Officer and she is now a Strategic Analyst for Land and Water Australia.

David Chapple (Visit Dave's web page)

PhD student (APA, 2001-2004). Dave's thesis was titled: Evolutionary ecology and molecular phylogenetics of the Egernia whitii (Lacertilia: Scincidae) species group

Dave worked on the behavioural and molecular ecology of the skink Egernia whitii and used this species to address questions concerning the evolution of pattern polymorphism and social behaviour. Dave also worked on aspects of the molecular phylogeography of this and related species. Dave's work was supported by lots of grants he won from various sources. Dave's PhD work so far has been published in Herpetological Monographs; Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Molecular Ecology; and Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. Several more are currently submitted. Dave is now an Allan Wilson Centre Postdoctoral Fellow, based in the labs of Peter Ritchie and Charlie Daugherty at Victoria University. Kiwi Dave is working on the phylogeny of NZ skinks and other related things. In mis-2007 Dave will move to the lab of Jane Melville to start an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Anke Maria Hoefer

MSc student from Germany (IPRS 2001-2004, co-supervised by Sharon Downes). Anke Maria's thesis was titled: Mating system of the common garden skink, Lampropholis guichinoti

Anke Maria worked on sorting out the basic mating system of this species and also did experimental work on how males use chemical and visual signales to evaluate female sexual receptivity. Anke Maria has published one paper in Animal Behaviour based on collaborative work she did with Sharon and another in Herpetological Review, and the main paper from her MSc is on the way.

Jessica Stapley (Visit Jess' web page)

PhD student (APA, 2000-2004). Jess' thesis was titled: Trade-offs, traits and tendencies: Behavioural ecology of two Australian skinks

Jess worked on mate choice and mating systems in the viviparous Mountain Log Skink, Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii and the water skink, Eulamprus heatwolei. Jess's research was supported from grants she won from a variety of sources. So far Jess has published papers from her PhD work in Animal Behaviour; Ethology, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology; and Molecular Ecology Notes, and there are still a couple more to go! Jess won a short term Australian Academy of Sciences short-term Visiting Fellowship to the University of California at Davis to work with Andy Sih for six weeks. She then spent a year at the University of Witwatersrand working with Martin Whiting as a NRF Postdoctoral Fellow and then a year in Panama working with John Christy as a Smithosian Institution Postdoctoral Fellow.  Jess is now in the UK as a herpetologist at large.

Bob Wong (Visit Bob's web page - "The Wong Lab in the Right Place")

PhD student (APA, 2000-2003, co-supervised by Mike Jennions). Bob's thesis was titled: Sexual selection and speciation in the Pacific blue-eye fish Pseudomugil signifer

Bob worked on the evolution of mating systems in pipefish and rainbow fish (he also did some very cool work on orchids and wasps). His project involved field work up and down the east coast as well as aquarium based experimental work and lab based molecular work. Bob's research was supported from grants he won from a variety of sources. Papers from Bob's PhD thesis have now been published in Animal Behaviour; Journal of Evolutionary Biology; Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B; Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology; Molecular Ecology; Biology Letters; and Journal of Fish Biology.  Bob won a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the America-Australia Education Fund to work at Boston University and Woods Hole in the USA. He then went to Finland to work with Kai Lindstrom on a one year CIMO Postdoctoral Fellowship. Following that, Bob started his ARC Postdoc at the University of Melbourne. with Mark Elgar. In 2006 Bob started a Lectureship at Monash University.

Former Honours Students

Geoff Kay

Honours student, 2007-2008 cohort.

Geoff did a Third Year Special Topics project with me on plant distributions of southwestern Australia. He then applied what he learned in his honours work on the comparative phylogeography of southwestern lizards. Geoff is now chasing polar bears in Greenland.

David Moore

(Honours student, 2006 cohort (co-supervised by David Rowell in BoZo and Tony Robinson in CSIRO)

David worked on the genetics of the sodium pump in cane toads and the evolution of this pump in frogs. Eventually, this could lead to a biocontrol for cane toads. David then worked for me as an RA for a year on the molecular phylogenetics of Australian frogs. David is now working in Thailand for a year..

Mitzy Pepper

Mitzy did her honours in our lab on phylogeography of geckos and the rocks that they live on in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Before honours she spent some time in our lab as an ANU Summer Research Scholar. Mitzy did her undergraduate work in Geology and she will be combining her existing skills with new skills in field collecting, molecular phylogenetic lab work and lots and lots and lots of map making to better understand how the history of the Pilbara has shaped gecko evolution. Mitzy worked for me for a year and she is now a PhD student in our lab.

Kate Hodges

Honours student, 2003-04 cohort, co-supervised by Dave Rowell.

Kate worked on the molecular comparative phylogeography of two lizards in the Tallaganda State Forest and also on the species level phylogeny and phylogeography of the water skink group. Kate is now a PhD student at the University of Canberra with Prof. Arthur Georges.

Junko Kondo (

Honours student, 2002-03 cohort, co-supervised by Sharon Downes

Junko worked on a number of aspects of retreat-site sharing behaviour in the velvet gecko. Junko's research went very well and she is now working on pumping out the papers. Junko worked for Rob Magrath for a while after honours and is now living and working back in Japan.

Megan Head

Honours student, 2000-2001 cohort

Megan worked on chemical communication in our favourite lizard, Eulamprus heatwolei. She looked at a variety of issues to do with the ability of these lizards to detect and discrimiate among predators, kin, the opposite sex, sexual receptivity and so on. Her was published in Journal of Chemical Ecology. Megan then did her PhD with Rob Brooks at the University of NSW looking at sexual selection in guppies and she is now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Wisconsin in the USA.

Eleanor Wilson

Honours student, 2000-2001 cohort

Eleanor also worked on our favourite lizard, Eulamprus heatwolei. Eleanor did mating system experiments in our lizard yard to test the hypothesis that larger and/or "floater" males father more babies than smaller or territorial males. She used polymorphic microsatelite DNA developed by Ian and Chris to genotype babies and see who the fathers are. The paper from her work is in prep and Eleanor is now enjoying her new baby boy and working on a career in music and is also studying to be a medical doctor at Flinders University.

Kathryn Read

Honours student, 2000 cohort

Kathryn did her thesis on the molecular phylogenetics of Crinia, Geocrinia and related frogs. Her work turned out great and was published in the journal Molecular Phylogentics and Evolution. Following honours, Kathryn worked for five years for the Australian Research Council and did a MSc degree part-time. She now works for Fisheries.

Suzi Morrison

Honours student, 1999-2000 cohort

Suzi did a very cool field and lab based (molecular) project to work out the influence of male territoriality on paternity in the water skink Eulamprus heatwolei. This involved quantifying territory size and quality and also behavioural interactions between lizards. She then genetically screened the baby lizards with microsatellites developed by Ian and Chris to determine who daddy was. The main work from Suzi's honours was published in Molecular Ecology and she also collaborated with Ian, Chris and I on a paper published in Molecular Ecology Notes. Suzi is now doing her PhD in our lab.

Former Research Assistants

Christine Hayes

Research Officer, 1999 - 2006

Chris was my lab manager from day one and she was in charge of everything going on in the molecular side of things. She was our DNA sequencing and microsat goddess and spent a huge amount of time training and superivsing all of my students in molecular methods. She always made the lab a very nice place to work and was the force behind everything we did for over eight years.  In September 2003 Chris won the very big deal Vice Chancelor's Award for General Staff Excellence!!!!! Chris has now retired.

Former Visitors and other lab members (only people who were here for a substantial amount of time are listed)

Dr. Simon Blomberg

Visiting Postdoc in Residence, 2002-2005

Simon is an old friend and was actively involved in our lab while his wife, Diana Fisher, was doing an ARC postdoc in Andrew Cockburn's lab. Simon spent a lot of time helping out my students with experimental design, stats, comparative methods and computer things. Simon was a Research Fellow in the lab of Prof. David Lindenmeyer for a couple of years and is now a Lecturer at the University of Queensland.

Danielle Edwards

PhD student - supported by an APA at the University of Western Australia, 2002 onward. Dan is a PhD student UWA supervised by Dale Roberts. Dan did all of her molecular lab work here in my lab and is now back in Perth writing up. Dan is working on the fne-scale phylogeography of a number of WA frog species using mtDNA.  

Warwick Smith

Warwick worked on the ecology, behaviour and conservation genetics the rare Rosenberg's goanna with the aim of developing a sound recovery plan for the species. Warwick has an alter-ego known as the "Lone Strawberry" and in this picture he is deliving a lab talk on his project.  

Shane Lacey

3rd Year Special Topics Student)

Shane worked with me on a molecular phylogeny of the whip snakes (Demansia) in second semester 2002. Shane is now back in the Army and doing Army things in Brisbane, but he hasn't forgotten about his snakes. This is a picture of Shane looking for whip snakes in Antarctica.

Dr. Jonno Webb

Visiting Fellow, 2001-2002

Jonno was a postdoc of Rick Shine's but was physically based out of ours for about a year while his wife Myf worked at CSIRO. Jonno is now back in Sydney and has won another three year postdoc to continue his work on the conservation and ecology of reptiles - in particular the endangered broadheaded snake, in Rick Shine's lab.

Brigitte Gottsberger has a masters degree in frog communication from the Institute of Zoology at the University of Vienna. She visited us for a few months as a Visiting Fellow in 2001 to learn molecular techniques and work with Paul Doughty (above) on tadpole developmental plasticity. While she was here she did a molecular phylogeography study of Eulamprus qouyi with us and Lin Schwarzkopf. Her time here was supported by an Austrian Ministry of Sciences Followship. Brigitte is now doing a PhD at the University of Vienna on salamander population genetics. Here she is about to tackle a dangerous South American frog in French Guiana.

Ignase Buscher and Joke Bilcke were visitors from Belgium who came over to work with Sharon Downes for the summer of 2002-3. They are now back in Belgium chasing European lizards.