Nicole White

Biography

Nicole’s research focuses on the use of cutting-edge and traditional molecular approaches for the conservation and protection of Australia’s unique vertebrates. Nicole has a keen interest in the use of DNA technology to address the genetic factors that affect threatened species, the conservation genetic management regimes required to safeguard wild populations and assisting enforcement officers with wildlife forensic investigations. Nicole is a Research Fellow with the Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory. In 2012, Nicole obtained her PhD in Biological Sciences and her research program focused on the development and application of genetic tools for the conservation, management and protection of Western Australia’s endangered white-tailed black-cockatoos. Since 2012, Nicole completed a post-doc in ancient DNA, conservation genetics and wildlife forensics at Murdoch University prior to joining Curtin University in 2014. Nicole cofounded the Australian Wildlife Forensic Services with Professor Michael Bunce (head of the TrEnD lab) and she has been actively involved in over 30 wildlife forensic cases for which DNA analyses were required. During and post-PhD studies, Nicole has established numerous collaborations with government agencies, private industries and other academic institutions around Australia that has resulted from her PhD research and being an advocate for wildlife forensics in Australia. Nicole mentors and supervises HDR students and is also involved in undergraduate teaching at Curtin University.

Research Interest

Population and Conservation genetics, Molecular Ecology, Phylogenetics, Wildlife Forensics, Next Generation Sequencing, Metabarcoding, Environmental DNA, Genomics, Conservation Biology