Kate Brandis

Dr. Kate Brandis is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Ecosystem Science within the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). She serves as a leading Australian expert in environmental water management with international recognition. Her research is strategically positioned at the intersection of science and policy, directly informing evidence-based water management practices and wildlife conservation efforts across Australia and internationally.

Dr. Brandis earned her BSc (Hons) from Macquarie University in 1998, followed by an MEnvSc from the same institution in 2002, and completed her PhD at the University of New South Wales in 2010. Her academic journey has positioned her as a prominent figure in conservation science with significant policy impact.

Her research spans two major areas: environmental water management and wildlife forensics. In environmental water management, she focuses on waterbird ecology, environmental flow management for ecological outcomes, and co-designed research with Indigenous communities. Her wildlife forensics work develops practical methods for determining wildlife provenance, detecting illegal trade, and identifying pollution in wild birds using stable isotopes and elemental analyses. Her research employs advanced techniques including pXRF, stable isotope analysis, machine learning, and drone technology.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong trend toward interdisciplinary approaches combining cutting-edge technology with conservation science. Her work increasingly integrates drone monitoring, stable isotope analysis, and machine learning to address complex conservation challenges. The research spans continental-scale waterbird movement tracking, wildlife forensics applications, and innovative methods for assessing wetland health and environmental flows.

• NSW Environment and Heritage Eureka Prize for Applied Environmental Research (2023) as a member of the Waterbirds Aerial Survey Team

Dr. Brandis actively supervises PhD students including Erin Barr (Using elemental environmental surrogates for cryptic species, started 2024) and Deborah Sullivan (The impacts of living in a peri-urban environment on pelican health and wellbeing, started 2024). She leads the Flow-MER Project as the lead investigator for the Lower Balonne Area (2024-2029), managing a team of 15 researchers and specialists. She has successfully secured significant funding including a three-year research fellowship with Taronga Conservation Society (2020-2023) and previously completed a three-year fellowship with ANSTO (2016-2018).

Her work extends to collaborative teams including the Basin Scale Waterbird Theme leadership, the Feather Map of Australia citizen science project, and partnerships with government agencies (Taronga, Border Force), industry (Olympus), and NGOs (Traffic, Katala). She serves as an associate editor for three scientific journals: Waterbirds, Wetlands Ecology and Management, and Drones.