Rich Edwards

Rich Edwards is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and a Principal Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia (UWA) Oceans Institute, leading the Minderoo OceanOmics Centre. He specializes in evolutionary and conservation genomics, focusing on marine vertebrate genome sequencing and applications in biodiversity monitoring. His expertise includes genome assembly, bioinformatics, and the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) for conservation. Edwards holds a PhD in Genetics from the University of Nottingham and has extensive experience in collaborative projects across Australia and internationally.

Education: PhD in Genetics (University of Nottingham, 2002), BSc (Hons) in Genetics (University of Nottingham, 1998).

Research Interests: Biodiversity genomics, genome assembly methodologies, conservation genomics, marine vertebrate evolution, and applications of eDNA in ecosystem health. He leads projects generating high-quality reference genomes for diverse species, including fish, amphibians, and plants, to support conservation and evolutionary studies.

Grants & Collaborations: Collaborates with the Minderoo Foundation, the Ramaciotti Centre for Genomics, and international partners. Projects include the Ocean Genomes and Genomics of Australian Plants initiatives. His lab focuses on advancing genome assembly techniques and their application to real-world conservation challenges.

Labs/Teams: Directs the Ocean Genomes Laboratory at UWA, equipped with high-throughput sequencing and computational biology facilities. The team includes researchers like Lara Parata and Emma de Jong, working on marine vertebrate genomics and biodiversity projects.