Christina Zdenek

Dr. Christina Zdenek is a conservation biologist and herpetologist currently serving as a Casual Lecturer in the Department of Agriculture and Environmental Science at the University of Southern Queensland. She also holds multiple roles including Nature Positive Coordinator at Brisbane Catchments Network, Associate Researcher with People For Wildlife (part-time, seasonal), Co-owner and Communications Officer of Australian Reptile Academy, and Inspiring Australia Queensland Ambassador for 2024-2025.

Her educational background includes a PhD, MPhil, and BSc, with extensive field experience spanning 18+ years studying Palm Cockatoos, Death Adders, koalas, sea snakes, Macaws, and Little Penguins. She has 8 years of laboratory experience focusing on toxinology and venom research.

Dr. Zdenek's research interests center on wildlife conservation, with particular expertise in snake behavior, human-snake conflict, Palm Cockatoo ecology, parrot vocalizations, and animal cognition. Her interdisciplinary work bridges conservation biology, herpetology, and science communication to address critical wildlife challenges.

Her publication record includes 62 peer-reviewed papers (as of July 2025) across diverse fields including toxinology, animal behavior, and ecology. Her most impactful works include demonstrating that snakes respond to airborne sounds, documenting Palm Cockatoos as the first non-human animals to create rhythmic beats with tools, and developing methodologies for Palm Cockatoo conservation that led to the species' conservation status being elevated twice.

• Fulbright Fellow (2009)
• ABC's Top Five Scientist (2021)
• Rising Star for Faculty of Science at University of Queensland (2023-2024)
• Inspiring Australia Queensland Ambassador (2024-2025)
• National Geographic Young Explorer (2018)
• 8th most read author in The Conversation from UQ (2021-2022)

Dr. Zdenek has been instrumental in securing $2.8M in research funding and has advised numerous film productions including BBC, NHK, ABC, and Netflix documentaries. She serves as Communications Lead for IUCN's Snake Specialist Group and is actively involved with Save the Snakes as a Scientific Advisory Member. Her #SciComm workshops have reached audiences nationally and internationally, and she has conducted over 50 radio interviews and 12 TV interviews in 2023 alone, reaching an estimated 4.1 billion people worldwide.

Her ongoing projects include the Palm Cockatoo Project (operating since 2008), Death Adder Project, Sound Garden Project, Under the Snakefluence (studying human perceptions of snakes across 23 countries), and Beyond the Bite (quantifying human-snake conflict across Australia).