Mark Tanaka

Professor Mark Tanaka is a mathematical and computational biologist at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) within the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS). He is also a member of the Evolution & Ecology Research Centre at UNSW. His research bridges theoretical biology and empirical genomics to study microbial evolution and disease dynamics.

• BSc(Hons) in Genetics, University of Sydney
• PhD in Mathematical Biology, Stanford University
• Postdoctoral work in Microbial Evolution, Emory University

His research program focuses on:

• Microbial evolutionary dynamics
• Antimicrobial resistance evolution
• Pathogen genomic surveillance
• Host-pathogen co-evolution
• Human cultural influence on disease emergence
• Genetic data analysis from molecular epidemiology

Recent publications highlight his work on:

• Cultural innovations triggering pathogen emergence
• Salmonella genomic epidemiology
• Pertussis vaccine escape modeling
• Microbial niche construction
• Extinction risk in adaptive populations
• Host-microbiome interactions

Scientific awards include:

• Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (2014-2018)
• Moran Medal from the Australian Academy of Science (2011)
• Australian Research Council QEII Fellowship (2009-2013)

He supervises Pantea Pooladvand (postdoctoral) and Monique Vith (Hons), and jointly supervises Lewis Mercer (PhD). Teaching roles include courses on Genes, Genomes and Evolution, Genetics, Microbiology, and Microbial Genetics.