معرفی
Rachael Gallagher is an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE), Western Sydney University. She holds dual roles as a conservation scientist and academic, specializing in plant ecology and biodiversity management. Her research focuses on climate change impacts, functional traits, and ecological restoration, particularly in fire-prone ecosystems.
Education: BSc in Ecology, PhD in Functional Ecology of Climbing Plants (Macquarie University), and postdoctoral fellowships in the USA. She joined HIE in 2021 after a DECRA fellowship.
Research emphasizes species adaptation to climate change, restoration strategies for koala habitats, and legislative roles in threatened species protection (NSW and Commonwealth Committees). Key projects include monitoring restoration investments, assessing eucalypt dieback, and developing the AusTraits database.
Awards include NSW Premier’s Early Career Researcher of the Year and Young Tall Poppy Science Award. She leads large-scale experiments on campus and collaborates with government agencies like NSW Department of Planning and Environment. Current grants span restoration cost analysis, drought physiology, and biodiversity metrics.
Labs/Teams: Core member of HIE’s Plant Ecology and Conservation team, collaborating on global projects like the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success and the Resilient Landscapes Hub.
