معرفی
Dr. Rachael Lappan is an ARC DECRA Fellow (2023-2025) and Group Leader in the Department of Microbiology at Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute. She holds a PhD from the University of Western Australia (2019), focusing on otitis media microbiome studies. Her research spans microbial ecology, aerobiology, and geobiology, with a focus on atmospheric microbiome dynamics and microbial communities utilizing trace gases. She leads the ARC-funded 'Microbial life in the atmosphere' project (2023-2025), exploring airborne microbial ecosystems' roles in health and environmental processes. Collaborations span health, biological, and earth sciences.
Education:
- PhD in Microbiology, University of Western Australia (2015-2019)
- BSc (Hons) in Microbiology, University of Western Australia (2011-2014)
Research Interests: Her work addresses atmospheric microbiome structure/function, microbial utilization of atmospheric gases, and microbial seeding in extreme environments (e.g., meteorites, glacial forelands). She integrates 'omics technologies, fieldwork, and bioinformatics, advancing One Health approaches for pathogen surveillance and antimicrobial resistance monitoring.
Awards:
- Jim Pittard Early Career Award (Australian Society for Microbiology, 2022)
- J G Russell Award (Australian Academy of Science, 2023)
Grants/Projects:
- ARC DECRA Fellowship (2023-2025)
- Leading the 'Microbial life in the atmosphere' research initiative
Labs/Teams: Active in the Greening Lab, collaborating on aerobiology and microbial ecology projects. Associate Investigator in the 'Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future' initiative.
