Craig Liddicoat

Craig Liddicoat

School of Public Health

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Craig Liddicoat is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the School of Public Health at the University of Adelaide. Craig's research interests include environmental microbiomes, spatial epidemiology, and developing knowledge of beneficial connections between human health and exposure to biodiverse vegetation-soil systems. In particular, the role that exposure to (and loss of) biodiverse green space may play in developing immune fitness, mental health and predisposition to both infectious and non-infectious diseases.

My research is exploring connections between environments, their microbial communities (microbiota), and the potential for human health benefits from nature-contact. The notion of a real biological (microbiota-mediated) connection between humans and their environments, and potential benefits for immune training and regulation from exposure to biodiversity (and associated microbial diversity), has originated from immunologists and medical researchers. However, this represents a large multidisciplinary field of research. My research has objectives to:

  • help bridge the gap between environmental science, ecology and human health.
  • investigate if there is support for possible health benefits from exposure to biodiversity in large existing environmental and public health datasets.
  • build knowledge of biological (microbiota-based) connections between environments and exposed populations.
  • help inform new cost-effective nature-based public health interventions.
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  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2020 Adjunct Senior Lecturer Flinders University
    2020 Adjunct Senior Fellow University of Adelaide
    2017 Senior NRM Scientist (Soil & Land) [Part-time] Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (SA)
    2011 - 2017 Senior Natural Resource Management Scientist (Soil & Land) Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (SA)
    2002 - 2011 Environmental Consultant Rural Solutions SA

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2015 - 2019 University of Adelaide Australia PhD (Bioscience)
    1999 - 2001 Flinders University, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (ecology major)
    1990 - 1993 University of Adelaide, Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical, 1st class hons.)

  • Certifications
    Date Title Institution name Country
    2012 Certificate IV in Project Management MBH Management Pty Ltd (RTO ID: 90884) —

  • Research Interests
    Biological Sciences Environmental Sciences Epidemiology Soil Sciences
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  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2020 Liddicoat, C., Sydnor, H., Cando-Dumancela, C., Dresken, R., Liu, J., Gellie, N., . . . Breed, M. (2020). Naturally-diverse airborne environmental microbial exposures modulate the gut microbiome and may provide anxiolytic benefits in mice. Science of the Total Environment, 701, 1-11.
    DOI Scopus11 WoS6
    2020 Baruch, Z., Liddicoat, C., Laws, M., Kiri Marker, L., Morelli, H., Yan, D., . . . Breed, M. (2020). Characterising the soil fungal microbiome in metropolitan green spaces across a vegetation biodiversity gradient. Fungal Ecology, 47, 1-10.
    DOI
    2020 Grundy, M., Searle, R., Meier, E., Ringrose-Voase, A., Kidd, D., Orton, T., . . . Bennett, J. (2020). Digital soil assessment delivers impact across scales in Australia and the Philippines. Geoderma Regional, 22.
    DOI Scopus1
    2020 Kidd, D., Searle, R., Grundy, M., McBratney, A., Robinson, N., O'Brien, L., . . . Triantafilis, J. (2020). Operationalising digital soil mapping – Lessons from Australia. Geoderma Regional, 23.
    DOI
    2019 Bennett, J., McBratney, A., Field, D., Kidd, D., Stockmann, U., Liddicoat, C., & Grover, S. (2019). Soil Security for Australia. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(12), 15 pages.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS4
    2019 Mills, J., Brookes, J., Gellie, N., Liddicoat, C., Lowe, A., Sydnor, H., . . . Breed, M. (2019). Relating urban biodiversity to human health with the ‘holobiont’ concept. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10(MAR), 8 pages.
    DOI Scopus14 WoS10 Europe PMC3
    2019 Liddicoat, C., Weinstein, P., Bissett, A., Gellie, N., Mills, J., Waycott, M., & Breed, M. (2019). Can bacterial indicators of a grassy woodland restoration inform ecosystem assessment and microbiota-mediated human health?. Environment International, 129, 105-117.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS11 Europe PMC2
    2018 Liddicoat, C., Bi, P., Waycott, M., Glover, J., Breed, M., & Weinstein, P. (2018). Ambient soil cation exchange capacity inversely associates with infectious and parasitic disease risk in regional Australia. Science of the Total Environment, 626, 117-125.
    DOI Scopus13 WoS10 Europe PMC1
    2018 Liddicoat, C., Bi, P., Waycott, M., Glover, J., Lowe, A., & Weinstein, P. (2018). Landscape biodiversity correlates with respiratory health in Australia. Journal of Environmental Management, 206, 113-122.
    DOI Scopus15 WoS14 Europe PMC6
    2016 Liddicoat, C., Waycott, M., & Weinstein, P. (2016). Environmental change and human health: Can environmental proxies inform the biodiversity hypothesis for protective microbial-human contact?. BioScience, 66(12), 1023-1034.
    DOI Scopus10 WoS9
    2015 Liddicoat, C., Maschmedt, D., Clifford, D., Searle, R., Herrmann, T., Macdonald, L., & Baldock, J. (2015). Predictive mapping of soil organic carbon stocks in South Australia's agricultural zone. Soil Research, 53(8), 956-973.
    DOI Scopus15 WoS17
    2015 Odgers, N., Holmes, K., Griffin, T., & Liddicoat, C. (2015). Derivation of soil-attribute estimations from legacy soil maps. Soil Research, 53(8), 881-894.
    DOI Scopus10 WoS9

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2014 Liddicoat, C., Maschmedt, D., Kidd, D., & Searle, R. (2014). Modelling soil carbon stocks using legacy site data, in the mid north region of South Australia. In D. Arrouays, N. McKenzie, J. Hempel, A. DeForges, & A. McBratney (Eds.), GlobalSoilMap: Basis of the Global Spatial Soil Information System - Proceedings of the 1st GlobalSoilMap Conference (pp. 253-259). Orleans, FRANCE: CRC PRESS-TAYLOR & FRANCIS GROUP.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2

  • Datasets
    Year Citation
    — Liddicoat, C., Weinstein, P., Bissett, A., Gellie, N., Mills, J., Waycott, M., & Breed, M. (n.d.). Data Inputs - Can bacterial indicators of a grassy woodland restoration inform ecosystem assessment and microbiota-mediated human health?.
    DOI
    — Liddicoat, C., Sydnor, H., Cando-Dumancela, C., Dresken, R., Liu, J., Gellie, N., . . . Breed, M. (n.d.). Supporting Data - Naturally-diverse airborne environmental microbial exposures modulate the gut microbiome and may provide anxiolytic benefits in mice.
    DOI
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