Sonja Frolich

Dr Sonja Frolich

NHMRC Grant-Funded Researcher (A)

School of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Sonja graduated with first class Honours in Biotechnology at University of Technology Sydney in 2010. She then pursued her PhD training in Molecular Parasitology in 2011, and worked in the iThree Institute (i3) with Prof. Michael Wallach on an ARC funded Linkage grant with the veterinary pharmaceutical company Teva (former ABIC, Israel) to characterize the mechanisms of Eimeria maxima oocyst wall formation for interrupting parasitic disease of poulty, coccidiosis. Following her PhD studies in 2014, she was offered a junior academic position in the Climate Change Cluster (C3, UTS) to work with Prof. Peter Ralph and Ass/Prof. Stella Valenzuela on an ARC funded Linkage project grant with GE Health to establish protein expression platform in green algae Chlamydomonas. During this period, she also co-supervised undergraduate students, and lectured to undergraduate and masters students in Parasitology, Microbiology, Public Health and Epidemiology, Bioreactors and Bioprocessing, and Microscopy and Flowcytometry. She is the recipient of a number of awards and travel grants, including Australian Postgraduate Award (APA), Dean’s Academic Excellence Award (UTS) and Australian Technion Society Award. In March 2015, Sonja has joined the Genome Integrity Unit at Children’s Medical Research Institute to develop automated microscopy-assisted high-content assays (cytomics) and validate their use in cancer research and studies of telomeropathies. She also optimised immunolabelling methods and applied state-of-the-art super-resolution imaging technologies (3D SIM, STED, STORM and Airyscan) to structural studies of telomeres for which she was awarded Research Excellence Award. In April 2016, Sonja joined the Ovarian Biology Group at the Robinson Research Institute (the University of Adelaide) to work on an NHMRC funded project to identify the mechanisms that mediate telomere lengthening during embryogenesis. She co-supervised honours and PhD students and lectured to undergraduates undertaking Research Project in Reproductive Health. She currently works as a post-doctoral researcher in the Malaria Parasite Research Laboratory at the Research Centre for Infectious Diseases (the University of Adelaide) focusing on the biosynthesis of structural proteins in medically important parasite, Plasmodium falciparum.

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2018 - ongoing NHMRC Postdoctoral Research Associate The Malaria Biology Laboratory, University of Adelaide
    2016 - 2018 NHMRC Postdoctoral Research Associate University of Adelaide
    2015 - 2016 NHMRC Postdoctoral Research Associate Children's Medical Research Institute
    2014 - 2015 Associate Lecturer University of Technolofy, Sydney

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2011 - 2014 University of Technology, Sydney Australia PhD
    2010 - 2011 University of Technology, Sydney Australia Honours

University of Adelaide DVCR Equipment Grant (internal), 2017. High-content screening in-cell imaging platform - 400,000AUD

Children's Medical Research Institute (internal), 2015. Research Excellence Award. Structural understanding and quantitative measure of telomere health - 100,000AUD.

Children's Medical Research Institute Capital Expenses Grant (2015), Imaris Microscopy Image Analysis Software for Structural analysis of telomere health - 49,000AUD.

Genes for Genes, The Wagga Commitee (2015) Research Award - 50,000AUD.

Technion, Israeli Institute of Technology Scholarship (2014) - 4,000AUD

The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation Award (2012) - 2,000AUD

UTS Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence (2011) - 1,000AUD

Department of Industry, Innovation Science, Research and Tertiary Education, Australian Government funded PhD Scholarship, (2011-2014) - 23,000AUD/year

 

3100 Research Project in Reproductive Health (2016 - 2017), University of Adelaide

91314 General Microbiology (2011-2014), UTS, Sydney

91330 Epidemiology and Public Health Microbiology (2011-2014), UTS, Sydney

91368 Bioreactors and Bioprocessing (2011-2014), UTS, Sydney

91352 Parasitology (2011-2014), UTS, Sydney

91353 Microscopy and Flowcytometry (2013-2014), UTS, Sydney

 

 

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2023 Co-Supervisor Characterising key machinery that orchestrates malaria parasite host cell entry Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Shamit Singla
    2023 Co-Supervisor Functional characterisation of novel proteins in essential malaria protein complexes Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Meghan Emma Zadow
    2023 Co-Supervisor Characterisation of cytosolically exposed rhoptry leaflet interacting protein interacting partners that are essential for malaria entry into host cells Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Mia Andrews
    2023 Co-Supervisor Characterisation of malaria merozoite surface protein function and vaccine potential Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Keng Heng Lai

  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Basics of protein immunolocalisation and high-end microscopy in Plasmodium falciparum University of Adelaide - Other - Priscilla Peter Thomas
    2017 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Paediatrics and Reproductive Health Robinson Research Instutute - Doctorate - Yasmyn Gordon
    2016 - 2016 Co-Supervisor Paediatrics and Reproductive Health Robinson Research Institute - Honours - Yasmyn Gordon
    2013 - 2013 Co-Supervisor Gametocyte antigens as a new coccidiosis vaccine Univeristy of Technology, Sydney - Master - Jacqueline Farhat
    2013 - 2013 Co-Supervisor Gametocyte antigens as a new coccidiosis vaccine University of Technology, Sydney - Honours - Annisha Shahparee

  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2021 - ongoing Member 2021 ASP Conference Organising Committee Australian Society for Parasitology Australia
    2021 - ongoing Chair 2021 Lorne I&I Organiser and Chair of the ECR Networking Event 2021 Lorne Infection and Immunity Conference Australia
    2019 - ongoing Member 2019 ASP Conference Organising Committee Australian Society for Parasitology Australia

  • Memberships
    Date Role Membership Country
    2013 - ongoing Member Australian Society for Microbiology Australia
    2010 - ongoing Member Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Society Australia
    2010 - ongoing Member Australian Society for Parasitology Australia

  • Review, Assessment, Editorial and Advice
    Date Title Type Institution Country
    2019 - ongoing Journal reviewer Peer Review Frontiers in Microbiology -
    2019 - ongoing Journal reviewer Peer Review Malaria Journal -
    2018 - ongoing Journal reviewer Peer Review Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry -
    2015 - ongoing Journal reviewer Peer Review Scientific Reports -
    2014 - ongoing Journal reviewer Peer Review Infection, Genetics and Evolution -
    2013 - ongoing Journal reviewer Peer Review Parasitology, Cambridge Press -
  • Position: NHMRC Grant-Funded Researcher (A)
  • Email: sonja.frolich@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Molecular Life Sciences, floor 4
  • Org Unit: Molecular and Biomedical Science
Connect With Me
External Profiles