Dr Tahlia Perry
Postdoctoral Researcher
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am a Postdoctoral researcher at The University of Adelaide and the Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Heritage. I develop and run the national citizen science project, EchidnaCSI, where I engage with the general public to submit sightings and scats of echidnas for research and conservation outcomes. My research areas bridge together fields of genetics, microbiology, biochemistry with bioinformatics, ecology, conservation and citizen science. I am also an avid science communicator and enjoy working with all forms of media including radio, television, newspaper, as well as social media.
The short-beaked echidna is an iconic Australian animal, one of only three remaining egg-laying mammals, and ecologically important in all major environments. Echidnas are also very cryptic animals, difficult to study in the wild, and often have gastric issues when kept in captivity. My PhD research focussed on using cutting-edge technologies in the fields of citizen science and genomics to better understand the biology of echidnas, aid in conservation efforts, and improve captive management.
In September 2017, we launched a nationwide citizen science project called EchidnaCSI. This project allows the public to submit photos of echidnas they see in the wild through a dedicated app and also encourages people to collect echidna scats (poo) for molecular analysis. This led to major milestones including:
- More than 15,000 people downloading the EchidnaCSI app.
- Recording ~15,000 echidna sightings across Australia - creating the most comprehensive population map of echidnas.
- Collecting ~800 echidna scats from all major climate & vegetation zones in Australia.
- Creating working methodologies to perform Next Generation Sequencing (Illumina & Nanopore) on echidna scats to investigate microbiome, diet, health, and population structures.
- Winning the South Australian Citizen Science Award for Outstanding Science and Research.
- Finalist for the prestigious Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science.
- Publications in internationally recognised journals such as PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) and Frontiers in Microbiology.
- Collaborations with Taronga Zoo, Perth Zoo & San Diego Zoo to assess health and wellbeing of captive echidnas.
- Consulting for environmental-related policy changes within local council regions.
- Consistent media attention and invitations to speak at public science events and conferences.
My current role in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity & Heritage centers around consulting with research groups across Australia to provide expertise in creating impactful and well-planned citizen science projects as well as training in science communication best practices. Meanwhile, I am still focussing on using NGS methods on a range of materials (scats, hair, tissue) and performing complex bioinformatic analyses to learn more about echidna biology.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2021 - ongoing Grant-Funded Researcher (B) Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Heritage 2021 - 2021 Postdoctoral Researcher University of Adelaide 2019 - 2021 Social Media Manager Animate Your Science -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2021 Nomination PhD Research Excellence SA Science Excellence & Innovation Awards Australia - 2021 Nomination Innovation in Citizen Science Australian Museum Eureka Prize Australia - 2021 Award Outstanding Science & Research South Australian Citizen Science Awards Australia - 2019 Award Young Achiever in STEM Award Channel 7 Young Achiever Australia - 2017 Award Best Poster at BioInfoSummer 2017 AMSI Australia $400 2017 Award 3MT Faculty of Sciences People's Choice Winner University of Adelaide - $250 2017 Award 3MT School of Biological Sciences Winner University of Adelaide - $250 2017 Achievement Famelab Australia Finalist - - - -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2016 - 2021 University of Adelaide Australia PhD (Genomics & Citizen Science) 2015 - 2015 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science (Honours) 2012 - 2014 University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science
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Journals
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Conference Papers
Year Citation 2018 Stenhouse, A., Roetman, P., Perry, T., Grutzner, F., & Koh, L. P. (2018). Developing Citizen Science Apps for Conservation Biology: Koala Counter and EchidnaCSI. In Australian Citizen Science Conference. Adelaide, Australia. - Stenhouse, A., Roetman, P., Grützner, F., Perry, T., & Koh, L. P. (n.d.). Improving Data Quality in Citizen Science Apps for Conservation Biology. In Biodiversity Information Science and Standards Vol. 2 (pp. e26665). Pensoft Publishers.
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Conference Items
Year Citation 2017 Perry, T. J. (2017). Ancient DNA from the North American flat-headed peccary reveals it’s phylogenetic position and a genetically diverse population prior to extinction. Poster session presented at the meeting of 12th International Mammological Congress. Perth, WA. 2017 Perry, T. J. (2017). The use of non-invasive genetic sexing of echidnas from hair and scat samples for captive management and conservation. Poster session presented at the meeting of 12th International Mammological Congress. Perth, WA. -
Preprint
Year Citation 2024 Wilson, I., Perry, T., Eisenhofer, R., Rismiller, P., Shaw, M., & Grutzner, F. (2024). Pouch microbiome changes during lactation in the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus).
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2023 Co-Supervisor Egg-laying mammals can inspire research in reproductive evolution and science education Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Isabella Rose Wilson
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Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2019 - ongoing Secretary Australian Citizen Science Association SA Chapter Australian Citizen Science Association Australia 2017 - 2017 Member School of Biological Sciences Postgraduate Symposium University of Adelaide Australia 2017 - ongoing Member Australian Citizen Science Conference 2018 Organising Committee University of Adelaide Australia 2016 - ongoing Treasurer Adelaide University Biosciences Network University of Adelaide Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles