Associate Professor Belinda Ferrari, lab founder
2023-Present: Professor, BABS
2022-Present: Associate Dean of Research, UNSW
2018-2022: Deputy Head of School and Director of Research
2018-2021: ARC Future Fellow
2017-2023: Associate Professor, BABS
2008-2017: Senior Lecturer, BABS
2003-2010: Project Leader for the Environmental Biotechnology CRC
2006-2008: Environmental Biotechnology CRC Research Fellow at Macquarie University
2003-2005: Macquarie University Research Fellow Scholarship Holder (MQRF)
2002-2003: University of Copenhagen Research Fellow Scholarship Holder
2001-2002: Research Fellow MQ Collaborative Industry Grant with Sydney Water
Follow Belinda on Twitter @ferrari_belinda
Postdoctoral
Dr Nicole Benaud, Research Associate.
Nicole joined the Ferrari Lab to complete Honours in 2014, following on from a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at UNE.
Her PhD research, completed in 2019, focused on bioactive secondary metabolite production in Antarctic bacteria, with a view to discover novel antimicrobial compounds, much needed to address the worldwide crisis of antimicrobial resistance.
Nicole uses third generation sequencing to survey these extreme soils for genes typically associated with antimicrobial production; polyketides and non-ribosomal peptide synthetases, and employing novel culturing techniques developed by the Ferrari Lab, to select and characterise prolific antimicrobial producing Phyla; Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria.
Follow Nic on Twitter @BenaudNic
Dr Angelique Ray, Research Associate.
Angelique joined the Ferrari lab in 2017 as an honours student and completed her Bachelor of Advanced Science (Biotechnology) that same year. Her PhD was submitted in 2022, and throughout this project she studied the role of trace atmospheric gases in the survival and growth of cold desert microbiomes. As a Research Associate, Angelique is focused upon characterizing novel carbon fixation strategies in bacterial isolates through the implementation of culture-based and bioinformatic techniques. Outside of work, Angelique enjoys bouldering, getting outdoors, and spending time with her dog, Pudding.
Follow Angelique on Twitter @Ray_AngeliqueE
PhD Candidates
Nicole Wong, PhD Candidate.
As part of her Bachelor of Biotechnology degree, Nicole studied in Malaysia for 2 years before coming to Sydney in 2016 to complete her programme. She then continued onto honours with the Ferrari Lab in 2017, and after securing a prestigious International Research Scholarship, began her PhD with the lab in 2018. Although initially unsure of where Biotechnology would lead her to, Nicole believes that Honours was a good opportunity to help her discover where her passion lies. Speaking of non-academics, she LOVES ultimate frisbee "Yes, it is not a common sport, but I assure you, it is one of the COOLEST sports games!!".
Dana Tribbia, PhD Candidate.
Dana joined the lab in 2020 to complete an honours year as part of her Bachelor of Advanced Science. As an Honours student she worked on optimising growth conditions for Antarctic microorganisms to further characterise the recently discovered process of atmospheric chemosynthesis. She is now continuing on as a PhD student in the Ferrari Lab. Her research will be focused on investigating the complex roles of microbial primary producers in nutrient starved soils, and the impacts of desertification on soil microbial communities. In her spare time, she enjoys caring for her indoor plant collection, cross-stitching and spending time with her dog, Ziggy.
Kris Abdullah, PhD Candidate.
Kris joined the Ferrari Lab in 2021 as a PhD student. His work is focused on investigating shifts in the function and composition of bacterial communities in Antarctic soils impacted by diesel spills and bioremediation clean-up efforts. Outside the lab Kris enjoys staying active and going on food adventures.
Jordan Vink, PhD Candidate.
Jordan joined the Ferrari lab as an Honours student in 2021 after completing a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Biotechnology. Growing up in the outdoors, Jordan is passionate about environmental causes and hopes to pursue a career that will benefit the natural environment. Her Honours project investigated the novel form of motility, dubbed “Streptomyces Exploration” upon which she is now expanding as part of her PhD. In her free time Jordan enjoys surfing, scuba diving, and painting.
Priyanka Rani Majumdar, PhD Candidate.
Priyanka joined the Ferrari lab in 2023 as a PhD student. Priyanka is from Bangladesh. Her research will be focused on exploring mycobiome resilience in extreme environments. She loves working in the lab. Outside of working time, Priyanka likes reading books and spending time with her kids.
Kellynn Tan, PhD Candidate
Kellynn joined the Ferrari lab in 2023 as a PhD student after completing a Bachelor of Science with Honours degree in Microbiology at the University of Queensland. Her research interests include elucidating the biological limits that are necessary to support life in harsh environments and on other planetary bodies. The emphasis of her research will be on characterising the mechanisms underlying microbial trace gas oxidation and atmospheric chemosynthesis. Outside of the lab she dabbles in mountain climbing and enjoys cooking and trying new recipes.
Research Assistants
Thomas Laird, Research Assistant.
Tom joined the lab in 2021 for Honours after completing a Bachelor of Medical Science, majoring in medical microbiology. His Honours project focused on assessing trace gas oxidation as a primary energy source in growing bacteria. After he finished Honours, he took on the role of a research assistant to continue his work. He likes films, food and long walks on the beach.
Honours Students
Yanko Zvonaric, Honours Student
Yanko is an honours student who joined the Ferrari lab in 2024 after completing a Bachelor in Science, majoring in microbiology. His project is focused on the bioremediation and nitrogen cycling in Antarctic soils. In his spare time Yanko enjoys memes, rock climbing and building legos.
George Eggleton, Honours Student
George is an Honours student who joined the Ferrari lab midway through 2023, after completing his dual degrees of Fine Arts and Science majoring in microbiology. His honours project focused on characterising novel bacterial species from Antarctic soils. When he's not trying to get on top of his readings, he likes to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and The X-Files, play Dungeons and Dragons, and draw on his tablet.
Former Lab Members
Georgia Brouner, Honours Student
Georgia joined the Ferrari lab in 2022 as an Honours student following on from her Bachelor of Psychological Science, majoring in Management. As an Honours student, Georgia researched anti-tumour bioactivity within Antarctic bacteria to see whether novel natural products can be used in cancer treatments. Outside the lab, Georgia is a proud advocate for women in STEMM, founding the UNSW Women in Science Peer Mentor Program in 2020 to encourage young girls to pursue careers in science. Georgia is also a huge bookworm, painter, enthusiastic pop vinyl collector and loves a good piña colada.
Kevin Havdahl, Honours Student
Kevin is an Honours student who joined the Ferrari Lab in 2022 as a part of his Bachelor of Advanced Science and Computer Science, majoring in Microbiology. His Honours project focused on developing and testing methods to promote the growth of Antarctic Bacteria in culture media so that further research on them can be conducted. In his spare time Kevin enjoys reading, eating, travelling, and playing games.
Alinta Furnell, Honours Student.
Alinta joined the Ferrari Lab in 2021 as an Honours student as part of her Bachelor of Advanced Science (Biotechnology & Microbiology) and is passionate about innovation in science and exploring scientific unknowns. Alinta is a 2021 MedTech Actuator Menzies Scholar and a 2021 Amgen Scholar and worked with the Ferrari Lab to explore fungal “dark matter”. In her spare time, Alinta really enjoys singing and playing music and is currently learning guitar – with mixed results.
Ali Wenceslao, Honours Student.
Ali joined the Ferrari Lab in 2021 as an Honours student as part of her Bachelor of Biotechnology. In her spare time, Ali enjoys hanging out with her dog Buddy, and is always up for a good bushwalk. She is passionate about environmental causes and implementing sustainable practices into everyday life. Ali’s Honours project involved characterising trace gas oxidation in Antarctic soils.
Dr. Eden Zhang, PhD.
2017 - 2021: Extremely grateful to have been part of the Ferrari lab. Now trying to make a career out of data.
Jessica Dai, Honours Student,
Jessica joined the Ferrari lab in 2020 as part of her Bachelor of Advanced Science and economics, majoring in Biotechnology. Currently Jessica worked on a project in ecotoxicology, investigating the impact of aged fuels on microbial communties in Antarctic soils. Her passions include thinking about the apocalypse, the existential nature of the universe and what she would like to cook for dinner.
Sally Crane, PhD candidate.
Sally grew up in the small country town of Dorrigo, NSW. She completed a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science majoring in Asian Studies, Biotechnology and Molecular Genetics at the University of New England before joining the Ferrari lab in 2014 to complete an MPhil. Sally's research used microfluidic qPCR to assess microbial processes such as nitrogen cycling in the soil, and how hydrocarbon contamination affects these processes.
Sally received a student travel scholarship to attend the BioInfoSummer workshop and presented her work at the SETAC annual conferences in Singapore and Hobart.
When not getting excited about microbes, Sally likes exploring jungles, reading old books and hanging out with her Toastmasters club.
Alistair Campbell, Honours Student.
Alistair joined the lab on a casual basis in July 2018, while finishing a Bachelor of Science and Business majoring in Biotechnology. He jumped on board after finding an interest in the research coming out of the Ferrari Lab and Sally's work on bioremediation. When not donning the Lab coat, Alistair likes team sports, the outdoors and surfing.
Dr Sarita Pudasaini, PhD.
Sarita is from Kathmandu, Nepal. Sarita joined the team in 2013, and has a Master's degree in Food Microbiology from National College, Tribhuvan University. Her MPhil focused on assessing the unique microbial diversity of the Browning Peninsula. Her PhD research, completed in 2019, looked at the role of fuel contamination in microbial community dynamics and bioremediation of Casey Station, Antarctica.
Jieyu (Jayne) Liu, Honours
Jieyu Liu was an Honours student from China. Jieyu joined the Ferrari Lab in 2018 after completing a Bachelor of Biotechnology from UNSW. Her project was focused on nitrification and nitrogen cycle on Antarctic polar soil, optimizing the urea-amended soil washing and soil rehabilitation. When not weighing and extracting DNA of the Biopile-7 soil, Jieyu enjoys rock climbing, hiking, and camping in Blue Mountains.
Dr Josie van Dorst, PhD, Research Associate.
Josie grew up in country NSW and had many varied professions, homes and travelling adventures before arriving at UNSW to complete a BSc degree in 2006.
In 2007 she joined the Ferrari lab to undertake an Honours project and remained to complete her PhD, characterising the impacts of diesel fuel on the microbial ecology of sub-antarctic soils, and determining site-specific remediation end points based on the soil microbial ecology responses.
Josie's primary research goals thus far have been centred on identifying microbial indicators of contamination specific to polar soils. The pursuit of these goals has expanded my research more broadly to include polar soil microbial ecology and the drivers of community composition and function.
"I have a great passion for the outdoors and feel extremely lucky that my research has enabled me to experience the sub-Antarctic up close, living and working on Macquarie Island for months at a time."
Lauren Williams, Honours.
Lauren joined the Ferrari Lab in 2018 for Honours, because she thought, “they study the microbial equivalent of a cactus, and that's pretty cool”. She also won an Australian Society for Microbiology Undergraduate Microbiology Prize for her previous coursework. For her Honours project she investigated the denizens of dry, nutrient-poor Kakadu soils, including the candidate phylum Eremiobacteraeota (or WPS-2). With her spare time, she'll do literally anything that could be considered a hobby, but mostly it's tinkering or drawing.
Chengdong Zhang, PhD candidate.
Chengdong Zhang, from China, joined the lab in 2010 and has a Bachelor and MPhil from UNSW. His research focused on polar fungal biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. Chengdong is interested in recombinant protein and enzyme expression, synthetic biology and environmental microbiology from biotechnological application.
Dr Mukan Ji, PhD.
Mukan completed his PhD thesis, entitled 'Exploring Microbial Dark Matter in East Antarctic Soils' in 2017. Mukan joined the Ferrari lab in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science from The University of Sydney and Masters from the University of New South Wales. His research focused on the microbiodiversity on extreme Antarctic soils, alternative carbon acquisition pathways and cultivation of novel bacteria. Following his PhD in the Ferrari Lab, Mukan returned to China, and is currently working as a postdoctoral researcher in the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research.
Lucien Alperstein, Student Lab Assistant & Student Intern.
Lucien worked in the Ferrari Lab as a lab assistant & student intern during his third year of Advanced Science (Microbiology) at UNSW, after completing a Bachelor of Communications at the University of Technology, Sydney, in 2012. Lucien is passionate about bacterial and microbe-eukaryote symbioses, science communication, genetics and recombinant protein expression. In his spare time Lucien explores food and beverage microbiology, preserves the genes of heritage apple varieties and likes contemporary art, camping, surfing and riding his bicycle. On top of his assistant duties, in 2017 Lucien started a research project with the Ferrari lab as part of his undergraduate coursework, screening for novel antibiotic production in previously isolated polar soil bacteria. After graduating, Lucien completed further work as a research assistant in the Marquis lab, also in BABS, before heading down to Adelaide to pursue further studies.
Dr Linzhou Liang, Visiting Fellow.
Linzhou is from the Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences and joined the team in 2015 - 2016. He has a PhD from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a master from South China Agriculture University and spent two years at the Lab. When not looking down a microscope Linzhou likes playing badminton and volleyball.
Iskra Nicetic, Honours.
Iskra completed her honours year with the Ferrari Lab as part of a Bachelor of Biotechnology at UNSW. Her project involved culturing traditionally 'unculturable' bacteria from Antarctic soils.
In her spare time Iskra plays violin, viola and accordion, goes bushwalking and enjoys travelling.