Available postgraduate projects

Scholarship and financial support:

• 3 years full-time appointment
• Darwin
• Domestic Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend
• $44,190 per annum tax free

About the opportunity: 

Charles Darwin University has a scholarship available for an exciting PhD project aligned with two distinctive research programs on the biosecurity of northern Australia and the biodiversity of offshore islands. The PhD will use cutting-edge genetic tools to analyse insect blood meals as a novel way to uncover hidden patterns of biodiversity and track potential disease risks in northern Australia. By identifying the animals that insects feed on, you will gain unique insights into the presence and movements of wildlife across diverse landscapes, while also monitoring vectors that may carry pathogens affecting people, livestock, and ecosystems. The project offers the opportunity to develop advanced skills in molecular ecology, bioinformatics, and field ecology, while contributing directly to biodiversity conservation and biosecurity. This PhD project is based at Charles Darwin University and will work closely with partners on an ARC-funded project on the biodiversity of the Northern Territory's offshore island estate, including remote communities, ranger groups and Land Councils. You will help pioneer approaches that integrate biodiversity discovery with disease surveillance, building knowledge critical for safeguarding northern Australia’s unique environment and communities.

About you: 

• First-Class Honours or equivalent in Molecular Biology, Ecology, Genetics, or a related field
• Strong skills in molecular laboratory methods (e.g., DNA/RNA extraction, PCR/qPCR, sequencing library preparation)
• Willingness to participate in extended periods of remote fieldwork
• Ability to work independently and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• An Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen (domestic student)

Desirable Criteria:

• At least one publication in a recognised peer-reviewed journal
• Background in entomology, wildlife ecology, or vector biology
• Experience with bioinformatics or willingness to learn (metabarcoding, sequence analysis, data management)
• Experience with remote fieldwork

How to apply:

• A cover letter that includes a brief statement of the applicant’s suitability (max two pages).
• A curriculum vitae, including a list of any peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and relevant work and/or research experience.

Application closing date: 

Open until filled

Commencement date: 

January to March 2026

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send an expression of interest and a CV to Professor Maxine Piggott at maxine.piggott@cdu.edu.au. For more information, please contact Maxine on 08 8946 6763. Note: The supervisor will invite applicants who pass the expression of interest stage to submit scholarship applications before the closing date. Please do not submit any applications unless you are invited by the supervisor.

Download the complete PhD program advertisement document here:

Diversity and Inclusion: At CDU, we actively celebrate our diversity. We innovate, embrace new ideas, and act with courage and kindness. We’re about what we can give to the world rather than what we take, and we believe in the transformative power of education. We work hard to make sure every member of our university community feels that they truly belong. Understanding that it is through our focus on our people and leveraging our differences that will make CDU the most connected university in Australia, we are striving to ensure that our culture and our community are inclusive of all our staff, students and visitors. We are committed to maintaining a culture where everyone feels respected, safe, encouraged to speak up and supported in achieving their professional goals. You make CDU. And we want you to be exactly who you are.

The Research Institute for Northern Agriculture (RINA) is seeking applicants for an exciting PhD project that will investigate practical ways northern beef producers can protect biodiversity on their properties and engage with nature-based markets such as the Nature Repair Market. This project is an exciting opportunity to inform practice change on-property and help producers to make more informed decisions around protecting biodiversity. 

Scholarship and financial support:

• A tax-exempt stipend of $44,190 per year (comprising $34,190 RTP base + $10,000 top-up) is available for three years.
• This opportunity is open to Australian citizens, permanent residents, and New Zealand citizens (domestic students).
• A relocation allowance of up to $2,000 is also available.

About the project:

The Australian Parliament passed the Nature Repair Act in 2024, opening the newest of a number of nature-based markets where landholders can potentially gain economic benefit for protecting biodiversity and other aspects of natural capital on their property. The rangelands make up over 80% of the Australian land area, and harbour important natural values, including biodiversity. In the northern rangelands, biodiversity values are particularly significant, and many producers are keen to continue to take advantage of nature-based economies to help protect them. However, it is not clear in the northern rangelands as to what management strategies would make the most impact in terms of biodiversity or where these strategies should/could take place. 

This project is a collaboration between CDU and CSIRO and the pastoral industry and focuses on rangelands of the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. The PhD student will be supervised by an interdisciplinary team of agricultural scientists, economists and ecologists, giving exposure to the networks, knowledge and resources of both organisations. The PhD will use information about the impacts of cattle production on threatened species to identify strategies (e.g., exclusion fencing, waterpoint management, etc.) that are most effective at protecting and enhancing natural values, including biodiversity. The student will also conduct economic analyses to understand the cost and potential return from nature-based markets and any other economic benefits (e.g., increase in productivity).

About you: 

• You have a research background (Honours or Masters) in environmental science, conservation biology, agricultural science, or economics, or similar, and bring a high level of academic merit consistent with RTP stipend scholarship requirements
• Hold an Australian driving license or the capacity to obtain one
• Would ideally be based or willing to relocate to Darwin, other locations possible by negotiation

Benefits to you:

• Receive a generous stipend and support for project costs
• Receive quality supervision by CDU and CSIRO
• Play an integral role in a highly collaborative multidisciplinary research team
• Contribute to research with real-world impact
• Access to Student Support Services and Wellbeing Support Program
• Work with a University committed to changing people’s lives for the better through training, education, and research

Selection criteria: 

• Honours, Masters or equivalent containing a substantial research component in a relevant field such as environmental science, conservation biology, agriculture, animal science, economics/business, or a similar field
• Must meet the RTP stipend requirements, including being either an Australian permanent resident or citizen, or a New Zealand citizen, with the intention to be a domestic student

How to apply:

Email an expression of interest to Beth Penrose (beth.penrose@cdu.edu.au), including:

• A curriculum vitae, including a list of any peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and relevant work and/or research experience
• A brief statement, not exceeding 500 words, describing your background, research experience and interest in this research project/area
• Names and contact details of two academic referees

Application closing date: 

Open until filled

Commencement date: 

Early 2026

Supervisory and Advisory Team: 

Beth Penrose (CDU), Brett Murphy (CDU), Daniel Grainger (CSIRO)

Enquiries: 

Associate Professor Beth Penrose (beth.penrose@cdu.edu.au, 0436 839 662)

Download the complete PhD program advertisement document here:

Diversity and Inclusion: At CDU, we actively celebrate our diversity. We innovate, embrace new ideas, and act with courage and kindness. We’re about what we can give to the world rather than what we take, and we believe in the transformative power of education. We work hard to make sure every member of our university community feels that they truly belong. Understanding that it is through our focus on our people and leveraging our differences that will make CDU the most connected university in Australia, we are striving to ensure that our culture and our community are inclusive of all our staff, students and visitors. We are committed to maintaining a culture where everyone feels respected, safe, encouraged to speak up and supported in achieving their professional goals. You make CDU. And we want you to be exactly who you are.

About the project:

Native pastures of northern Australia are botanically diverse, supporting hundreds of species of grasses, forbs, trees and shrubs. Species have different nutritive value, digestibility and some have anti-methanogenic properties. Current carrying capacity methodology assumes cattle eat only the herbaceous layer of vegetation including grasses and forbs, but in many environments, such as in Central Australia and the Victoria River District, trees and shrubs are known to contribute a significant component of the diet through browse. However, which species they are eating and under what conditions is not well known. Current methods used to assess non-grass dietary components are of limited use in detecting browse in northern Australia. This PhD is part of a larger Zero Net Emissions Agriculture CRC project -Low Methane Feedbase Program- which aims to quantify the anti-methanogenic properties of northern Australian vegetation, but this information will be of limited applicability without knowing how these species currently contribute to cattle diets across northern Australia. Greenhouse gas emission estimates cannot be truly representative for the system without this. 

This PhD will use field collected data, including faecal environmental DNA, to understand the contribution of different plant species in the diets of cattle in northern Australia. The student will then use these data along with anti-methanogenic compound concentrations and nutritional value data to test current greenhouse gas estimates for Australia’s north. This PhD is an excellent opportunity to work closely with government and industry partners including researchers from the Northern Territory Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The student will ideally be based in Darwin or Alice Springs. 

Project benefits:

• $44,190 per year stipend ($34, 190 RTP stipend + $10k top up)
• Relocation allowance ($2k)

About you:

Essential skills and experience: 

• Australian or New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent resident
• Honours or Masters degree containing a substantial research component in a relevant field such as agriculture, environmental science or similar
• Australian driving license or the capacity to easily get one
• Experience collecting field samples
• Ability and willingness to travel to regional and remote locations 

Desirable skills and experience: 

• Experience with molecular techniques and/or environmental DNA analysis
• Modelling experience using greenhouse gas, crop, or animal models

How to apply:

Please provide:

• A curriculum vitae, including a list of any peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and relevant work and/or research experience
• A brief statement not exceeding 500-words in length that explains why you are interested in this research project/area

Send these documents to Beth Penrose (beth.penrose@cdu.edu.au).

For more information, please email Beth or contact her on 0436 839 662

Application closing date: 

Open until filled

Diversity and Inclusion: At CDU, we actively celebrate our diversity. We innovate, embrace new ideas, and act with courage and kindness. We’re about what we can give to the world rather than what we take, and we believe in the transformative power of education. We work hard to make sure every member of our university community feels that they truly belong. Understanding that it is through our focus on our people and leveraging our differences that will make CDU the most connected university in Australia, we are striving to ensure that our culture and our community are inclusive of all our staff, students and visitors. We are committed to maintaining a culture where everyone feels respected, safe, encouraged to speak up and supported in achieving their professional goals. You make CDU. And we want you to be exactly who you are.

There have been rapid advances in environmental DNA (eDNA) research, which allows the detection of species from traces of DNA from environmental samples.

In collaboration with the Northern Territory Government, we are investigating the effectiveness of using eDNA analysis to detect saltwater crocodiles in comparison with current management methods. Sampling and filtration methods will be especially important, and this project will compare passive methods with active manual filtration of water samples. The project will combine field and lab work. Previous lab and molecular experience are highly desirable. 

Project aims:

• Compare active and passive filtration methods in the detection of crocodiles
• Assess the effect of time on passive filtration in the detection of crocodiles
• Compare the effectiveness of passive filtration methods in the detection of crocodiles at captive and field sites

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major emerging environmental and public health concern. Recent surveys have detected AMR in Darwin’s marine creeks, suggesting that effluent and urban runoff may disseminate resistance determinants into coastal systems. Rapid Creek provides an ideal natural laboratory for tracing AMR sources and transport pathways because it spans a freshwater headwater, urban stormwater network, and tidal estuary before discharging to the sea. This project will extend previous work by mapping AMR abundance along this full gradient to quantify the abundance of AMR marker genes along the Rapid Creek continuum, from freshwater headwaters to the marine mouth. Previous lab and molecular experience are highly desirable.

Project aims:

• Map how AMR genes intI1 and cintI1 change from freshwater headwaters through the tidal estuary to the marine mouth.
• Identify potential sources (stormwater, wastewater, sediments) and transport pathways (freshwater flow, tidal mixing, resuspension).
• Examine how environmental parameters (salinity, turbidity, pH, temperature) influence gene distribution.

Mertens’ water monitor (Varanusmertensi) is an aquatic varanid of northern Australia that uses creeks, billabongs, and spring-fed pools. Populations have declined in some areas (e.g., cane-toad impacts, habitat change). The project will develop and validate a species-specific eDNA qPCR assay to confirm detectability at known sites and to map occurrence with a focus on Litchfield NP. Previous lab and molecular experience are highly desirable.

Project aims:

• Design and validate a short-amplicon qPCR assay specific to V. mertensi.
• Field-validate at 4–6 known-presence waterbodies (e.g., Litchfield NP pools/creeks) + 2 known-absence/low-likelihood sites.