Churchill Fellowships

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Zoe Richards
Project Title: To learn the necessary skills to advance coral biosystematics using a total evidence approach — USA, Japan
State of Residence: WA

Zoe Richards is a coral taxonomist whose research focuses on coral biodiversity, reef population monitoring and species conservation. Working in the areas of systematics, phylogenetics, population genetics, ecology, geoscience and conservation biology, Zoe has conducted research on reefs across the globe. As a Churchill Fellow she will travel to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, USA, and various research organisations in Japan, including the National Institute of Advance Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo, to learn the necessary skills to advance coral biosystematics using a total evidence approach.

Established Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Barry Russell
Project Title: To undertake a re-evaluation of F.L Castelnau’s type-specimens of Australian fishes in the Muséum national ďHistoire Naturelle, France
State of Residence: NT

ABRS Churchill Fellow Dr Kenny Travouillon

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Kenny Travouillon
Completed Report: To document the diversity of bandicoots and bilbies through time and space
State of Residence: WA

Kenny Travouillon is the Mammal Curator at the Western Australian Museum. He studies the evolution of bandicoots, bilbies, and kangaroos. He applied for a Churchill Fellowship to study museum specimens in Europe and the USA in the order Peramelemorphia (bandicoots and bilbies), to review type specimens, historical specimens (collected in the 1800s), and even fossil specimens (as old as later Oligocene in age), to uncover new species, revise current species, and uncover the evolutionary history of this group.

Established Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Lindy Cayzer
Completed Report: An archaeological dig through the information and specimens held on the Australian plant family Pittosporaceae R.Br. in overseas herbaria and botanic gardens
State of Residence: ACT

One ABRS Churchill Fellowship has been awarded in 2015.

Established Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Jane Melville
Completed Report: To advance Australian taxonomic research [into Diporiphora lizards] by integrating genomics and micro-CT with traditional techniques
State of Residence: VIC

One ABRS Churchill Fellowship has been awarded in 2014.

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Peter Weston
Completed Report: Building a database of floral characters for researching the iconic Australian plant family Proteaceae
State of Residence: NSW

ABRS Churchill Fellow Dr Nathalie Nagalingum

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Nathalie Nagalingum
Completed Report: To study the genomics and biodiversity of the endangered cycads of Australia and Asia
State of Residence: NSW

ABRS Churchill Fellow Dr Kelly Shepherd

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Kelly Shepherd
Completed Report: To investigate species diversity among fan flowers and other unique Australian plants
State of Residence: WA

Kelly Shepherd is a Senior Research Scientist based at the Western Australian Herbarium currently working on the taxonomy and systematics of various Australian plant groups. She was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2012, which provided her with a unique opportunity to visit herbaria in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Austria to examine key historical specimens. Without adequate knowledge of these earliest collections it is difficult to clarify the taxonomic status of potentially new species that are still being discovered today. Kelly then travelled on to the USA to visit colleagues in New York and Memphis so they could work on their collaborative study of the charismatic fan-flower family Goodeniaceae. Some of the trip highlights included discovering a number of previously unrecognised type specimens at the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien in Austria and attending a Botanical Society of America (BSA) conference in New Orleans. Kelly found that having the opportunity to work directly with overseas colleagues, some of whom she had never met in person, was a priceless opportunity that cemented their collaboration and friendship, and ultimately facilitated new research ideas that they are still exploring today.

Dr Haylee Weaver is awarded her Fellowship by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Patron-in-Chief of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Haylee Weaver
Completed Report: To examine the systematics of acanthocephala [worm] from Australian fish
State of Residence: ACT

Haylee is a parasite taxonomist who studies a little-known group, the Acanthocephala (thorny-headed worms). There are only a handful of researchers in Australia who work on these parasites, so Haylee’s fellowship enabled her to travel to learn techniques for studying acanthocephalans, and to build collaborations with researchers. She visited research laboratories at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City to learn techniques for molecular study of acanthocephalan parasites; and travelled to the Natural History Museum in London and the National Parasite Collection in Washington DC to examine parasite type specimens held in the collections.

ABRS Churchill Fellow Miss Anna Kearns

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Miss Anna Kearns
Completed Report: To examine the taxonomy of the Pacific Robin [bird] species complex
State of Residence: QLD

Dr Amber Beavis is awarded her Fellowship by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and Patron-in-Chief of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust

Early Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Amber Beavis
Completed Report: To obtain training in modern taxonomic methods [as it applies to the Araneae (spiders)]
State of Residence: ACT

ABRS Churchill Fellow Dr Paul Doughty

Established Career Researcher

ABRS Churchill Fellow — Dr Paul Doughty
Completed Report: To Study the Biodiversity and Evolution of Australian Frogs and Reptiles
State of Residence: WA

Churchill Fellow — Ms Lisa Waters
Completed Report: Churchill Fellows’ Association of South Australia Churchill Fellowship to document the significant work of pioneering naturalist Jessie L. Hussey
State of Residence: SA

Churchill Fellow — Dr Rebecca Jones
Completed Report: To visit centres of Eucalyptus research to learn techniques for the analysis of the Eucalyptus genome sequence
State of Residence: TAS

Churchill Fellow — Professor Gerry Cassis
Completed Report: To study the systematics, natural history and biodiversity of true bugs (Heteroptera) of Australia
State of Residence: NSW