Developing and translating molecular and genomic technologies to improve koala health and conservation

Dr Lyndal Hulse's research focuses on developing and translating molecular and genomic technologies to improve koala health and conservation.

Her work spans conservation genomics, infectious disease, vaccination, reproductive biology, microbiome science and molecular diagnostics, with a strong emphasis on translating research into practical tools for wildlife hospitals and conservation managers.

A major component of her research has been the design, development, validation and licensing of a koala single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping array, providing a standardised genomic platform for individual identification, relatedness, population structure, genetic diversity and connectivity. She is extending this capability to non-invasive samples through the development and validation of SNP genotyping from koala faecal scats, with the goal of enabling population-scale genetic surveillance without capturing animals.

Her koala health research has a major focus on Chlamydia pecorum, encompassing infection and transmission biology, molecular diagnostics, reproductive consequences and contributions to the Queensland University of Technology koala Chlamydia vaccine research. Her reproductive research has also investigated approaches for separating viable koala spermatozoa from chlamydial contamination, with potential applications to assisted reproduction and genome banking.

Complementing this work, she investigates the koala gut microbiome and its relationship with disease, antimicrobial treatment and clinical health, incorporating both bacterial and fungal communities and exploring approaches to microbiome restoration. She also develops quantitative and point-of-care molecular diagnostic approaches designed for translation into wildlife clinical and field settings.

A defining feature of her research is a strong clinical-research partnership with Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, through which questions arising from the treatment and rehabilitation of wild koalas can be investigated using genomic and molecular approaches and translated back into clinical practice and conservation management. Collectively, her research aims to bridge the gap between molecular discovery and practical koala conservation.

Researcher