Members

The QUT Fruit Fly Group is an informal collaboration of ongoing QUT academic staff, research fellows, and postgraduate students.  With the exception of lab leader, Prof Tony Clarke, the other academic staff of the group maintain research programs across areas other than fruit flies, but all have some formal involvement in at least one fruit fly project, or are supervising a lab student. The Fruit Fly Research group is interested in discussing new opportunities to collaborate. Please contact the team to discuss your area of interest.

Research staff

Sabbatical visitors

Research students

Research Alumni – former academic staff and research fellows of the group

Prof Stephen Cameron	Stephen was recruited from QUT, where he was Head of the Biology Discipline, to become Head of Department, Department of Entomology, Purdue University, Indiana, USA.
Dr Paul Cunningham	Paul was a senior research fellow in the group from 2012 to 2016. He is currently Research Leader, Invertebrate & Weed Sciences, Biosciences Research, Agriculture Victoria.
Dr Solomon Balagawi	Solomon was a research fellow in the lab from 2009 to 2012. He is currently a Research Officer, Plant Biosecurity Research, NSW Dept of Primary Industries.
Dr Kumaran Nagalingam	Kumaran completed his PhD in the group, before undertaking a two year postdoc from 2014 to 2016. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow with CSIRO.
Dr Mark Schutze	Mark was a research member of the lab from 2009 to early 2018.  He currently works as a Senior Entomologist, Biosecurity Queensland, Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Dr Chandra Prabhakar	Chandra spent 12 months in the group during 2017-18 on an Indian Government postdoctoral fellowship.  He worked on both the B. dorsalis and Zeugodacus tau species complexes, with the tau complex occupying most of his time.  He is now back at his home institution, Bihar Agricultural University.
Dr Matt Krosch	Matt was a full-time research fellow in the lab from 2015 to early 2018, and prior to that had been associated with the lab on a part-time basis from 2010-12.  Matt’s expertise in the group was evolutionary biology and population genetics.
Dr Katharina Merkel	Katharina was a research fellow in the lab from Aug 2016 to the end of 2019.  She is soon to take up a fruit fly position in South Australia.

Student Alumni – former research students of the group

Ms Sakunthala Muthuthantri	M.Appl.Sc. 2008	Population phenology of Bactrocera tryoni in Queensland
Dr Alexis Wilson	PhD 2008	Insect frugivore interactions: the potential for beneficial and neutral effects on host plants
Dr Mark Ero	PhD 2009	Host choice and utilization by Diachasmimorpha kraussii
Ms Amy Carmichael	M.Appl.Sc. 2009	Taxonomy and diagnostics of opiine fruit fly parasitoids
Ms Amanda Mararuai	PhD 2010	Market access for PNG bananas with particular reference to Bactrocera musae
Dr Sakunthala Muthuthantri	PhD 2013	Citrus host use by Bactrocera tryoni
Dr Craig Marsden	PhD 2014	Ovipositor morphology, fruit peel and host use in Bactrocera tryoni
Dr Kumaran Nagalingam	PhD 2014	Functional role of male lures to Bactrocera tryoni
Dr Yuvarin Boontop	PhD 2016	Systematics of Bactrocera cucurbitae
Dr Qin Yujia (Grace)	PhD 2017	Bactrocera dorsalis genetics [Grace is a graduate of China Agriculture University, Beijing. She spent 12 months in our lab as part of her studies]
Dr Thilini Ekanayake	PhD 2017	The mating system and courtship behavior of the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni
Dr Ayad Masry	PhD 2018	Memory and learning in Diachasmimorpha krausii