Ben is a Senior Lecturer in Design with the School of Humanities, Creative Industries and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle who drives strategy and communication for the Zoo. His background and research are interdisciplinary, ranging from extensive professional experience in strategy and creative media production to scholarly writings inspired by digital communication.

Claudia is pursuing a PhD at Wild Yeast Zoo, focusing on harnessing Australian wild yeast for biotech applications. She blends her expertise in molecular biology, genetic engineering, and bioinformatics with a deep understanding of yeast phenotypic profiling to optimise sustainable biomanufacturing. Claudia is passionate about making science accessible to everyone and always up for a chat—just ask her about her microscope photos!

Evan is currently undertaking a PhD in the Bacterial Regulation and Transport Laboratory under Dr Karl Hassan. He is working on new methodologies within synthetic biology to rapidly determine the efficacy of high value small molecule overproduction in single celled organisms. Evan brings the perfect combination of skills: he’s an avid home brewer with technical expertise in microorganism isolation and characterisation.

Prof Peter Lewis is the founder and director of Hunter Biological Solutions Pty Ltd with more than 30 years experience in molecular biology, microbiology and biochemistry. He worked as a full time academic until October 2021 at the Universities of Sydney, Oxford and Newcastle where he led a research group that concentrated on the molecular biology of gene expression, antimicrobial development and metabolic engineering for green energy and chemical production.

Ben Leita is our business coach and glutton for punishment who combines a technical background, experience as a senior manager and entrepreneur and a love for bringing pioneering science & technology to market. His skills span deep tech start-ups, biofuels & bioproducts, chemical engineering, chemistry, biomaterials, and renewable energy. Ben has raised over $55M in VC funds for startup companies to date.

Dr Chris Lean is a philosopher of the life sciences (biology, ecology, medicine) and ethics (bioethics, environment, technology). Recently, he has been writing on the role of biotechnology in conservation science and on invasive species. He is enthusiastic about collaboration across disciplines and fascinated by Australia’s biodiversity.

Dr Amy Cain completed her PhD under Ruth Hall, at the University of Sydney, investigating movement of antibiotic resistance genes in Salmonella enterica. After a short postdoc in Ian Paulsen’s group at Macquarie, Amy moved to Cambridge, UK, for a postdoc at the Wellcome Sanger Institute under Julian Parkhill – developing bespoke genomics techniques like TraDIS. Next she moved to Malawi in sub-Saharan Africa with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, tracking and sequencing hospital-acquired infections as part of the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Clinical Research Program.

After a brief stint in the Pharmaceutical industry as a Vertex Fellow in Oxford, UK, Amy has established her own group as an ARC DECRA fellow in Molecular Sciences at Macquarie University, focused on developing new antibiotics using functional genomics and the Galleria in vivo model.

Dr Ian Paulsen is Distinguished Professor at Macquarie University and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology (CoESB website link). He is also Deputy Director of the Macquarie Biomolecular Discovery and Design Centre. Ian is an ARC Laureate Fellow and an ISI Highly Cited Researcher. He has published more than 294 journal papers, which have received over 85,000 citations. Thomson Reuters identified him as one of the world's 3000 most influential scientific minds in 2014. He was featured in The Australian as one of the top forty research superstars in Australia.

Andy Lamb has a career of doing things differently. Working from large global financial services and management consulting organisation through to starting and founding a number of his own software tech businesses. He has spun out technology from Swinburne University after completing his Masters of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Andy is also a non-executive director of the IPS foundation focusing on providing developing indigenous entrepreneurship and business skills.

Samara is currently in the final year of her undergraduate degree, studying for a Bachelor of Science. She is passionate about biological science and looks forward to working within the biological field and contributing to science upon completing her degree.

Kate Hlywa is a Biology student from the University of Rhode Island, currently undertaking a study abroad semester at the University of Newcastle. With a focus on Cell and Molecular Biology, Kate is excited to contribute to Wild Yeast Zoo’s innovative research. Outside of the lab, she enjoys crocheting intricate critters, bringing creativity to both her scientific work and her hobbies. Kate’s passion for science and her unique artistic touch make her a great fit for the Wild Yeast Zoo team this semester.

Jeremy is a third-year Biotech student from the University of Newcastle, eager to dive into Wild Yeast Zoo’s groundbreaking projects. With a background rooted in his passion for cars, dirt bikes, and the great outdoors, Jeremy is enthusiastic about exploring how nature can be harnessed for practical applications like biofuels. His blend of practical experience and fascination with the natural world positions him as a valuable asset to the team at Wild Yeast Zoo, where he looks forward to expanding his knowledge and contributing to innovative solutions.

Jennifer Griffith fell headfirst into a wild career change at the beginning of 2023, starting fresh in a biotechnology degree and finding research opportunities, friendship, and mentorship from the academics and founders at WYZoo. She quickly became fascinated by the tiny yet vast world of yeasts. Since January of 2024, she has been working alongside Claudia in the lab and is excited for future endeavours.