Student projects

Find more about Research School of Biology research projects.

PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Evolution at extremes: Macroevolutionary responses to harsh environments

The Australian landscape presents many areas of extreme conditions for plant survival, such as drought, heat, or salt-affected soils. Are some lineages better able to adapt and diversify in these harsh conditions?

This project is open to Honours and PhD students

Browse projects

Research theme

Filter by research theme

Projects	Research themes	Degree level
Insect ecology, morphology or physiology	Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology	Honours, PhD
Integrative taxonomy of Australian monsoonal herpetofauna	Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity	Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD
Investigating the genetic architecture of thermal acclimation of leaf energy metabolism using GWAS	Plant environmental biology and functional ecology Photosynthesis and plant energy biology Plant genetics and gene regulation	Honours, Masters, PhD
Isotope effects and natural isotope abundance	Photosynthesis and plant energy biology Plant environmental biology and functional ecology	Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD
Laboratory overview		Honours, Bachelor, PhD
Landscape genomics	Evolutionary genetics and genomics Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity Plant environmental biology and functional ecology Plant genetics and gene regulation	Honours, Bachelor, Masters, PhD
Linking intracellular communication to whole-plant stress responses	Photosynthesis and plant energy biology Plant environmental biology and functional ecology	Honours, PhD
Lipid flipping in vision: seeing is believing!	Membrane transporters and channels	Honours, Masters, PhD
Manipulating CO2 transport with aquaporins to improve photosynthesis	Photosynthesis and plant energy biology Plant genetics and gene regulation	Honours
Maternal effects and phenotypic development in lizards	Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology Evolutionary genetics and genomics	Honours
Membrane transport proteins of the malaria parasite and their roles in conferring drug resistance	Membrane transporters and channels Parasitology	Honours, Bachelor, Masters, PhD
Metabolic determinants of seed quality	Photosynthesis and plant energy biology	Honours, Masters, PhD
Metagenomics and the analysis of microbial genomes	Bioinformatics and bio-mathematical modelling Evolutionary genetics and genomics Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity	Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD
Microbial control of root developmental plasticity	Plant-microbe interactions	Honours, Bachelor, Masters, PhD
MicroRNA target recognition; the role of the target RNA secondary structure.	Plant genetics and gene regulation Evolutionary genetics and genomics	Honours, Masters, PhD
Molecular evolution and Phylogenetics	Bioinformatics and bio-mathematical modelling Evolutionary genetics and genomics Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity	Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD
Molecular tools to reveal protein function and identify drug targets	Parasitology	Honours, Bachelor, Masters, PhD
Multi-trait plasticity: understanding temperature response of alpine plants in a warming world (ARC Discovery 2017-20)	Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology Evolutionary genetics and genomics Plant environmental biology and functional ecology	Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD
New approaches to discovering biodiversity and understanding its response to climate change	Evolutionary genetics and genomics Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity	Honours, Bachelor, PhD
Novel metabolite discovery and characterisation	Plant-microbe interactions	Honours, Masters, PhD
Nutrient acquisition in apicomplexan parasites	Evolutionary genetics and genomics Membrane transporters and channels Parasitology	Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD
Olfactory pattern recognition in nematodes	Membrane transporters and channels	Honours, PhD
Optimising energy use efficiency to increase wheat yield	Plant genetics and gene regulation	PhD
Parent-offspring communication under the risk of predation	Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology	Honours, PhD
Patterns and correlates of extinction risk	Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity	Honours, PhD