About “Deirdre Gleeson”

Dr Deirdre Gleeson completed her PhD in Biotechnology in 2001 and is currently based in the UWA School of Agriculture and Environment. Deirdre’s research aim is to link microbial community structure with function – one of the central thrusts of modern microbial ecology. Deirdre focuses on the use of molecular approaches (environmental DNA) to study a variety of natural and managed microbial ecosystems across both terrestrial and aquatic biomes. Her key contributions within this area focus on how the diversity and function of microorganisms are impacted by their surrounding habitat at both micro scale and at landscape scale (e.g. management practices and climate) with particular emphasis on the use of novel molecular biology technologies. More recently Deirdre has been using environmental DNA in biodiversity assessment outside the microbial world and including both soil and water vertebrates and invertebrates.