Statistics · Data Science · Research
Statistical research, computational methodology, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
I am a statistician and data scientist whose work brings together methodological research, computational statistics, and applied collaboration. My research combines theoretical development with practical implementation, with applications across health, ecology, agriculture, and other complex observational and experimental settings.
Research
My work centres on statistical methodology that is both theoretically rigorous and practically useful. It spans occupancy modelling under imperfect detection, computational statistics, simulation-based investigation, likelihood-based inference including composite and partial likelihood, and the development of reproducible methods for complex real-world data.
Applied Work
I have worked across universities, government, and consultancy, contributing statistical leadership to projects in public health, ecology, agriculture, and interdisciplinary science. A consistent theme in this work is the translation of statistical thinking into decisions, evidence, and impact.
Teaching & Mentoring
I have more than two decades of experience teaching statistics, statistical computing, and research methods to diverse audiences. My teaching and supervision emphasise clarity, depth, and the ability to communicate quantitative ideas across disciplinary boundaries.
Featured work
Selected research and applied contributions.
My work spans methodological statistics, reproducible software, and collaborative research in high-impact applied domains. These featured areas reflect both long-term research themes and projects in which statistical thinking has contributed directly to scientific, policy, and operational outcomes.
Two-stage occupancy modelling under imperfect detection
Methodological research arising from my PhD, including two-stage likelihood approaches for occupancy models under imperfect detection and associated reproducible statistical software for practical implementation.
Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital collaboration
Statistical collaboration in neuroscience, contributing to experimental design and analysis for high-throughput zebrafish behavioural data in precision-medicine research on childhood epilepsy.
Cancer Council Victoria and registry-based epidemiology
Statistical and epidemiological work spanning longitudinal cohort research, cancer survival analysis, registry-based data, and applied public-health investigation.
Crop health and biometric analysis at the University of Southern Queensland
Recent applied biometrics work involving complex experimental design, mixed-model analysis, and publication-quality statistical support for crop health research.
Department of Primary Industries: agriculture, experimental design, industry research, and biosecurity policy
At the Department of Primary Industries, I worked as a Biometrician and Statistical Consultant across applied projects in agriculture and biosecurity, including complex experimental design in viticulture and orange production in Mildura, the Australian Government biosecurity risk analysis of apples from New Zealand, industry-linked research for McCain Foods, co-leading the TEAP/UNEP project on alternatives to methyl bromide for pre-plant fumigation, and serving as lead statistician on a China-based cold-storage and shelf-life project on pak choy.
Publications
Selected outputs
A curated selection of publications that reflects the breadth of my methodological and applied research.
A two-stage model for dealing with heterogeneous occupancy and detection probabilities in single visit occupancy or presence-absence surveys
Develops methodological advances for occupancy modelling under imperfect detection in the heterogeneous case, combining theoretical contribution with practical applicability.
A two-stage model for estimating the abundance and detection probability from presence-absence data
Presents related methodological work on two-stage modelling from presence-absence data, extending the practical statistical toolkit for ecological inference.
How can the score test be consistent?
Examines a fundamental statistical question through methodological research with both theoretical interest and wider relevance for applied inference.
Comparison of four bootstrap-based interval estimators of species occupancy and detection probabilities
Compares bootstrap-based interval estimators in occupancy settings, reflecting my broader interest in computational statistics and reliable inference under imperfect detection.
Teaching and supervision
Teaching, supervision, and academic contribution.
Teaching experience
- More than 20 years of teaching experience across undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional settings in Australia and Greece.
- Taught statistics, statistical computing, experimental design, research methods, and data analysis to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
- Held teaching roles ranging from tutor and teaching assistant to lecturer and course coordinator, including substantial teaching at the University of Melbourne and La Trobe University.
- Delivered teaching across mathematics and statistics as well as interdisciplinary programs in biomedicine, biosciences, environment, engineering, and applied research.
- Responsibilities have included lecture delivery, tutorials and practical classes, assessment and marking, curriculum development, blended and online learning support, and coordination of teaching teams.
- More than a decade of teaching R and statistical computing, alongside broader experience in computational and reproducible statistical practice.
Supervision and mentoring
- Supervision and mentoring experience includes sole supervision of AMSI Summer Research Scholarship projects at Honours level, co-supervision of a PhD student, mentoring tertiary students, and supporting progression into higher-degree research.
- Extensive experience communicating statistical ideas to both technical and non-technical audiences through teaching, consulting, interdisciplinary collaboration, seminars, and workshops.
- My teaching and supervision emphasise methodological depth, clarity of explanation, and the ability to connect statistical theory with real-world application.
Academic service and invited contributions
- Invited speaker at institutions and events in Australia and internationally, including Harvard University, INRIA Grenoble, Monash University, and RMIT.
- Broader academic contribution includes Technical Sub-Editor, Australian & New Zealand Journal of Statistics, peer review for journals including Biometrics, JABES, Austral Ecology, and ANZJS, and leadership roles in academic events including RSSDS 2019 and ISEC2020.