Staff

The academic staff responsible for teaching in the Master of Science in Wildlife Health and Population Management come from both the School of Biological Sciences and the Faculty of Veterinary Science and are all research-active. Other staff come from other organisations such as the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, and the Australian Museum.

The core staff are:
Dr Mathew S. Crowther
A/Prof David Phalen

Dr Mathew Crowther

Mathew Crowther is a Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences. He coordinates the Wildlife Health and Population Management Program. Mathew has an extensive background in wildlife ecology and management with over ten years teaching, research and field survey experience. He has conducted research and field studies on terrestrial wildlife throughout eastern and northern Australia, particularly in New South Wales, western Queensland and the Northern Territory, along with international experience in Papua New Guinea, Switzerland, southern Africa and New Caledonia. The habitats ranged from tropical islands and savanna to temperate forests and sandy deserts, often in remote areas. He has comprehensive knowledge of and experience with the identification, taxonomy, distribution, habitat and ecology of terrestrial vertebrate fauna, especially mammals. He is an acknowledged expert in small dasyurid marsupials, and has discovered and described two species and one subspecies.

Mathew has a PhD in the ecology and evolution from the University in Sydney. He lectured in zoology, ecology, wildlife management and environmental impact assessment at the University of Sydney for 8 years, as well as being a Project Officer in Koala Survey at the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water for 3 years. Hence, he is a broad background in the wildlife management and conservation from the survey and research level through to the policy and legislative level. He has an extensive publication record and has authored or co-authored 37 publications in various aspects of wildlife biology. He has also worked as a consultant in the Environmental Impact Assessment industry.

Mathew has expertise in numerous areas of wildlife survey and management, including geographical information systems, high-level statistical analysis, report writing, and trapping, tracking and identification of Australian wildlife.

Associate Professor David Phalen

David Phalen is a veterinarian and is the Director of the Wildlife Health and Conservation Centre. He graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 1983 and received a Doctor of Philosophy from Texas A&M University in 1992. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners Avian Specialty.

David did 5 years of private practice before returning to complete his PhD. Over the last 17 years he taught wildlife and zoo medicine and surgery to veterinary students at Texas A&M University in the classroom and in the clinic. During this time he worked closely with wildlife carers and has regularly spoken to them and wildlife veterinarians.

David is fascinated by all species of animals, but he is obsessed with birds. David has studied several viral, bacterial and fungal diseases of wildlife and has contributed to projects involving the Po’ouli, the most endangered bird in the world, and three other endangered species, the Attwater’s prairie chicken, the white-winged duck, and the orange-bellied parrot.