Pipelines for Invasive Pest Eradication Research (PIPER) Lab
Vertebrate pests continue to have an enormous detrimental impact on both Australia’s natural ecosystems and agricultural productivity. As part of the Frankenberg Lab, PIPER Lab is committed to the development of genetic biocontrol strategies for eradicating invasive vertebrate pest populations.
Multiple hurdles need to be overcome before eventual deployment of a genetic biocontrol strategy for any pest population, including:
- Optimising the design of genetic biocontrol constructs
- Introducing genetic biocontrol constructs into animals, generally by targeting to a precise location in the genome
- Population modelling to understand how best to deploy a genetic biocontrol in the field
- Addressing the social and ethical impacts and responsibilities of using genetic biocontrol to manage invasive pest populations
In PIPER Lab, we aim to address all four of these hurdles via either research or public engagement.
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