University of Canberra
Dr Clare Holleley is an Evolutionary Geneticist at the Institute for Applied Ecology. While she works across diverse research interests, one of Clare’s major focuses investigates the diverse array of sex determination mechanisms that occur in reptiles. The data collected has allowed her to predict evolutionary responses in sex determination within a changing climate and to ask whether epigenetic changes can set the state for the evolution of new sex determining modes and even new sex chromosomes.
Clare has also shown great commitment and aptitude for science communication, offering her time as a mentor for young students and in engaging popular media coverage of her work. In 2013 Clare was a pioneer in utilising crowd-funding to raise research funds to investigate the origin of exotic marsupials introduced into the USA and the genetic basis of coat colour mutations in domestic sugar gliders.