Jessica Moran

PhD - UWA

Program 3

Project title: Towards an Electronic Nose for American Foulbrood Disease

Simple project description: My project aims to characterise the compounds involved in producing the distinctive American foulbrood smell, identifying volatile biomarkers for the disease. These biomarkers will then be used to develop a diagnostic “electronic nose” (gas-based chemical sensor) for the disease, i.e. a breathalyser for bees.

Biography: Growing up on a farm in the southwest of Australia fostered my interest in conservation biology and biosecurity. During my undergraduate degree at the University of Western Australia, by chance and great timing, I volunteered as a field assistant for the Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER). I fell madly in love with the bees and completed my Honours research on honey bee reproductive biology with Prof. Boris Baer at CIBER. I am now combining my passion for honey bees and biosecurity with my CRCHBP PhD research, aiming to help beekeepers manage and respond to disease outbreaks more effectively.

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