Flavia Santamaria

Dr Flavia Santamaria is a biologist whose PhD focused on the impact of translocation on the health (chlamydial disease), tree species selection and movement of radio-tracked koalas relocated from French Island to three forests around Ballarat, Victoria.

She is an Adjunct Senior Fellow in the School of Veterinary Science at The University of Queensland, a researcher with the Koala Research-CQ and Senior Lecturer at Central Queensland University.

Dr Santamaria has been collaborating with a team of Australian and international researchers in the field of metabolomics, adrenocortical activity and veterinary applications to successfully design the most suited assay kit for the detection of stress in koalas through fecal analyses as a non-invasive method.

Dr Santamaria's current and future research focus is on:

• the impact of anthropogenic environmental changes on koalas, including the potential pressure caused by environmental stressors on their health

• detection and prevention of disease in koalas

• using the koala as a flagship species in educating communities for sustainability