
Overview
Background
(she/her)
Dr. Laura Grogan is a qualified veterinarian, Senior Lecturer in Wildlife Science and Leader of the Biodiversity Health Research Team (https://www.biodiversity-health.org/) - a collaborative multiple-university research group focused on finding sustainable solutions for the most challenging threatening processes currently affecting biodiversity.
Dr. Grogan has a background in research on wildlife diseases, ecology and conservation. She's particularly interested in investigating the dynamics, relative importance, and impacts of infectious diseases among other threats affecting wildlife across both individual and population scales, to improve conservation management.
While she works across taxa and methodological approaches, her main study system currently involves the devastating amphibian fungal skin disease, chytridiomycosis, where at the individual scale she focuses on the pathogenesis and amphibian immune response to the disease, untangling the roles of resistance and tolerance in defense against infection. At the population and landscape scale she explores mechanisms underlying persistence in the face of endemic infection, focused on the endangered Fleay's barred frog. She also studies population and infection dynamics of chlamydiosis in koala using a mathematical modelling approach, exploring the relative benefits of different management approaches. In addition to working on amphibian and koala diseases, Laura is a keen birdwatcher, wildlife photographer and artist. She supervises projects across wildlife-related fields (predominantly vertebrates).
You can find out more about her research team here: www.biodiversity-health.org.
Dr. Grogan has been awarded around $1.3 million in research funding since 2018. In late 2019 she was awarded an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA; DE200100490), worth $426,742. This project, titled "Understanding infection tolerance to improve management of wildlife disease", commenced in late 2020. Dr. Grogan was identified as one of the four top-ranked science DECRA awardees by the Australian Academy of Science’s 2020 J G Russell Award, and was also recipient of the highest award of the Wildlife Disease Association Australasia Section with their 2019 Barry L Munday Recognition Award.
PhD and Honours projects are now available in the following areas (plus many more areas - please get in touch if you have an idea):
- Can frogs be ‘vaccinated’ by antifungal treatment of active infections to develop protective immunity to the devastating chytrid fungus? (Principal Supervisor)
- Establishing the conservation status of south-east Queensland’s amphibians - occupancy surveys and species distribution models (Principal Supervisor)
- Tadpoles as a reservoir of the lethal frog chytrid fungal disease – measuring sublethal effects on growth, time to metamorphosis and ability to forage (mouthpart loss) (Principal Supervisor)
- Impacts of chytrid fungus on the survival of juvenile endangered Fleay’s barred frogs, Mixophyes fleayi, and importance for population recruitment (Principal Supervisor)
- Measuring the infection resistance versus tolerance of barred frogs to the devastating chytrid fungal disease to improve management outcomes (Principal Supervisor)
- Mapping the impacts of fire-fighting chemicals on endangered frog habitats (Co-Supervisor)
- Bowra birds: what do long-term monitoring data reveal about bird communities in the semi-arid region? (Co-Supervisor)
- Impacts of fire-fighting chemicals on endangered frogs: Implications for conservation and management (Co-Supervisor)
Availability
- Dr Laura Grogan is:
- Available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Science in Veterinary Medicine, University of Sydney
- Bachelor (Honours) of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney
- Doctor of Philosophy of Veterinary Epidemiology, James Cook University
Research interests
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Wildlife epidemiology, health and disease
Infectious disease is an increasingly important threatening process for wildlife species globally, leading to numerous declines and extinctions. My research team aims to understand the dynamics and drivers of wildlife infections across multiple scales - including individual responses and outcomes from infection to the drivers and impacts of diseases on wildlife populations.
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Mitigating key threats to wildlife
My research team conducts cutting-edge research to better understand the dynamics, relative importance, impacts, and ways of mitigating various threatening processes affecting wildlife populations. We focus particularly on diseases affecting biodiversity and the effects of environmental contaminants on wildlife.
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Biodiversity conservation
My team are driven and unified by a passion for conserving biodiversity. Our goal is to improve understanding of and mitigate the most challenging and complex threats to species' and population persistence.
Works
Search Professor Laura Grogan’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Amphibian cellular immune response to chytridiomycosis at metamorphic climax
Humphries, Josephine E., Hicks, Allan, Lanctot, Chantal, Mccallum, Hamish, Newell, David and Grogan, Laura F. (2025). Amphibian cellular immune response to chytridiomycosis at metamorphic climax. Immunologic Research, 73 (1) 44. doi: 10.1007/s12026-025-09599-5
2025
Journal Article
Corrigendum: impact of patient safety bundle and team-based training on obstetric hypertensive emergencies
Grogan, Laura, Peterson, Erika, Flatley, Megan and Domeyer-Klenske, Amy (2025). Corrigendum: impact of patient safety bundle and team-based training on obstetric hypertensive emergencies. American Journal of Perinatology, 42 (04), e1-e2. doi: 10.1055/a-2522-3118
2025
Journal Article
Evaluating strategies for managing koala chlamydiosis using dynamic models
Grogan, Laura F., Mangan, Madelyn J., Kerlin, Douglas H., Peel, Alison J. and McCallum, Hamish I. (2025). Evaluating strategies for managing koala chlamydiosis using dynamic models. Biological Conservation, 302 110997, 110997-302. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2025.110997
2025
Journal Article
Differential recruitment drives pathogen‐mediated competition between species in an amphibian chytridiomycosis system
Mangan, Madelyn J., McCallum, Hamish I., West, Matt, Scheele, Ben C., Gillespie, Graeme R. and Grogan, Laura F. (2025). Differential recruitment drives pathogen‐mediated competition between species in an amphibian chytridiomycosis system. Ecological Applications, 35 (1) e3085, e3085. doi: 10.1002/eap.3085
2024
Journal Article
A location fingerprinting approach for the automated radio telemetry of wildlife and comparison to alternative methods
van Osta, John M., Dreis, Brad, Grogan, Laura F. and Castley, J. Guy (2024). A location fingerprinting approach for the automated radio telemetry of wildlife and comparison to alternative methods. Animal Biotelemetry, 12 (1) 24. doi: 10.1186/s40317-024-00379-w
2024
Journal Article
Chytridiomycosis disrupts metabolic responses in amphibians at metamorphic climax
Humphries, Josephine E., Melvin, Steven D., Lanctôt, Chantal, McCallum, Hamish, Newell, David and Grogan, Laura F. (2024). Chytridiomycosis disrupts metabolic responses in amphibians at metamorphic climax. Microbes and Infection 105438, 105438. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2024.105438
2024
Journal Article
Impact of patient safety bundle and team-based training on obstetric hypertensive emergencies
Grogan, Laura, Peterson, Erika, Flatley, Megan and Domeyer-Klenske, Amy (2024). Impact of patient safety bundle and team-based training on obstetric hypertensive emergencies. American Journal of Perinatology, 42 (04), 452-461. doi: 10.1055/a-2404-4676
2024
Journal Article
Local resource availability drives habitat use by a threatened avian granivore in savanna woodlands
van Osta, John M., Dreis, Brad, Grogan, Laura F. and Castley, J. Guy (2024). Local resource availability drives habitat use by a threatened avian granivore in savanna woodlands. PLoS One, 19 (8) e0306842, 8. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0306842
2024
Journal Article
Extreme climatic events modulate chytrid infection across the landscape
Sasso, Thais, McCallum, Hamish, Newell, David and Grogan, Laura (2024). Extreme climatic events modulate chytrid infection across the landscape. Biological Conservation, 296 110702, 110702. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110702
2024
Journal Article
Chytridiomycosis causes high amphibian mortality prior to the completion of metamorphosis
Humphries, Josephine E., Lanctot, Chantal M., Mccallum, Hamish I., Newell, David A. and Grogan, Laura F. (2024). Chytridiomycosis causes high amphibian mortality prior to the completion of metamorphosis. Environmental Research, 247 118249, 118249. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118249
2024
Journal Article
Infectious disease as a driver of declines and extinctions
McCallum, Hamish, Foufopoulos, Johannes and Grogan, Laura F. (2024). Infectious disease as a driver of declines and extinctions. Cambridge Prisms: Extinction, 2 e2, 1-10. doi: 10.1017/ext.2024.1
2024
Journal Article
High chytrid prevalence and infection intensities in tadpoles of Mixophyes fleayi
Hollanders, Matthijs, Grogan, Laura F., Mccallum, Hamish I. and Newell, David A. (2024). High chytrid prevalence and infection intensities in tadpoles of Mixophyes fleayi. Wildlife Research, 51 (10) WR23126, 1-11. doi: 10.1071/WR23126
2023
Journal Article
Metabolomic response of striped marsh frog (Limnodynastes peronii) tadpoles exposed to the fire retardant Phos-Chek LC95W
Lanctot, Chantal, Grogan, Laura F., Tunstill, Kate and Melvin, Steven D. (2023). Metabolomic response of striped marsh frog (Limnodynastes peronii) tadpoles exposed to the fire retardant Phos-Chek LC95W. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology C-Toxicology & Pharmacology, 276 109786, 109786. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2023.109786
2023
Journal Article
An active learning framework and assessment of inter-annotator agreement facilitate automated recogniser development for vocalisations of a rare species, the southern black-throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta)
van Osta, John M., Dreis, Brad, Meyer, Ed, Grogan, Laura F. and Castley, J. Guy (2023). An active learning framework and assessment of inter-annotator agreement facilitate automated recogniser development for vocalisations of a rare species, the southern black-throated finch (Poephila cincta cincta). Ecological Informatics, 77 102233, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2023.102233
2023
Journal Article
Amphibian infection tolerance to chytridiomycosis
Grogan, Laura F., Mangan, Madelyn J. and McCallum, Hamish I. (2023). Amphibian infection tolerance to chytridiomycosis. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 378 (1882) 20220133, 1-14. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0133
2023
Journal Article
Limited impact of chytridiomycosis on juvenile frogs in a recovered species
Hollanders, Matthijs, Grogan, Laura F. F., McCallum, Hamish I. I., Brannelly, Laura A. A. and Newell, David A. A. (2023). Limited impact of chytridiomycosis on juvenile frogs in a recovered species. Oecologia, 202 (2), 445-454. doi: 10.1007/s00442-023-05406-w
2023
Journal Article
Recovered frog populations coexist with endemic Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis despite load-dependent mortality
Hollanders, Matthijs, Grogan, Laura F., Nock, Catherine J., McCallum, Hamish and Newell, David A. (2023). Recovered frog populations coexist with endemic Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis despite load-dependent mortality. Ecological Applications, 33 (1) e2724, 1-14. doi: 10.1002/eap.2724
2022
Journal Article
Effects of two firefighting chemical formulations, Phos-Chek LC95W and BlazeTamer380, on striped marsh frog (Limodynastes peronii) tadpole survival, growth, development and behaviour
Tunstill, Kate, Grogan, Laura F., Morrison, Clare, McCallum, Hamish and Lanctot, Chantal (2022). Effects of two firefighting chemical formulations, Phos-Chek LC95W and BlazeTamer380, on striped marsh frog (Limodynastes peronii) tadpole survival, growth, development and behaviour. Aquatic Toxicology, 252 106326. doi: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2022.106326
2022
Journal Article
Do immune system changes at metamorphosis predict vulnerability to chytridiomycosis? An update
Humphries, Josephine E., Lanctot, Chantal M., Robert, Jacques, McCallum, Hamish, Newell, David A. and Grogan, Laura F. (2022). Do immune system changes at metamorphosis predict vulnerability to chytridiomycosis? An update. Developmental and Comparative Immunology, 136 104510, 1-12. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2022.104510
2022
Journal Article
Insights and inferences on koala conservation from records of koalas arriving to care in South East Queensland
Kerlin, Douglas H., Grogan, Laura F. and McCallum, Hamish I. (2022). Insights and inferences on koala conservation from records of koalas arriving to care in South East Queensland. Wildlife Research, 50 (1), 57-67. doi: 10.1071/wr21181
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Laura Grogan is:
- Available for supervision
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Media
Enquiries
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