Find an expert

Professor Mary Fletcher is a natural product organic chemist, and led the Natural Toxin group within the Centre for Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation (QAAFI) 2010-2024,before being appointed Emeritus Professor in 2024. She previously worked as a research chemist at both The University Queensland and Queensland Primary Industries (Biosecurity Queensland), before joining the Queensland Alliance for Agricultural and Food Innovation in 2010. Prof Fletcher's current interest focuses on bioactives that reduce enteric methane and the application of slow release delivery systems appropriate to rangeland grazing systems. Prof Fletcher has an industry recognised expertise as an applied organic chemist with a specialist interest in the identification and analysis of natural toxins and other bioactives in a range of plants, fungi and agricultural products. Such toxins and bioactives can affect both human and animal health posing risks to livestock production, food safety and market access.

Prof Fletcher is also an Affiliate Professor in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences (http://www.scmb.uq.edu.au/index.html), and an Affiliated Scientist at the Biosciences eastern & central Africa-International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub in Nairobi, Kenya (http://hub.africabiosciences.org/).

Prof Fletcher is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and in 2016 was elected President of the Queensland Branch of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (http://www.raci.org.au/branches/qld-branch).

Kieren McCosker has expertise in tropical beef production. Kieren completed an Agriculture Science - Animal Science degree (University of Queensland) and later a PhD (School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland) deteriming the factors associated with reproductive performance in northern Australia beef cows, otherwise known as the Cash Cow project while working in the Agriculture Division of the Northern Territory Government's Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade. In 2021, Kieren commenced working with the Centre of Animal Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture, Food and Innovation and comes with approximately 20 years of experience investigating production issues across many facets of the northern beef production system and south-east Asia. Some of his current projects examine the impact of shade and paddock infrastructure on calf mortality, and utilising remote technologies to remotely detect key production events, such as calving and associated maternal behaviours.