Francesca Strutt

Francesca started her career as a Research Assistant with the QUT Fruit Fly group working on the the Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre (PBCRC) project, Next Generation National Fruit Fly Diagnostics and Handbook. This project was undertaken in collaboration with PHA where she supported the development of new molecular diagnostic protocols and high-resolution photography. Francesca went on to support the QUT Fruit Fly group in progressing several projects while also working under an ARC Discovery project focused on gaining a deeper understanding of polyphagy in Fruit Flies.

In early 2020, Francesca sought a new challenge and completed a project management certification before moving into a project support role within the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy at QUT.

In her role at PHA, Francesca will provide project and policy support to a number of key digital systems – AUSPestCheck™, the Pest and Disease Image Library (PaDIL) and the Australian Plant Pest Database (APPD).