Academia runs on writing, but finding time to write is hard. Between teaching, supervision, and admin, writing often gets pushed aside. This piece shares what happened when the BEAM and MAVE labs ran a focused writing retreat, and why a simple mix of clear goals, writing sprints, shared meals, and accountability helped turn writing from a solitary task into a collective habit

Koalas are widely seen as a species in crisis, yet in South Australia’s Mount Lofty Ranges their numbers have grown so rapidly that they are damaging the forests they depend on. Using citizen-science data and demographic modelling, we project that this population will continue growth without intervention. We show that targeted, non-lethal fertility control of adult females can stabilise populations at lower cost while avoiding ecological damage and animal welfare concerns.

We invite expressions of interest for a postdoc applicant to the National Intelligence Postdoctoral Grant. The project focuses on forecasting scrub typhus risks in Australia using demographic and ecological models of chigger mites and their hosts under climate change. The successful candidate will help shape the research direction. Apply by 6 Jan 2026

Taking a year off after Honours felt risky, but it became one of the most valuable years of my life. I finished my manuscript, gained hands-on marine biology experience: from whale necropsies in New Zealand to tracking humpbacks in Queensland, and confirmed that a PhD is truly the path I want to follow