Tracey Steinrucken

Tracey is a Plant Pathology Research Scientist in the CSIRO Plant Health Diagnostics team in Brisbane. She started at CSIRO in 2013 as a PhD student with Western Sydney University during which she was based at UC Berkeley's Forest Pathology lab as Fulbright Scholar in 2015-2016. Tracey continued on to do her postdoc at CSIRO in collaboration with Biosecurity Queensland. Her PhD and postdoc were both on the biocontrol of weeds using fungal pathogens. In 2023, Tracey was a visiting fellow at ETH Zurich working on airborne eDNA surveillance of Ash dieback using air pollution monitoring stations.

Tracey’s current work centres on stakeholder engagement. She collaborates with QDAF and the Butchulla Indigenous Rangers to enhance biosecurity strategies for protecting K'gari's forests, with an emphasis on capability development aligned with First Nations priorities. Additionally, she facilitates the co-design of digital platforms for integrated pest and disease management in Northern Rivers horticultural industries. Tracey is the immediate past President of the Australasian Mycological Society