Rate My Professor Catherine Herbert

Professor Catherine Herbert serves in the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney, within the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. She earned her PhD in Wildlife Management from Macquarie University in 2003 and a BSc (Hons). Her career trajectory includes Research Associate at Macquarie University from 2002 to 2004, ARC Postdoctoral Fellow at UNSW Sydney from 2005 to 2007, Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Science at the University of Sydney from 2011 to 2017, and Associate Professor thereafter, with a recent promotion to Professor of Wildlife Management. Herbert's research centers on marsupial biology, encompassing fertility control technologies for managing overabundant wildlife populations such as kangaroos and possums, reproductive physiology and contraception using GnRH agonists like deslorelin, wildlife rehabilitation and release outcomes, zoonotic diseases including Coxiella burnetii and Q fever in native species, genetic diversity, habitat selection, human-wildlife conflict, and bushfire impacts on marsupials.

With over 74 publications and more than 1,300 citations, her influential works include "Molecular detection and characterization of Coxiella burnetii in Australian native wildlife species" (2025), "Characterising Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) as Hosts of Coxiella burnetii" (2024), "Trends in Rescue and Rehabilitation of Marsupials Surviving the Australian 2019–2020 Bushfires" (2024), "A systematic review of factors affecting wildlife survival during rehabilitation and release" (2022), "Factors influencing the success of hand-reared juvenile brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) released into the wild" (2022), and "Fertility control for managing macropods – Current approaches and future prospects" (2021). She was awarded an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2005 and Faculty of Veterinary Science Learning and Teaching awards. Herbert leads curriculum design for wildlife conservation units, supervises honours and PhD students, and collaborates with conservation organizations and government on management strategies, contributing to best practice guidelines for marsupial rehabilitation and policy on human-wildlife interactions.