FREW LAB
Dr Adam Frew
I'm an ecologist interested in understanding the interactions between soil microbiota, plants and herbivores. In particular, a major theme of my research is understanding the ecology of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and how they affect plant outcomes.
bio
I’m interested in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, how they affect plants, and what influences their diversity and composition.
I obtained my PhD from the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment in 2017, where I studied the impacts of the soil environment on root-feeding insects. I was then awarded an independent research fellowship at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga where I continued to pursue my interests in belowground ecology by exploring aspects of how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi affect plant performance and responses to insect herbivory. After this fellowship I took up an ongoing faculty position at the University of Southern Queensland teaching into a variety of environmental and sustainability subjects while continuing my research into mycorrhizal ecology.
I was awarded an ARC DECRA that explores how agricultural management shapes mycorrhizal fungal diversity and how community composition impacts plant defences against insect herbivores. At this point, I returned to the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment to build my research group to better understand this amazing group of symbiotic fungi.