2026 Conference Speakers
Dr Claudia Garrido
BeeSafe (Germany)
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr Claudia Garrido, based in Germany, will be presenting at our 2026 Conference. Dr Garrido’s career spans over 30 years entirely dedicated to bees and her PhD was focused on Varroa destructor and with research undertaken in Thailand and Brazil. This led her to establish BeeSafe in January 2013. Dr Garrido’s “mission” is to translate bee science, leading to studies that make sense. She stands for bee health, in all its aspects. Whether it be clinical studies for bee health products, monitoring agricultural studies testing effects of plant protection products, or teaching about bee diseases. Dr Garrido likes to keep the whole picture in mind. And everything she does is based on bee science, on data, and her 30-years’ experience. For more information visit, BeeSafe at https://bee-safe.eu/
Dr Samuel Ramsey
University of Colorado (USA)
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr. Ramsey received his B.S. in entomology from Cornell University and his Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Maryland College Park. He completed his post-doctoral training with Dr. Jay Evans, Steve Cook, and Daniel Sonenshine at USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory and now serves as Endowed Professor of Entomology at CU Boulder’s BioFrontiers Institute and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Featured on Hulu’s Docuseries: Your Attention Please as well as in the Washington Post, on NPR, CNN, Wired, CBS This Morning, Khan Academy, Seeker, The Today Show and several local news segments, Ramsey is celebrated as an engaging science communicator. He uses this talent to make science more accessible to a broad audience. His nonprofit, The Ramsey Research Foundation, works to remove barriers that slow the progress of and decrease access to science by developing novel pathways for scientific funding and by removing paywalls that keep the public from engaging with published scientific work.
Olivia Ducommun-Dit-Verron
La Trobe University (Victoria)
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Olivia Ducommun-Dit-Verron is a PhD candidate in the Agricultural Bio-Solutions Laboratory at La Trobe University, working with Professor Travis Beddoe. Her research is all about exploring innovative vaccine strategies and understanding how immune protection can be passed down through generations in western honey bees. She is particularly focused on tackling American and European Foulbrood infections. Before diving into her PhD, Olivia completed a Master's degree where she worked on using therapeutic bacteriophages to control American Foulbrood infections. She is passionate about blending science with practical solutions to protect these essential pollinators and support sustainable agriculture.
Dr Cooper Schouten
Research Fellow & Director SCU Bee Research and Extension Lab
Dr Cooper Schouten is a Senior Research Fellow and Director of Southern Cross Universities Bee Research and Extension Lab. Coopers research focuses on strategic beekeeping industry development with an engaged and applied focus which seeks to provide direct benefits to beekeeping businesses. Cooper has international beekeeping research, capacity building, training and extension experience working in several countries in the Indo-Pacific region. He is a keen beekeeper with experience working with commercial beekeeping operations. Cooper is also an Executive Member of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council.
Dr Duong Nguyen
Research Scientist - Leader - Insecticide Resistance and Genomics - Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
Dr Duong Nguyen is a Research Entomologist with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development based at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in Menangle, Australia. She holds an MSc in Natural Resources in Plant Health and Protection from the University of Greenwich (United Kingdom) and her PhD in insect genetic diversity and endosymbionts from Western Sydney University (Australia). Dr Nguyen leads research on insecticide resistance in agricultural arthropods, using bioassays alongside molecular genomics to uncover resistance mechanisms and support effective pest management. With over 25 years in applied entomology, her research contributes to biosecurity preparedness and sustainable pest management strategies in Australia. Dr Nguyen is currently involved in several national research initiatives focused on improving resistance monitoring and developing genomic tools for early resistance detection. Her work increasingly contributes to Australia’s response to emerging threats such as Varroa mite resistance and the long-term protection of pollination industries.
Dr Kenya Fernandes
ARC DECRA Fellow, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney
Dr Kenya Fernandes is a microbiologist and ARC DECRA Fellow at the University of Sydney studying the relationships between bees, microbes, and honey. Her research investigates how environmental stressors disrupt the microbial communities living inside bee colonies - and what that means for colony health and the antimicrobial properties of hive products. She has shown that diverse floral resources directly enhance the potency of honey bee honey, and that stingless bee honeys possess unique and potent antimicrobial properties distinct from those of conventional honey. This work reveals that honey is not simply a food product but an ecologically derived antimicrobial system shaped by interactions between bees, plants, and microbes - and that what happens in the hive, and the landscape surrounding it, determines how medicinally powerful that honey is. At a time when drug-resistant infections are becoming one of the world's most serious health threats, Australian honeys represent a promising source of new therapeutics.
Jon Lockwood
Goldfield Honey Australia
Jon is a commercial beekeeper, Managing Director and co-owner of Goldfield Honey Australia P/L with his mother Vicki. Jon manages 11000 hives and several thousand nucleus colonies. Goldfields produce premium bulk honey, beeswax, honey comb, queen bees, nucleus colonies and pollinate almonds with all of their hives. Jon’s three siblings are also involved in the beekeeping industry. Undertaking tourism, honey packing, bee equipment manufacturing, marketing and administration. Jon developed a love and passion for the industry working alongside his father, Grant, from a young age. Assisting his father with honey production, pollination and package bee exports. Jon has worked on and visited bees in several countries around the world. Jon has become involved in the industry body to assist fellow beekeepers in industry challenges and to promote the beekeeping industry as a whole.
Dr Emily Remnant
Senior Lecturer, BEE Lab, University of Sydney
Dr Emily Remnant is a Senior Lecturer in the BEE lab at the University of Sydney. Her research addresses global problems associated with insects, like food security, invasive species, and pollinator health. Her current research program aims to understand and prevent the negative impacts of emerging viruses, parasitic Varroa mites and pesticides on honey bees, and to define the role of Varroa as a viral vector. She is currently investigating how the viral landscape of Australian bees is changing due to Varroa’s spread, and investigating the impact of two novel Rhabdoviruses on honey bee health. Dr Remnant is also working with an interdisciplinary team to develop safer, environmentally-friendly pesticides using structure-based drug discovery methods to identify chemicals that specifically target in-hive honey bee pests like Varroa, while being safe for bees.
Danny Le Feuvre
CEO Australian Honey Bee Industry Council
Danny Le Feuvre is the CEO of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC), the national peak representative body for the honey bee industry. Previously a commercial beekeeper for 15 years providing pollination services across a diverse range of crops in South Australia. He has served AHBIC as state delegate and executive member for many years before being appointed CEO, delivering outcomes as guided by AHBIC member bodies and board. Danny has a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Melbourne and a Masters in Agribusiness from the University of Adelaide and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Elizabeth Frost
Technical Specialist - Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
Liz Frost works as ‘Technical Specialist - Bees’ for the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Liz started with bees in 2008 at the University of California, Davis, as Sue Cobey’s student volunteer, working her way up to lab and field technician. Before coming to Australia in 2013, Liz worked for California, Minnesota, and North Dakota queen breeders, as a US Bee Informed Partnership technician with commercial queen breeders and honey producers, and as an independent contractor. Liz co-managed Australia’s National Honey Bee Genetic Improvement Program (Plan Bee) and continues to research and teach on bee breeding and selection for resistance traits now that Varroa is established in eastern Australia.
Dr Madlen Kratz
Honey Bee Industry Development Officer - Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
Dr Madlen Kratz works with the Department of Primary Industries in NSW as the 'Honeybee Industry Development Officer'. Her background is in research on honey bee nutrition, foraging behaviour and crop pollination. She focuses on bee health and productivity for the Honey Bee and Pollination Industries. Current areas of work include evaluating supplementary feeding practices for their costs and benefits to beekeepers. Previous work also included the assessment of alternative pasture species for their value to honey bees, and evaluating the attractiveness of blueberry flowers to bees under crop covers.
John Mackay
dnature diagnostics & research Ltd (NZ)
John is the technical director of dnature (“DNA in a range of nature”). The company specialises in the development of molecular diagnostic tests for primary industries. Many of these tests become the industry standard for their respective industry – from multiple apiculture tests to kiwifruit pathogens and plant viruses. John and the dnature team pioneered the use of hive entrance swabs for AFB and other pathogens (“Foster Method”) and have been working on pyrethroid resistance in varroa since 2018 and more recently, amitraz resistance.