University of Newcastle My research expertise is at the interface of two primary areas: Conservation Biology and Reproductive Biology. My original background was in the area of reproductive physiology where I pursued interests in the physiology of the testis and the epididymis (the duct that drains sperm and fluid from the testis, and stores sperm until ejaculation). I took a comparative approach and investigated and published on the role of epididymis in birds, eutherian mammals and marsupials. My research had an emphasis on how the efferent ducts (the first ducts to leave the testis) reabsorb fluid, with published studies on the mechanisms of epithelial transport and the signal transduction systems that control that transport. My main discovery in this area was that reabsorption by the efferent ducts is controlled by down regulation through the cAMP system. I have also extensively characterised the processes of fluid transport by the efferent duct systems in both birds and mammals, and have shown amongst other things that the process is highly dependent on sodium transport, in particular the Na-H exchanger, and that the efferent duct epithelium is highly permeable to the diffusion of small molecules in both directions. My published studies concluded that the epithelium is both permeable and displays a high level of active solute transport across its walls; the physiological purpose of which is to concentrate and mature the sperm in the epididymis prior to ejaculation. This work was a collaboration with Assoc Prof RC Jones. Most of this work has been published between 1995 and 2005.