Danica Fontein
Danica's PhD research focuses on insect olfactory receptor sensing mechanisms on CNTFET biosensor platforms.
Physics PhD student
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Profile
Danica Fontein is a PhD candidate specialising in the development of bioelectronic sensors based on insect olfactory receptors (ORs). Her research integrates nanomaterials, nanoelectronics, and biological physics to investigate how insect ORs transduce ligand binding events when interfaced with carbon nanotube field-effect transistors (CNTFETs). In the SCPS cleanroom, she fabricates ultrasensitive platforms enabling high-precision multiplexed sensing, evaluating the impact of OR expression formats and the inclusion of the co-receptor subunit.
Her work is part of a Marsden Fund-supported collaboration with the University of New South Wales and Plant & Food Research New Zealand, aiming to advance both our fundamental understanding of insect olfactory systems and the development of next-generation biosensing technologies.
Qualifications
Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Physics
Bachelor of Science in Geophysics and Physics
Research interests
Carbon nanotube field effect transistors, multiplexed biosensing, artificial nose technologies, and nanoelectronics.
PhD topic
Understanding insect olfactory receptor sensing mechanisms on CNTFET biosensor platforms
Supervisors
Dr Natalie Plank, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Professor Ben Ruck, School of Chemical and Physical Sciences