MrMohan Pandey

I am currently a PhD candidate at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University, Burwood Campus. I am particularly interested in exploring how plants respond to extreme environmental conditions and climate change linking diverse ecological approaches, such as community composition, species interactions, plant functional traits, species invasion, and ecophysiology. And my PhD research specifically focuses on how Australian alpine plants respond to increasing temperatures and limited water availability.

Before joining Deakin, I was engaged with an NGO since 2017 that focuses on biodiversity conservation in Nepal. Starting as a plant taxonomist, I eventually took on multiple roles, leading plant taxonomical and ecological research, project coordination, grant writing, and reporting. This experience has strengthened both my research skills and collaborative abilities in diverse environments. My significant contributions included identifying critical habitats and species to prioritize conservation efforts, as well as establishing community protected landscapes. Additionally, I actively contributed to writing successful grant proposals, resulting in about half a dozen major grants being awarded to the organization.

I also worked as a research assistant on various plant ecological research projects, such as the establishment of long-term vegetation monitoring plots, mapping and impact assessment of invasive species in different ecosystems, population studies of rare alpine plants, and the impact of fire on alpine ecosystems. I assisted professors and two PhD scholars, contributing to collaborative publications in peer-reviewed journals.