Lee Berger is a veterinary scientist. While researching at the CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory in the course of attaining her Ph.D., she identified the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis as the cause of major population decline in Australian amphibians. This research has implications for quarantine protocols and the development of recovery programs. In 2018 Berger was awarded the Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year.
"Lee Berger determined the global cause of catastrophic declines and disappearances of amphibians in pristine areas, by discovering the novel pandemic disease, chytrodiomycosis. By applying her disease expertise for the benefit of conservation, sahe is a world leader in underdtanding the epidemiology and pathogenesis of chytrodiomycosis. Berger's research has made a major contribuition to the recognition that the spread of exotic disease is a threat to biodiversity and a serious consequence of globalisation." [from https://www.science.org.au/profiles/lee-berger 21/10/2025]
In 2000 Berger was awarded the CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement (with Alex Hyatt) for solving one of the world's most urgent and puzzling environmental problems - the reason for the sudden disappearance of rainforest frogs in protected habitats in Australia and Central America.
c. 1989
1993
Education - Bachelor of Veterinary Science, University of Melbourne
1993
1993
Education - Bachelor of Veterinary Science (BVSc (hons)), University of Melbourne
1994
1995
Career position - Veterinarian, Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Melbourne
1995
2001
Education - Doctor of Philosophy, James Cook University and CSIRO Australian Animal Health Laboratory
2000
2000
Award - CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement for the discovery of amphibian chytridiomycosis with Alex Hyatt
2001
2002
Career position - Employed at National Wildlife Health Centre in Madison, USA
2002
Career position - Part-time postdoctoral research fellow at James Cook University
2002
2002
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), James Cook University
2004
2010
Award - ARC Postdoctoral Fellow, James Cook University
2007
2007
Award - Ian Clunies Ross Memorial Award for Australian veterinary academic achievement
2009
2009
Award - James Cook University Research Excellence Team Award to Wildlife Biosecurity Team
2011
2016
Award - ARC Future Fellow, James Cook University
2016
2016
Award - Tom Thorne and Beth Williams Memorial Award, Wildlife Disease Association and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians
2017
2018
Career position - Associate Dean, Research, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences (CPHMVS), James Cook University
2018
2018
Award - Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year, Commonwealth of Australia
2020
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)