Rate My Professor Alana Grech

Professor Alana Grech is a Professor of Environmental Science and serves as Head of Earth and Environmental Science in the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University. She earned her PhD from James Cook University in 2010 and a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours) from the University of Adelaide in 2003. Her career trajectory includes roles as Assistant Director and Associate Dean of Research Education at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies from 2017 to 2022, Senior Lecturer in Spatial Information Science at Macquarie University from 2013 to 2016, and Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University from 2010 to 2012. Currently, she is a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures, and she lectures in subjects such as Geographic Information Systems, Coastal and Marine Management, and Conservation Biology while supervising doctoral students in seagrass restoration, coral reef monitoring, and marine spatial planning.

Grech's research utilizes spatial technologies, including geographic information systems, biophysical models, and decision support tools, to generate evidence for managing tropical coasts amid multiple interacting threats. She advances cumulative impact assessment methodologies and applies them to inform environmental policy, planning, and management through partnerships with governments, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, and communities, enhancing outcomes for Country and northern Australia's coastal resilience. With 68 publications, notable works include 'RapidBenthos: Automated segmentation and multi‐view classification of coral reef communities from photogrammetric reconstruction' (2025), 'Research priorities for the sustainability of coral-rich western Pacific seascapes' (2023), 'Quantifying the environmental impact of a major coal mine project on the adjacent Great Barrier Reef ecosystems' (2022), 'The biophysical dynamics of giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera: Seasonal patterns and dispersal mechanisms in the southeast Pacific' (2024), and 'A comprehensive functional trait database of seagrasses in Tropical Queensland' (2024). Her contributions have earned awards such as Queensland Young Tall Poppy Scientist of the Year (2018), Award for Excellence in Graduate Research Leadership (2019), Churchill Fellowship (2012), Asem Duo Fellowship (2015), and JCU Awards for Excellence: Leadership (2024). Grech is an Associate Editor for Diversity and Distributions, served on the Queensland Species Technical Committee (2022–2024), and currently sits on the Queensland Sustainable Fisheries Expert Panel (2023–2027) as well as the JCU Council as an elected academic staff member (2022–2026).