Rate My Professor Toby Mills

Dr. Toby Mills is a research scientist with diverse managerial and commercial experience, including the establishment and execution of industry consulting projects, at the University of Newcastle, Faculty of Science. He currently serves as Precinct Coordinator, Research Facilities and Infrastructure (Biological Sciences), in the Research and Innovation division, having transitioned from the School of Environmental and Life Sciences (SELS/CESE). In his prior roles, he contributed to the Vice-Chancellor's Grand Challenge on Mosquitoes and collaborated with TUNRA and Defence on monitoring international points of entry to detect and respond to exotic mosquito species threats. Dr. Mills earned a Doctor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Science (Honours), and Master of Science and Technology from the University of New South Wales. His research training and experience cover microbiology, biotechnology, and entomology, complemented by extensive involvement in PC2 research laboratory operations, including safety documentation, design, and commissioning. Additionally, he has held tutoring positions, including for BIOC2181 Fundamentals of Biochemistry at UNSW (2014) and SCIE2019 Astrobiology at the University of Newcastle (2020-2021).

Dr. Mills specializes in environmental biotechnology, with a focus on mosquitoes. His key publications include 'Populations of the Australian Saltmarsh Mosquito Aedes vigilax Vary Between Panmixia and Temporally Stable Local Genetic Structure' (2025), 'Seasonal and Spatial Dynamics of Fungal Leaf Endophytes in Eucalyptus crebra (Narrow-Leaved Ironbark)' (2024), 'Hive Transplantation Has Minimal Impact on the Core Gut Microbiome of the Australian Stingless Bee, Tetragonula carbonaria' (2023), 'Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using the supernatant of Weissella cibaria UPM22MT06 and its antibacterial and cytotoxicity properties' (2023), 'Diagnosing water treatment critical control points for cyanobacterial removal: Exploring benefits of combined microscopy, next-generation sequencing, and cell integrity methods' (2019), 'Increased methane production in cyanobacteria and methanogenic microbe co-cultures' (2017), and 'Nodularin, a cyanobacterial toxin, is synthesized in planta by symbiotic Nostoc sp.' (2012). Dr. Mills has participated in four grants totaling $122,949, such as leading 'Biotechnology of Samoan Traditional Medicines' ($33,000, 2020), and serving as investigator on 'Hunter Estuary Mark, Release, Recapture Study: understanding the origin and movement of Aedes vigilax in the Newcastle region' ($55,000, 2021), 'Novel use of Microbiomes to Prevent Ross River Virus Transmission in Australian Mosquitoes' ($30,000, 2022), and 'Improving arbovirus surveillance in the Hunter region through the development of PCR based assay to survey mosquito species and arboviruses' ($4,949, 2023). His ongoing research projects address population modelling and ecology of Aedes vigilax, first point of entry mosquito vector monitoring, population genomics of the Ross River vector Aedes vigilax, and mosquito microbiomes to prevent Ross River Fever.