Aphrika Gregson

I am a PhD Candidate at the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at The Australian National University.

My PhD research focuses on how social licence and trust are built and maintained during biosecurity outbreaks, using Australia's response to the Varroa mite incursion in New South Wales as a central case.

When a serious pest arrives, the success of the response often depends less on the science alone than on whether people trust the decision makers and the effectiveness of biosecurity interventions. I combine documentary analysis, stakeholder surveys and a biosecurity simulation to work out what builds that trust and what erodes it, including the role of misinformation, so the Varroa response can teach us how to respond the next incursion. This work sits within CPAS's theme of evidence, expertise and public policy, unpacking how science and expertise feed into high stakes decisions and how communication shapes whether communities accept them.

My primary supervisor is Associate Professor Will Grant (ANU). My panel also includes Dr Matt Nurse (ANU), Dr Connar McShane (James Cook University) and Dr Chris Anderson (NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development). I undertake my research through the ARC Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity, and I also work in plant biosecurity and agricultural and veterinary chemical policy with NSW DPIRD, my partner organisation through the Centre.