Valerie Caron
(She/Her)
Research Scientist & Team Leader
Valerie is a French Canadian calling Australia home for the last 17 years. While she still misses snow and the mighty St-Lawrence River, she fell in love with the smell of eucalyptus and the red soil of the outback.
Valerie is an entomologist with expertise in biological control and invasion biology. Her research has a strong ecological focus. Valerie has a B.Sc. in Agriculture and Environmental Sciences from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, a M.Sc. in biological control from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada and a PhD from Monash University in invasion biology, Melbourne, Australia.
After her PhD, she moved to Canberra and worked at the University of Canberra as a lecturer in biological sciences and worked with Traditional Owners on the restoration of sacred waterholes in Central Australia. This research program fuelled her passion for indigenous science. She believes traditional knowledge holds the key to better land management.
She joined CSIRO in 2018 to become Team Leader of the Invertebrate Management Team. Her current research focuses on invasive land snails, introduced dung beetles and pre-emptive biological control.
When she is not working, Valerie spends time with her family, takes care of her bees, fossick for rocks and do various forms of art such as silversmithing, weaving and wonky pottery.
