Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson

@hilaryrosed

It's all about plants in the end (and truffle diversity | soil carbon) she/her 🏳️‍🌈 🌾🍄👩🏼‍🔬⛰️🌱 #WomenInSTEM #botany #fungi #seeds PhD from UOregon 🇺🇸 Postdoc at the Australian National Uni 🇦🇺 #MSCA postdoc UiBergen '26 🇳🇴 HilaryRoseDawson.wordpress.com

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Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· 13d

#Australia paid summer #internship alert at CSIRO in Canberra: Data analysis of #termite carbon flux data set with aim of publication. This is a fantastic opportunity with a great supervisor. Apply by 10 Aug. Please share widely! #ecology #undergrad #JobAlert jobs.csiro.au/job/Various-...

Screenshot that reads:
"About the project from the lead, Zach Brown:

I have several datasets related to termite mound field gas fluxes and I’m keen to recruit a second or third year student who is motivated to analyse these data with the aim to generate a first-author publication. The data exist already, so field work is not required but some field trips are possible if the student wants the experience. This project is part of a larger program improving carbon cycling models for Australian landscapes. The role is best suited to someone who is highly motivated to get a first author publication and is considering a career in research.

The project descriptions are available via the “Project List” link available on the advertisement page. Any questions related to project can be directed to me at zach.brown [at] csiro.au and hiring questions can be directed to CSIRO HR."

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· 19d

Heartbroken to see that UC Davis Stable Isotope Facility is closing in a couple days after nearly three decades of service. UCDavis SIF was integral to the research I did before and during my PhD. They made stable isotopes accessible even for small scale projects, and will be sorely missed. 🧪

Email screenshot that reads:
"Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients of SIF,

We are writing to inform you that UC Davis will be permanently closing the Stable Isotope Facility on July 26, 2026. Beyond this date, SIF staff emails and other SIF contacts (e.g., sif@ucdavis.edu) will no longer be monitored. If, after the closure date, you have questions about billing, data reporting, or sample disposition they can be directed to the Dept. of Plant Sciences Chief Administrative Officer, Madhu Sharma (mssharma [at] ucdavis.edu).

We are sorry for any disruption this may cause in your research program and are proud to have supported your research over these past 28 years.

Sincerely,
The SIF Team"

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· 22d

Travel grant for students and #EMCR funded by Australian Mountain Research Facility (AMRF) and @tern-aus.bsky.social. Application is a video documenting how you use AMRF-supported data. Apply by 15 Sep 2026. docs.google.com/forms/d/1Vkz...

Slide screenshot of Australian Mountain Research Facility Student and Early Career Travel and Conference Support grant. The Aim is to support attendance at scientific conferences, symposia, and professional workshops, and assist in the development of crucial skills in science communication and professional network development. The grant scheme recognises applicants at two levels. All applications will receive personalised feedback from AMRF/TERN and the video may be published by AMRF in educational and outreach contexts offering a science communication output for their professional portfolio. The highest rated applicants in each round will receive up to $1000 AUD to support participation in a scientific conference, or participation in other technical workshops/forum events where AMRF-supported research is presented. Applications are due 15 Sep 2026. For further info, email penny.burrell [at] anu.edu.au.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· 22d

Summer cadet program by the Australian Mountain Research Facility (AMRF) + @tern-aus.bsky.social aimed at Australian undergrads/recent grads. Partially paid. Great for students testing out if research is for them. Approx. six positions open. Apply by 31 Aug 2026. docs.google.com/forms/d/1waw...

Slide screenshot for AMRF Summer Cadet Program 2026/27. Applications are open from 1 Aug to 31 Aug. Program runs 10 to 14 weeks, November 2026 to March 2027. For more info, email penny.burrell[at]anu.edu.au

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· 22d

Top-up scholarship for Australian #PhD students working with plant #genomics, #dendrochronology, or #InsectEcology, with a focus on snow gum dieback. Advert coming soon; feel free to reach out to Adrienne Nicotra or Matt Brookhouse ahead of time if you're interested.

Screenshot of a slide detailing PhD Top Up Scholarship for Q1 2027 start, with projects including understanding the physiology, functional ecology and genomics of the snow gum group to inform mitigation and management, using dendrochronology to reconstruct history of snow gum dieback events, the natural history of Phoracantha mastersi and potential parasitoids of Eucalyptus pauciflora subspecies. Anticipated advert date 31 Aug 2026.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· 23d

On a whim I commissioned @dangerouscolors.bsky.social to draw the beetle that eats my study species, and I had no idea how satisfying it is to have an artist draw what I study. (Plus, it's great for presentations!) Here's a videogame Phoracantha mastersi ready to eat snow gums. #SciComm #ecology

A Phoracantha mastersi beetle from above drawn in pixels as if it's going to run around a video game devouring snow gum trees.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jul 13

Can we please quit with the oversized 'try AI!' popups on scientific papers that take up readable space? This popup on @newphyt.bsky.social doesn't even have a way to shrink it so I have to give up the bottom couple of inches on my screen.

Screenshot of a New Phytologist article that has a large 'Try AI Companion' bubble that persistently floats on top of the text in a not-subtle way.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jul 6

#MSAfungi26 is next week. If you're attending, check out my sister Heather Dawson's presentation on how fire in oak savanna affects #truffle diversity. (Also, she and her truffle dogs will do a demo during the foray!) Monday Session 2-3 5:15PM #mycology #ecology #FireEcology #biodiversity

Heather sits in an oak tree with her fluffy res golden retriever truffle dog Rye standing on his hind legs to reach her.

A Genea truffle cut in half on an oak leaf, showing intricate folds.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jul 5

This lyrebird put on a delightful show for us. Sound on to hear it mimic a kookaburra (and look hard to spot the still brown bird in the brown vegetation--I promise it's there).

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jul 5

The Blue Mountain flora is so fantastic that my phone camera oversaturated some of the flowers.

Forked-leaf sundew stretching its two sticky leaves out of a grassy seep.

Bright yellow wattle puffball flowers in a Black Summer superbloom site.

Mountain devil flower so brightly coloured that the photograph is a neon red blob.

Cobra greenhood orchid with its subtle green and translucent petals.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jul 5

Taking a break between postdoc positions means I can finally explore places like the Blue Mountains. The downside is I'm finding new places to love right before an international move. #PostdocLife

Expansive view across a Eucalyptus forest with stone pillars to the left and wide stone plateaus in the distance.

View of a distant waterfall plummeting off a rocky cliff with tree ferns in the foreground.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jun 29

"Threatened ecosystem types cover 7% of the [Australian] alpine region and Near Threatened ecosystem types cover 76%." Important paper that does a thorough assessment of #Australia #alpine ecosystems under the IUCN #RedList. doi.org/10.1111/aec.70214 🧪 #conservation #ecology #ClimateChange

Heatmap of the assessed risk category associated with each broad threat category reported to affect each Australian alpine ecosystem type based on the IUCN Threat Classification Scheme.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jun 29

Ooh, I'll have to keep my eye open for that one. The pics online make it look like a great find.

An open book where each page is a sleeve that holds a view-master reel

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jun 8

Good evening from the #Canberra bush (walking distance from my home). #WildOz

Golden hour light filters through backlit Eucalyptus trees with a broad dirt path leading down the mountain

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jun 6

I love that Science Blue Sky alerts me to cool phenomena that I would otherwise miss. I noticed Jupiter and Venus approaching conjunction tonight in #Canberra thanks to @leilabelkora.bsky.social's posts!

Two bright planets and a couple stars hovering in a deep blue sky above a yellow lit building.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· May 28

Gorgeous #Eucalyptus bark adding colour to the sub-alpine winter landscape of Kosciuszko National Park #ecology #WildOz #botany

Streak of lime green fading into golden yellow and orange on a slender Eucalyptus perriniana trunk

Rusty orange streak cutting through green-grey bark mottled with greys on a Eucalyptus pauciflora trunk

Shades of red and orange Eucalyptus pauciflora bark glowing in late afternoon light

Chunks of red-orange bark cut through a pale grey-green Eucalyptus pauciflora trunk

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Apr 20

I stumbled upon this unexpected field of #camas flowers at a city park. Based on the location, it looks like a highly successful #restoration project bringing amazing colour to an otherwise unremarkable field. #bloomscrolling

A handful of yellow-orange California poppies pop in front of a large field of vibrant purple camas and grass.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Mar 13

Australian spiders continue to surprise and delight me. I thought these egg sacs were chrysalises and had to go back to find the parent Ordgarius spider after getting an #iNaturalist ID. #WildOz #entomology #ecology

Four light brown egg sacs of impressive size (each a couple centimetres long) hanging in a row from an ornamental shrub branch.

A large light brown spider with a net-like pattern on its abdomen and fuzzy legs curled up tight between two egg sacs.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Mar 11

4.6 magnitude #Earthquake in #Canberra and #Sydney, #Australia at 7:09PM! (Epicenter in Boorowa, NSW.) Don't forget to fill out a Felt It report if you're local to the area to contribute #CommunityScience data. earthquakes.ga.gov.au/event/ga2026...

Heatmap of Felt It report data showing the epicenter near Boorowa, NSW, as a yellow pixel and fading out to lilac in Canberra and Sydney.

Legend for the Felt It report map from dark red Extreme to light blue Weak.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Mar 4

Note that the article itself was entirely generated using an LLM.

A screencap of a quote post of the original post with Alexander Kustov saying "P.S. This post was entirely generated and posted on Substack by agentic AI using my new Claude Code (Opus 4.6) workflow. Make of that what you will."

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Mar 2

Pacific Northwest #mycology folks, note that one of our most recognisable #fungi Phaeolus schweinitzii (dyer's polypore) is now considered misnamed. Most (but not all) in the PNW are P. occidentiamericanus.

Top down view of a large orange-yellow-brown polypore fungus with a boot for scale.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Feb 25

Graminoids had the best heat tolerance, but plant growth form did not predict response to active warming in a #heatwave experiment led by @scienceanu.bsky.social PhD student Tom Hanley using @tern-aus.bsky.social AMRF infrastructure. doi.org/10.1111/jvs.70109 🧪 #ecology #ecophysiology #wildOz

Photograph of active warming perspex heatwave chambers deployed in an alpine grassland with distant mountain peaks and dramatic clouds.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Feb 5

Twenty-three years of potoroo poo shows that these mycophagists are eating different ectomycorrhizal #truffles under #ClimateChange. #OpenAccess article: doi.org/10.1002/ecog.08410 🧪 #mycology #ecology #WildOz

A ten panel figure showing how five truffle genera (Mesophellia, Hysterangium, Arcangeliella, Thaxterogaster, and Austrogautieria) change in presence and abundance in potoroo scat based on climate variables such as weekly max temp and quarterly min temp.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Feb 4

Congratulations to my sister Heather Dawson on passing her #PhD qualifying exam at #UOregon this morning! So much good #TruffleDog biodiversity research done and in the works. 🧪 #mycology #SisterScientists #truffles (Pic by @ramencult.bsky.social because I'm far away in 🇦🇺.)

Heather smiling in front of her title slide that says "The cryptic underground near and far: Unearthing truffle diversity and ecology across local and regional scales". The slide is decorated with a dog and truffles that she drew.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Feb 3

Web of Science lets you filter by paper type, although I'm not sure if it's as fine-grained as you're looking for. (Example image is what shows up when I search for your work on WoS.) The image search idea would be amazing, but I haven't found one yet...

Screenshot of a Web of Science search bar showing document types to filter by, including Article, Book Chapters, Review Article, Correction, and Editorial Material.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jan 14

Today I met a truffle pug (not to be confused with a truffle pig).

A pug stands and stares expectantly while waiting for her human to find the truffle she indicated.

Top view of the truffle pug, her human, and another pup in training investigating a truffle dig.

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Jan 9

Craterellus (neo)tubaeformis*, one of very few PNW mushrooms that are good foraging even when frozen (if you can spot them). *currently being redescribed as separate from the European species #mycology #fungi

A handful of snow-capped yellow mushrooms that look like small chanterelles

A yellow mushroom wearing a cap of snow growing in more snow

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Dec 22

Happy winter solstice! (I feel a bit disloyal to the southern hemisphere in saying that since I'm only visiting December-winter this year.)

A just-frozen lake ringed by tall conifers dusted with fresh snow

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Dec 19

Thanks! I was quite pleased with it. I followed these instructions to draft my own pattern: makeyourownregalia.blogspot.com/p/sewing-tam... The tassel was purchased from the regalia shop because I forgot it until the last minute.

Drafting set up with clear rulers, lines drawn on white batting, and sewing paraphernalia

Partially finished tam turned inside out showing the pleasing geometric shape

Dr. Hilary Rose Dawson@hilaryrosed· Dec 19

I could have used this last year! I was unimpressed with the regalia quality offered, so I found a vintage gown in wrong colours and sewed new piping and velvet on top. I did the same with a commercial (low qual) hood, and sewed my tam from scratch. Worth it, even though I didn't fit in visually.