Dr Lilia Costa Carvalhais is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland’s Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI). Her research focuses on plant-microbe interactions, plant pathology, and molecular diagnostics to support sustainable agriculture and biosecurity. She holds a PhD from Universität Hohenheim and has worked in Brazil, Germany, Australia, and the Pacific region. Dr Carvalhais leads projects on disease diagnostics, beneficial microbes, and microbiome research in crops such as bananas, sugarcane, and macadamia. She also delivers international training programs and supervises postgraduate students in plant sciences and biosecurity-related research.