Dr Stephen Hearth

Lecturer
PhD (Biomedical Science)

Email: stephen.hearth@nd.edu.au

  • Biography

    Dr Hearth joined The University of Notre Dame Australia in 2025 after spending 10 years at the Australian College of Physical Education in Sydney.  As an educator, Dr Hearth has extensive experience and success in teaching diverse cohorts of students across health, exercise, and biological sciences, with a focus on physiology, nutrition, and evidence-based practice.  As part of an ARC Discovery grant Dr Hearth's research has explored antimicrobial compounds in wasps as a novel approach to combating antibiotic resistance and he is currently exploring research opportunities in pharmacology and pathophysiology.

  • Teaching areas

    • Physiology
    • Cell biology
    • Genetics
    • Nutrition

  • Research expertise and supervision

    • Genetics
    • Evolution
    • Pharmacology
    • Pathophysiology

  • Journal articles and proceedings

    • Burden, C.T., Stow, A.J., Hoggard, S.J., Coleman, M.A., & Bishop, M.J. (2014). Genetic structure of Carcinus maenas in southeast Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 500, 139-147 https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10704
    • Hoggard, S.J., Wilson, P.D., Beattie, A.J., & Stow, A.J (2013). The effectiveness of antimicrobial defenses declines with increasing group size and genetic similarity. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 106 (1), 53-58 https://doi.org/10.1603/AN11187
    • Turnbull, C., Wilson, P.D., Hoggard, S., Gillings, M., Palmer, C., Smith, S., Beattie, D., Hussey, S., Stow, A. & Beattie, A. (2012). Primordial Enemies: Fungal Pathogens in Thrips Societies. PLOS One 7 (11), e49737 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049737
    • Hoggard, S.J., Wilson, P.D., Beattie, A.J. & Stow, A.J. (2011). Social complexity and nesting habits are factors in the evolution of antimicrobial defences in wasps. PLoS One 6 (7), e21763 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0021763
    • Turnbull, C., Hoggard, S., Gillings, M., Palmer, C., Stow, A., Beattie, D., Briscoe, D., Smith, S., Wilson, P. & Beattie, A. (2011). Antimicrobial strength increases with group size: implications for social evolution. Biology Letters 7 (2), 249-252 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.0719
    • Baldwin, H.J., Hoggard, S.J., Snoyman, S.T., Stow, A.J. & Brown, C. (2010). Non-invasive genetic sampling of faecal material and hair from the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus). Australian Mammalogy 32 (1), 56-61 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM09015
    • Hoggard, S.J., Beattie, A.J., Gillings, M.R. & Stow, A.J. (2009). Mating system and genetic structure in the paper wasp (Polistes humilis). Australian Journal of Zoology 57 (2), 73-76. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO08083