Dr Samantha McGaughey is a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre in Critical Resources for the Future and serves on the Centre’s Mentoring and Professional Development Sub-Committee, where she contributes to the strategic development of early-career researchers and inclusive training initiatives across the Centre.
Samantha is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Australian National University’s Research School of Biology, where she applies her interdisciplinary expertise in membrane transport biology and bio-inspired technologies to challenges in resource recovery and environmental sustainability. Her work focuses on understanding and engineering the molecular mechanisms that govern selective transport processes in biological systems — knowledge that is directly translated into technologies for recovering critical resources and nutrients from complex industrial waste streams and wastewater.
Samantha completed her PhD at the University of Adelaide in 2020, where her research investigated plant membrane transport mechanisms to improve crop tolerance to environmental stress and to drive innovation in membrane separation technologies with industrial relevance. Her commitment to translational science is reflected in her contributions to international research initiatives, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation–funded C4 Rice project, which seeks to enhance photosynthetic efficiency and food security for smallholder farmers.
Beyond her academic achievements, Dr McGaughey is recognised as a visionary researcher with real-world impact. She was named 2025 ACT Emerging Scientist of the Year for her pioneering work in wastewater technology, which advances sustainable recovery of clean water and valuable minerals — including rare earth elements and other critical resources — from diverse wastewater sources.
Within the Centre, Samantha contributes her unique perspective to the Bioleaching of Hyper-Enriched Black Shales (HEBS) project, a CSIRO-industry collaborative initiative exploring the technical and economic feasibility of biomining black shale deposits for critical and base metals. She co-supervises PhD candidate Melika Mostafavi alongside partners from CSIRO, ANU, and industry, ensuring strong integration of biological processing insights, sustainable extraction strategies, and translational impact.
Dr McGaughey’s interdisciplinary leadership, award-winning research, and commitment to sustainable solutions position her as an influential voice within CCRF and in Australia’s broader scientific community, advancing the Centre’s mission to develop innovative and environmentally responsible technologies for critical resources of the future.
