Wan Faridah Akmal Jusoh

Dr

Accepting PhD Students

20102024

Research activity per year

Personal profile

Biography

Wan F.A. Jusoh currently holds the position of Senior Lecturer in Biodiversity and Conservation at Monash University Malaysia's School of Science. Previously, she worked as a Research Fellow at National University of Singapore, focused on researching the virtual repatriation of Singapore's natural heritage. Her previous experience in conservation was as a Senior Programme Officer for Peninsular Malaysia Terrestrial Conservation Programme, WWF-Malaysia, where she led a team to advocate for the protection of the Setiu Wetlands in Terengganu from 2015–2017.

Research interests

Wan conducts research at the intersection of biodiversity research and the history of natural heritage – from studying flashing fireflies to reconstructing timelines of how ecosystems have evolved. She envisions a comprehensive species database incorporating field, laboratory, museum, library, and archival approaches. In pursuit of her research, she addresses three essential inquiries about species discovery: what was there, what has been lost and what must be safeguarded. 

Integrative Taxonomy and Systematics of Fireflies

Firefly beetles (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) comprise over 2,000 species globally. The subfamily Luciolinae—all of which are exclusively flashing fireflies—represents a diverse subfamily distributed across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. Wan seeks to explore the systematics of fireflies and other bioluminescent beetles of SE Asia and the Australopacific region with her collaborators. Her research team uses various analyses derived from morphological and molecular data, behaviour, and ecology, culminating in taxonomic revisions.

Story of Endangered Species – towards developing and mobilising species-based database

On minor but significant research, Wan is keen on developing and mobilising species-based digital data from museum collections, particularly material collected from SE Asia in former colonial museums. In collaboration with historians and museum curators, she explores the history of collections, collectors, and taxonomists to digitally 'repatriate' original specimens (historical and type specimens) from Singapore, Malaysia and other countries in SE Asia.

Global and National Assessments of Fireflies

With the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) – Firefly Specialist Group, Wan assesses fireflies' conservation status in SE Asia and other regions. She also assesses fireflies' conservation status for Singapore's Red Data Book 3rd edition.

Monash teaching commitment

  • BIO3820 – Tropical Terrestrial Biology (Semester 2)
  • ENV2726 – Global Conservation & Biodiversity (Semester 2)
  • SCI2800 – Human Ecology & Biodiversity (Summer Semester)

 

University Service

  • School of Science Honours Programme Director

 

Supervision interests

Welcome to Wan F. A. Jusoh Lab!

Wan is seeking graduate students who have an interest in many fascinating topics (see the list). If the following topics pique your interest, kindly reach out to Wan and express your interest:

• Integrative taxonomy and systematics of fireflies
• Digitisation and archival of biodiversity heritage data
• Ecology and conservation of tropical biodiversity
• Conservation assessment of threatened taxa

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • SDG 13 - Climate Action
  • SDG 15 - Life on Land

Education/Academic qualification

Entomology, PhD, Universiti Putra Malaysia (University Putra Malaysia)

Environmental Quality & Conservation, MSc, Universiti Putra Malaysia (University Putra Malaysia)

Environmental Science, BSc, Universiti Putra Malaysia (University Putra Malaysia)

External positions

Co Chair IUCN SSC Firefly Specialist Group, IUCN - Species Survival Commission

20222025

Research area keywords

  • Ecology
  • Biodiversity
  • Conservation Biology
  • Integrative Taxonomy
  • Entomology
  • History of Natural History collections
  • Data Mobilisation
  • Species Discovery
  • Specimen Digitisation
  • Zoological Nomenclature
  • Phylogenetics
  • Systematics
  • Fireflies
  • Threatened Taxa

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or