Researcher biography
Coen Hird is a trawlwoolway pakana related to northeast lutruwita Tasmania through his Hearps / Briggs family line. Coen grew up across so-called Australia including on lutruwita, Woiworrung Country and Gubbi Gubbi Country, and now lives on Yuggera lands and Turrbal lands connected to Magandjin Brisbane.
Coen did his Bachelors degree at The University of Queensland and recently finished his PhD there on the ecological physiology of amphibians. Coen now researches and teaches at the interface of western and Indigenous sciences, with broad interests in Indigenous epistemologies, ecophysiology and conservation biology.
Coen is pursuing an anticolonial research agenda that centres Indigenous priorities in scientific research. This approach stems from environmental rights-based discourse, better engagement with Indigenous peoples, and developing understanding and respect around Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous sovereignty within the sciences.