Dr Justine O’Brien is a research scientist and Manager of Conservation Science at the Taronga Conservation Society Australia. She has 20+ years’ experience in wildlife reproductive research, specialising in strategies that enhance natural and assisted breeding efforts, for maintaining population genetic diversity and reproductive health. She has led or supported the development of biorepositories of living, cryopreserved cells at various zoo-based facilities worldwide, notable for their application in producing live offspring on a repeatable basis. Justine joined Taronga in 2017 where her role is to manage and support a multidisciplinary science team and work with government and non-government organisations to undertake and embed rigorous science in programs conserving biological diversity, ecological processes and systems. The team works in partnership with Aboriginal staff of Taronga’s Community and Cultural Programs division and external First Nations partners to support a cross-cultural approach to conservation. Justine’s research interests continue to focus on understanding reproductive physiology and to incorporate knowledge derived from zoo-based scientific programs into health assessments and conservation strategies for free-ranging wildlife populations. She holds multiple advisory positions in wildlife reproductive health, is an Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of NSW.