Dr Romane Cristescu is an ecologist with a keen interest in developing new methodologies to perform surveys more accurately and efficiently. In particular, she has been developing koala scat detection dog methods since 2011, and drone mounted thermal camera surveys since 2017.

Dr Cristescu qualified as a veterinarian in France, where she specialised in wildlife. She subsequently got a Master in genetics before moving to Australia for her PhD - both were specifically focusing on koalas. She worked in the Mining Industry on Mine Closure / Rehabilitation, where she transformed her research on restoration ecology into practice.

Dr Cristescu founded Detection Dogs for Conservation at the University of the Sunshine Coast in 2015 with A Prof Celine Frere, and since then their team has been involved in surveys for numerous large infrastructure projects.