Andie Wijaya Saputra

I am a conservation biologist with a passion for learning about different approaches to wildlife conservation. I hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Atma Jaya Yogyakarta University, Indonesia where I gained much experience in using molecular biology for wildlife conservation. For example, I collected eggshells membrane samples of the Maleo bird from Bogani Nani National Park, Sulawesi and processed them using DNA extraction kit and polymerase chain reaction in order to produce DNA sequences which can be used to know the population’s genetic profile of the Maleo birds. After graduating in 2018, I worked as a Research Assistant in the Biomolecular Laboratory of Atma Jaya Yogyakarta University, helping top process samples from a range of species. I also worked as a Research Assistant for a PhD student based at Queensland University of Technology who is studying the potential of replacing wild-caught song birds with captive bred birds. All my experiences to date, particularly gathering data about songbird ownership from people, has made me realise that other approaches, including those from the social sciences, are important for wildlife conservation. In February 2020, I started working as a Research Assistant for ConHuB Indonesia where I will be involved in collecting data from people across the Gunung Leuser Landscape, Sumatra.