Doctor Delma Clifton School of Medical & Applied Sciences

I grew up in a small town that served as the administrative and business centre for a lucrative rural area just 50km north of Brisbane. When I was 12, Caboolture had a population of just 5,000 and was surrounded by dairy, small crops and pine plantations. This area is now almost completely residential, comprised of concentrated suburban developments through to residential acreage. Much of the farmland and plantations are gone.
As a young teenager I developed an interest and aptitude for science and maths, eventually completing the standard Maths/ Science strand in Senior at Caboolture High. For a variety of reasons this represented a temporary end to my formal education.
In 1978, I happened to obtain a six month contract as a laboratory technician in the Human Physiology Department of Flinders University of South Australia. My supervisor was investigating the effect on the respiratory development of the fetus by two drugs commonly used to stop an early labour. This work coalesced my interest in Biology. I was privileged many years later to witness the ultimate fruition of this work when my niece had her labour interrupted for the purpose of aiding the development of the baby's lungs. My great-nephew was delivered one week later at seven months gestation and able to breathe unaided.
In 1985, as a mother of two young children, I returned to tertiary studies. As an external student of the, then, Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education, I completed my degree the hard way I often refer to it as "by remote control". Graduating in 1991, I obtained a Bachelor of Applied Science Biology, with Distinction.
I started working casually Central Queensland University and Mackay College of TAFE and came to enjoy teaching; passing my passion for science on to the next generation. In 1999, I completed my Graduate Diploma of Teaching in Professional, Adult and Vocational Education.
When my children left home for University, I returned to full time work and study. I have a passion for learning and teaching and often describe my work as a vocation, not just employment. I completed my PhD in 2008 studying koala ecology and physiology on St Bees Island off the coast of Mackay. My hobbies include dancing, bush-walking, gardening, raising poultry, reading and traveling around the Queensland Outback

Royal Australian Chemistry Institute

Australian Mammal Society

Australasian Wildlife Management Society

Queensland College of Teachers

Science Lecturer

Limpus, C.J., Griffin, K.,  Clifton, I.D., Gallagher, L., Gallagher, L., and Parmenter, C.J.  (2002) Survey of marine turtle nesting distribution in Queensland: Broad Sound to Repulse Bay, Central Queensland.  Unpublished Report to Coast and Clean Seas.  Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

Tucker G and Clifton ID (2013) ‘What do we know about CQ koalas near rolling infrastructure?’ in Flint N and Melzer A (eds) Conserving central Queensland’s koalas. pp 111-114, Koala Research Centre of Central Queensland, CQUniversity Australia, Rockhampton, Queensland.

Tucker, GM, Clifton, ID and McKillup, SC (2012) Relationships between morphometric variables and age for captive individuals may not 1 accurately estimate the age of free-ranging juvenile koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Australian Journal of Zoology 60, 173–179.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/ZO12055

Clifton, D (2006) The formula triangle. Science Education Review 5:59

Do koalas drink and are they drunk? Australian Mammal Society, July 2008 Darwin, NT. 

"Measurement of tritium levels by scintillation counting: an improvement to the technique." Australian Mammal Society Conference, July 2005, Albany, W.A.

"Slip, slop, slap or sit in the shade: The microenvironment of koalas and choice of roost site" Australian Mammal Society Conference, July 2004, Tanunda, S.A.

"Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink; Variations in water use among central Queensland koalas" Australian Mammal Society Conference, July 2003, Sydney, N.S.W.

"Management of koalas on St Bees Island, Central Queensland; Implications of National Park Gazettal" Australasian Wildlife Management Society, December 2002, Cambden, N.S.W.