David Coates is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia and Murdoch University, and a Research Associate in the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
His research interests cover conservation genetics, evolutionary biology, restoration genetics, ecological and genetic studies on threatened plants, recovery of rare and threatened plant species especially through translocations, and research aimed at the amelioration of threatening processes such as Phytophthora dieback and habitat fragmentation.