Sharyn Taylor joined Plant Health Australia (PHA) as a Program Manager (Biosecurity Planning and Implementation) in 2007. In this role, she is responsible for Industry Biosecurity Plan development and review which includes the identification of key pest threats and risk mitigation strategies such as the preparation of contingency plans and implementation of farm biosecurity practices for each of PHAs plant industry members. Sharyn is also responsible for the identification and implementation of improved plant pest surveillance measures for plant industries and governments to assist with domestic and international market access and early detection of key pest threats. Within PHA, she manages the Grains On-farm Biosecurity Program, a large initiative with Grains Biosecurity Officers in four regions that improves awareness of biosecurity and surveillance for key pest threats in the grains industry.

She was previously employed at South Australian Research and Development Institute as a Senior Research Scientist and has sixteen years experience as a Nematologist working in dryland cropping systems in southern Australia. In 2000, she completed a PhD on the biology of, and yield loss caused by, root lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.) in broad acre agriculture in South Australia and has published several journal articles in this field. Sharyn is a member of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society and the Australian Association of Nematologists.