The end of 2023 coincided with a flurry of conferences and meetings, several of which are highlighted below. We also held a three-day in-person Chief Investigator (CI) Workshop. We revisited our research program by discussing the most exciting findings to date and highlighted again our key research areas. Through looking back at how our research has progressed and evolved over the last 2-3 years, we mapped current research across the Centre into six themes encompassing our work in genetics, evolution, mathematics, biological mechanisms, modelling and beyond. As a Centre of Excellence, a pleasing highlight was how each of the Centre’s individual research projects tied in with multiple themes with many collaborations and interdisciplinary connections.
Thank you to all our CIs who took the time to attend the Workshop and participate actively; we are in good shape as we head into 2024 and into a well-deserved summer holiday.
With the end of year and the holiday season, it’s a good time to think about our overall activities, both as individuals and as a Centre. To ensure this, it was great to have Sue Sampson from TransformD Consulting come to the CI Workshop to lead a session about intentional decision-making. We have to be careful to avoid overloading ourselves and saying yes to too much. This was a good opportunity to rethink and prioritise what really matters for the year ahead, both at work and at home, as individuals and as a Centre. The CIs are now better equipped to continue these conversations across the Centre and in their teams. Moreover, we all hope that you will all take a well-earned break at this time.
Today is also the 3rd anniversary of the Centre officially starting. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our Centre Members for another fantastic year of CoE Plant Success. Best wishes and happy holidays!
Professor Christine Beveridge FAA, Professor Mark Cooper, and David Tomlins
Centre Director, Deputy Centre Director (Research), Deputy Centre Director (Operations)
