ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success Symposium

Event information

Hear from invited speakers and Centre members on their research and discuss opportunities for collaboration. Topics will include genomic prediction for varied environments, phylogenetic comparative analysis, advanced water status measurements for field and lab, and how the Nagoya protocol affects plant research in Australia.

This free event will be held in person at The University of Queensland St Lucia, and online via Zoom. 

Recordings from this event are available on YouTube >

Featured speakers

Dr Greg Rebetzke
CSIRO

Greg is a Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO Agriculture and Food, where he contributes to the understanding of genetic and physiological factors affecting water productivity and adapting to changing climates in rainfed winter cereals. His goal is then to deliver elite trait-containing germplasm, and improved phenotyping and genetic methods for trait enrichment in commercial breeding programs.

Professor Jacqueline Batley
University of Western Australia

Jacqui has expertise in the fields of plant molecular biology, genetics and genomics, gained from working in both industry and academia. Her research applies breakthrough biotechnological advances for canola crop improvement, through identification of genomic regions controlling traits, which are being translated to commercial outcomes. Her work had led to new canola cultivars, with enhanced productivity, profit, and yield stability through identification of genes linked to shatter tolerance, blackleg disease resistance and oil quality. She is currently focussing on blackleg resistance in the Brassicaceae and investigating evolution of resistance genes across the plant kingdom. 

Professor Charlie Messina
University of Florida

Carlos (Charlie) Messina is a professor of predictive breeding in the Department of Horticultural Sciences. Charlie works with breeders to improve the nutritional value of Florida produce and to reimagine agriculture as a solution to climate change. He also specializes in developing AI for plant breeding, which he believes will enable society to harmonize crop improvement efforts for regenerative agricultural systems that improve human health, nutrient security and adaptation to climate change.

Professor Christine Beveridge
The University of Queensland

The focus of Christine’s research has been the role of plant hormones in regulating and coordinating plant development, particularly shoot architecture. She discovered the plant hormone strigolactone and that sugar signalling is a driver of shoot branching. More recently her focus has shifted to identifying how different genetic and physiological networks work together to control plant productivity. Christine is the Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture.

Professor Brendan Choat
Western Sydney University

Brendan’s research centres on the physiological ecology of plants with a primary focus on plant hydraulics, water relations and functional anatomy. He has held positions at Harvard University in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis, and Australian National University before moving to the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment. He is editor in chief for the PrometheusWiki Project and on the editorial board of the journal Plant Biology. In 2010 he was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers. In 2013, Prof Choat was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship for his work on mapping drought responses in trees.

The presentations and discussions during the symposium will be recorded (whenever permission is granted) and made available online, to improve accessibility for all participants. If you have any questions about the format of the meeting or your potential for involvement, please contact admin@plantsuccess.org.