I recently had the opportunity to work with five Centre Postdoctoral Researchers to create a series of video profiles that help to highlight their research journey and achievements. These profiles offer a glimpse into the innovative work and diverse backgrounds of these ‘budding’ researchers, whilst highlighting their contributions to both the Centre and plant science more broadly. The researchers featured are:
- Dr Maddie James – Maddie is using whole-genome sequencing data from the Australian native wildflower, Senecio, in combination with large phenotypic datasets to provide insight into how plants adapt to harsh environmental conditions.
- Dr Ibrahim Bourbia – Ibrahim is part of a team who have developed a new technique for characterising plant water uptake and loss. This technique will impact both nature and agriculture through its ability to monitor plants directly in the field.
- Dr Buddhini Ranawaka – Buddhini is using Nicotiana benthamiana, Australian native tobacco, as a model plant to fine-tune CRISPR-Cas technology.
- Dr Luke Yates – Luke is helping researchers across the Centre by developing and applying advanced mathematical and computational tools.
- Dr Yang Liu – Yang is conducting bioinformatic work to gain insights into the genetic underpinnings of shoot branching and flowering at the population scale.
I thoroughly enjoyed working closely with these fantastic Early Career Researchers to ask them lots of questions and gain a clearer understanding of their day-to-day activities. Thank you to Maddie, Ibrahim, Buddhini, Luke, Yang, all the people who volunteered as extras, and to videographer Dan Pearson. I welcome any Centre members who are interested in gaining similar media or research translation experience to get in touch with me and I hope you all enjoy the videos!
Watch the profiles on the Centre for Plant Success YouTube Channel >
Phoebe Baldwin
Communications and Engagement Officer
