RAID Webinar: Exploring International Plant Research Pathways

Date: Thursday 25 July 2024
Time: 4:00-5:15pm AEST
Venue: Online (Teams)
Theme: Everything to do with PLANT research!

The RAID Network is back with a brand new webinar series. This time, all about Higher Degree Research pathways (Masters and PhD)!

This exciting event will feature three talented Masters and PhD students showcasing their research pathways. Discover inspiring project linkages, diverse research topics, and effective methods to find a supervisor and scholarship support. Learn how to get involved in international research and broaden your academic horizons. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with fellow researchers and ignite your passion for plant research. Register now to secure your spot!

Speakers

KAYLA LOCHNER

Kayla is a PhD student at UNSW in Sydney. With a background in development and geography, her work focusses on just transitions in agriculture. Using interview based methodologies, Kayla’s work examines the current state of the Australian sugarcane industry with a focus on how large scale transition can support multiple stakeholders equitably.

SHANICE VAN HAEFTEN

Nearing completion of her PhD at the University of Queensland (UQ), Shanice’s doctoral research is focused on leveraging innovative tools, such as UAVs and haplotype mapping approaches, to enhance the productivity and reliability of mungbean for farmers in both Australia and Asia. Currently, Shanice has started her role as a postdoctoral research fellow at UQ focusing on characterising heat stress environments for chickpea and identifying stable lines of value for breeding programs. Her research endeavours, both current and future, reflect her strong commitment of implementing new tools and technologies that better enable our understanding of crop productivity and stability, as well as their applications in addressing the pressing global challenges related to agriculture and food production.

JEMMA RESTALL

Jemma is a 3rd year PhD candidate with QAAFI at the University of Queensland. Working with collaborators at The Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) in Fiji, her project aims to identify salinity tolerant taro for future food security and climate resilience in the Pacific. Her research involves field assessment and collection of wild taro germplasm, developing a cost-effective, high-throughput phenotyping system for salinity tolerance screening, and DNA fingerprinting the world’s largest taro collection. Jemma is passionate about working in research to improve food security and making a tangible difference in the lives of farmers and communities.

Agenda

4:00pm Kick off and introductions
4:10pm Speaker 1
4:20pm Q&A
4:25pm Speaker 2
4:35pm Q&A
4:40pm Speaker 3
4:50pm Q&A
4:55pm Open discussion (feel free to ask our speakers anything!)