My career highlights

I am a Senior Lecturer and the Honours Program Director with the School of Agriculture and Environmental Science at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. I earned my PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Queensland and have over 20 years of research experience in genetic characterisation of disease resistance of various cereal and pulse pathogens, including root-lesion nematodes, fusarium head blight, and rusts. My research has been key to developing an understanding of the genetic regions conferring resistance to the root-lesion nematodes Pratylenchus thornei and Pratylenchus neglectus in synthetic hexaploid wheat, chickpea and mung beans and how this resistance can be exploited in breeding programs for crop improvement. I have a strong interest in international collaboration and have established and led bi-lateral funded research projects between India and Australia. My research career includes international experience as a visiting scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – National Chemical Laboratory in India for 4 years and as a research scientist with the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research in Belgium for 3 years. I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Australasian Association of Nematologists, serving as the Newsletter Editor. I am currently coordinating and teaching biology, cell and molecular biology and plant breeding courses. I am an active supervisor of undergraduate and postgraduate research students, guiding them to achieve their academic and professional goals.