Research

As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space at the University of Adelaide, I am working on a highly-collaborative project focused on fully autonomous agriculture, utilising vertical farms that can be monitored and operated remotely. I am using plant physiology to develop methodologies aimed at early and remote stress detection in lettuce plants grown in the vertical farm systems. The project will have major impacts for space exploration, but also for controlled environment agriculture on Earth. More info on the project, which is funded by the UK Space Agency and lead by Vertical Future, here.

Previously, my PhD research investigated industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) drought tolerance, water use efficiency, and responses to water deficit. Hemp is an emerging seed and fibre crop in Australia which shows great potential for sustainable and low irrigation production. I was interested in determining its water requirements for different environments, understanding its photosynthetic and physiological responses to water deficit, and characterising mechanisms it uses to avoid or tolerate drought. I utilised a variety of techniques and instruments, including IRGAs (Li-6800 and Li-6400), porometer/fluorometers (Li-600), pressure bombs, and high-pressure flow meters. I also developed experience in stable isotope analysis preparation, high-throughput phenotyping, and statistical analysis using Rstudio and GraphPad Prism.