Coming the 3rd of December – Meet the PhD speakers: 

Jia En Sit  – Talk title: Harmonising storage and date labelling conventions on South Australian dairy products

I am a PhD candidate investigating storage communications and date labelling on food products to reduce dairy food waste. I am also very passionate in producing safe and high-quality food products and ensuring food products comply with relevant standards and legislative requirements. This, together with my desire to strive has led me to explore the food industry, especially in food production and research and development (R&D).

I aspire to be a food technologist and enjoy working in the food industry, with knowledge in food science and technology and experiences in R&D/NPD at Golden North Ice Cream, quality control and labelling at Safcol Australia.

Zeinab Ghasemzadeh – Talk title: Rhizosphere engineering for improving soil structural stability

Nas’s research investigates how root-derived carbon forms mineral-associated organic carbon to improve soil structural stability and carbon retention in dryland agricultural soils.

Jack Kelly – Talk title: Strigolactones Coordinate Barley Tillering & Grain Size

Researching how strigolactone signalling can be harnessed to optimise shoot architecture.

Yunti Ge – Talk title: Studying stomatal signalling through optogenetic manipulation of anion channelrhodopsin

Passionate about improving plant resilience under changing environments. My research utilizes inducible and cell-specific optogenetic tools to control stomatal movement, aiming to improve water-use efficiency in crops. This work not only supports sustainable agriculture on Earth, but also lays the foundation for indoor farming systems required for long-term space missions.

Jean Hien Minh Vu – Talk title: Alternative semi-dwarf genes in barley

Hien Minh (Jean) Vu is an Industry Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) candidate, whose work focuses on the investigation of alternative semi-dwarfing genes for application in Australian barley breeding. She is passionate about translating fundamental science into applicable knowledge, especially for the agriculture industry. For her PhD study, Jean was awarded a PhD scholarship from the University of Adelaide and was the inaugural recipient of the prestigious Australian Plant Breeding Academy top-up scholarship. She is enthusiastic to expand her multidisciplinary knowledge including plant science, agriculture science and bioinformatics during the course of her study.

Adam Douch – Talk title: David vs. Goliath: Replacing Soy-Based Texturized Vegetable Proteins (TVPs) with Alternative Plant Protein TVPs in Plant-Based Meat Alternative (PBMA) Matrices

PhD student developing a semi-model food system to explain the development of flavour in complex plant-based meat analogues. I completed both my BSc in Nutrition and, MRes in Bioscience at the University of Nottingham. While conducting my MRes I researched the Branch-Chain-Amino-Acid content of underutilised protein sources, as well as performing a proximal analysis on different preparations of Soy and Lupin (including tempeh and tofu). With a previous year of studying in Malaysia and work experience in China, I am interested in building a career based around underutilised protein sources in southeast Asia.