PhD: Plant Reproductive Biology
Title: PhD: Plant Reproductive Biology
Location: Melbourne
PhD opportunity in Plant
Reproductive Biology at the University of Melbourne
Help to unravel the biology of
pinecone development and seed production to help grow a renewable future with
Australia's number 1 University and Australia's key forest growers and tree
improvement organisation; HVP Plantations, Forico, Tree Breeding Australia and
SeedEnergy.
Why?
In Australia, the softwood
plantation estate amounts to 52% of the national plantation area and consists
of 74% by area of Pinus radiata. These renewable and sustainably managed
softwood plantations are important for carbon sequestration while providing
more than 85% of Australia's total sawlog timber for housing and other needs!
In P. radiata, genetic
improvement and economical deployment relies on the establishment of seed
orchards, seed production via open or controlled pollination, and efficient
mass production of improved seedlings from superior clones.
Efficiency of seed production in
pines is often affected by 'conelet drop' where cone's fail to fully mature and
therefore fail to develop mature seeds. However, despite the economic
importance of P. radiata, and reports of conelet drop as high as 50% over
the past decades, the reason behind this phenomenon are still relatively
unclear.
The Research Project
Joining leading researchers and
industry professionals from some of Australia biggest tree growers and genetic
improvement organisations, this project aims to firstly understand the extent
of the problem in Australian seed orchards and then conduct a thorough
assessment of developmental and potentially physiological and/or molecular
processes leading to 'conelet drop' to increase seed production.
In achieving this, the successful
candidate will work closely with industry staff and researchers to draw on
years of data already collected from existing seed orchards as well as
establishing new trails in orchards located in Victoria, Tasmania and South
Australia to explore new avenues of research.
If you are into reproductive
biology, working in a large team of dedicated professionals, enjoy the outdoors
and would like to contribute to solving a significant problem facing a 'green'
industry, then this could be the project for you!
How to apply:
This project is conditional on
student meeting course entry requirements and receiving a full Graduate
Research Scholarship which provides a stipend and tuition fee offset.
Information on this can be found HERE and please do not apply until encouraged to do so
(see below).
Research related costs, including
for field travel and accommodation, field equipment, lab consumables, IT or
other equipment or services as agreed will be covered by the project budget. .
Applicants are asked to complete
an expression of interest which requires them to submit a current CV,
relevant academic transcripts, and a short response to the following questions
so that this can be assessed by the selection panel.
Why are you motivated to pursue a
PhD in this specific field? .
Describe what knowledge, skills,
and/or competencies you will bring with you to support such a project.
Describe your key research
experiences that relate to this project. What did you investigate and what did
you find?
What is your understanding of the
softwood plantation industry and the importance of pinecone development and
seed production in tree improvement efforts?
The expression of interest is to
be emailed to Dr Antanas Spokevicius at avjs@unimelb.edu.au by
the due date noted in the key dates section below with the email Subject listed
as 'Expression of interest for PhD opportunity in Plant Reproductive Biology'.
A panel comprising project
partners will then shortlist applicants and meet with them for a short
interview. When successful, the candidate will be asked by the panel to apply
for a Doctor of Philosophy - Science and request a scholarship following the
instructions provided on HERE.
Note: Scholarships are very
competitive, and the selection panel will make an assessment on the
competitiveness of the candidate based on scholarship selection criteria.
Key dates
Applicants will be asked to
complete the survey and submit CV and academic transcripts by 1st August 2022
for review by selection panel. Applicants may have coursework still to be
completed at this time.
The successful applicant will be notified
by 31st August 2022 and be encouraged to complete the application process
through the University of Melbourne by the 30th September 2022.
The first round of scholarship
offers will be made by the 20th December 2022 and if successful, applicants may
commence their PhD studies anytime between 1st Jan and 30th June 2023. If
applicants are not selected in the first round, but were ranked highly, they
will be automatically considered for a second round scholarship offer which
will be announced in April 2023, with commencement of study occurring anytime
between 1st July and 31st December 2023.
Further Questions?
If you have any further queries
or questions, please contact Dr Antanas Spokevicius at avjs@unimelb.edu.au or 0428 079 113.
