Research in the School of Agriculture Food & Wine

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The School of Agriculture, Food & Wine provides a world-class concentration of scientific research, education and infrastructure at the Waite Campus of the University of Adelaide.

The Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics is part of the School and has internationally important projects aimed at improving the salt and drought tolerance of cereals.

The School has well-established links with many partner organisations which adds considerably to the research opportunities available. The School is a member of the Wine Innovation Cluster, a recent initiative bringing together all wine-related research across the Waite Campus. This has resulted in the construction of a new building opened in late 2008 to house staff of the School’s Wine Science and Business Group and to provide a new home for the Australian Wine Research Institute.

The School provides an outstanding environment for research with high quality infrastructure and staff internationally recognised for their contributions to science. It is able to offer projects that will stimulate and excite all students with an interest in making new scientific discoveries and developing a career in scientific research.

Research Areas:

• Farming Systems
• Wine Science and Business
• Food and Nutrition
• Plant Protection
• Plant Physiology, Viticulture and Horticulture
• Plant Breeding and Genetics
• Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
• Soil Science

• Institutions with Affiliated Researchers

Visit the Agriculture Food & Wine website for more information about research laboratories.

Farming Systems

Visit the Farming System website for more information about research laboratories.

Crop and Pasture Agronomy
Professor David Coventry, Associate Professor Gurjeet Gill

Herbicide Resistance in Weeds
Associate Professor Chris Preston

Weed Ecology and Management
Associate Professor Gurjeet Gill

Agroforestry and Rangelands
Dr Ian Nuberg, Dr Des Coleman

Extension Systems
Dr Ian Nuberg

Wine Science and Business

Visit the Wine Science and Business website for more information about research laboratories.

Sensory Science, Grape Berry and Wine Quality Measurements, Wine Consumer Behaviour, Wine and Health, Wine and Food Interactions
Dr Sue Bastian

Origin of Wine and Regional Branding, Wine Consumer Behaviour, Wine Market Segmentation, Wine Tourism
Associate Professor Johan Bruwer

Wine Making Technology
Mr Stephen Clark, Dr Chris Ford, Dr Paul Grbin, Associate Professor Vlad Jiranek, Associate Professor Graham Jones

Grapevine Biochemistry and Wine Making
Dr Chris Ford

Wine Microbiology
Dr Paul Grbin, Associate Professor Vlad Jiranek

Wine Chemistry
Professor Dennis Taylor, Dr Kerry Wilkinson, Associate Professor Graham Jones

Food and Nutrition

Visit the Food and Nutrition website for more information about research laboratories.

Nutrition and Functional Food Science
Professor Bob Gibson

Agriculture and Ecosystem Services, Agriculture and Development
Professor Randy Stringer

Consumer Behaviour and Demand Analysis
Dr Wendy Umberger

Economics of Agricultural and Food Value Chains, Food and Agricultural Policy
Dr Wendy Umberger, Professor Randy Stringer

Plant Protection

Visit the Plant Protection website for more information about research laboratories.

Plant Physiology and Pathology
Dr Amanda Able

Insect Biological Control; Natural-Enemy Foraging Behaviour; Integrated Pest Management (IPM); Pollination
Associate Professor Mike Keller

Plant Virology
Professor John Randles

Insect Molecular Biology
Professor Otto Schmidt

Fungal and Bacterial Plant Pathology
Associate Professor Eileen Scott

Plant Physiology, Viticulture and Horticulture

Visit the Plant Physiology, Viticulture and Horticulture website for more information about research laboratories.

Grapevine Reproductive Biology
Dr Cassandra Collins

Root Physiology and Vine Performance
Dr Brent Kaiser

Plant Cell Physiology
Professor Roger Leigh, Dr Matthew Gilliham

Plant Physiology
Dr Glenn McDonald

Plant Development and Protein Chemistry
Dr Carolyn Schultz

Vine Nutrition, Grapevine Physiology, Vine Performance and Climate Change
Professor Steve Tyerman

Horticultural Plant Improvement
Dr Michelle Wirthensohn

Plant Breeding and Genetics

Visit the Plant Breeding and Genetics website for more information about research laboratories.

Genetics of Meiosis in Cereals
Dr Jason Able

Cereal Cytogenetics
Dr Ian Dundas

Barley Breeding
Associate Professor Jason Eglinton

Plant Protein Stucture Analysis
Associate Professor Maria Hrmova

Cereal Grain Biochemistry and Genetics
Associate Professor Daryl Mares

Molecular Markers in Cereal Breeding
Professor Diane Mather, Associate Professor Ken Chalmers, Dr Howard Eagles

Faba Bean Breeding
Dr Jeff Paull

Wheat Breeding
Dr Steve Jefferies

Durum Breeding
Professor Diane Mather, Dr Tony Rathjen

Biometrics
Professor Ari Verbyla, Mr Trevor Hancock

Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics

Visit the ACPFG website for more information about research laboratories.

Cell Wall Enzymology and Genetics
Professor Geoff Fincher, Dr Rachel Burton

Functional Genomics in Drought Tolerance of Cereals
Professor Peter Langridge, Dr Sergiy Lopato

Cereal Genome Structure
Dr Delphine Fleury

Molecular Genetics of Boron Tolerance
Dr Tim Sutton

Cereal Tolerance to Heat and Frost
Dr Nick Collins

Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Cereals
Dr Mamoru Okamoto

Analysis of Genomics Data (Bioinformatics)
Dr Ute Baumann

Field Evaluation of Transgenic Cereals
Dr Andrew Jacobs

Genetic Control of Root Development and Architecture in Cereals
Dr Chunyuan Huang

Role of microRNAs in Stress Tolerance
Dr Bu-Jun Shi

Improving Salinity Tolerance in Cereals
Professor Mark Tester, Dr Stuart Roy

Soil Science

Evolution of Soils, Biogeochemistry of Soils in Watersheds, Chemistry and Fate of Nanoparticulates
Associate Professor David Chittleborough

Soil Chemistry, Clays, Soil Amelioration
Dr Jock Churchman

Soil Physics, Water Availability
Dr Cameron Grant

Soil Ecology and Nutrient Cycling
Dr Petra Marschner

Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, Fertilisers and Plant Nutrition
Professor Mike McLaughlin

Root Growth, 3D Imaging of Roots and Soil Pores
Dr Ann McNeill

Sodic Soils, Impact of Irrigation
Dr Rob Murray

Management of Saline and Sodic Soils, Soil Physical Chemistry, Soil-Plant Interactions in Saline and Sodic Soils
Dr Pichu Rengasamy

Carbon Cycling, Organic Contaminants and Biochar
Dr Ron Smernik

Institutions with Affiliated Researchers

Australian Grain Technologies Pty Ltd

CSIRO Land and Water

CSIRO Plant Industry

South Australian Research Development Institute (SARDI)

The Australian Wine Research Institute

The International Food Policy Research Institute

The International Potato Centre

More Information

Further details are available, please contact the Faciulty of Sciences office.