Research groups

Find out more about our research groups below. Details of our honorary group leader profiles can be found in the Honorary groups page.

Atkin Group

Atkin Group - Plant respiration in a changing world »

Atkin Group studies plant metabolic responses to environmental gradients, including how leaf respiration varies within and among biomes across the globe. 

Ball (Marilyn) Group - Ecophysiology of salinity and freezing tolerance »

We study how physiological adaptations and responses to environmental stresses affect the structure and functioning of plant communities.
Borevitz group 2023

Borevitz Group - Plant genomics for climate adaption »

We study the genetic basis of Climate Adaptation in foundation plant species, using state of the art Genomic and Phenomic techniques

Byrt Group – Engineering plant membrane proteins and solute transport to increase yield security »

We work on engineering strategies to increase crop tolerance to salinity and drought, and to advance water filtration technology.

Chan Group - Plant Organelle and Cellular Signalling »

We aim to unravel molecular and biochemical mechanisms that enable plant cells to adapt to challenging environmental conditions

Danila Group – Plant Cell Biology and Intercellular Communication »

Our group studies plasmodesmata to answer important plant science questions related to development, cellular transport, root biology, signalling and evolution.

Farquhar Group - Coordination of CO2 fixation and transpiration in plants »

Our research includes: photosynthesis and growth with N2 and water use of plants; stomatal physiology; isotopic composition of plants & global change science.

Furbank Group – Improving photosynthesis and crop yield »

Our research focuses on the identification of enhanced photosynthetic properties in crop and model plant germplasm, and improving C4 photosynthesis. 

Jones Group - Disease resistance »

We investigate the molecular basis of disease and disease resistance in tomato (leaf mould and Fusarium wilt resistance) and flax (flax rust resistance).​

Linde Group - Population genetics, evolution, phylogeography and molecular phylogenetics of fungi »

Our main research interest is in fungal-plant-interactions, both applied and pure research, on a range of important pathogens.

Masle Group - Environmental sensing, systemic signalling and development: plant resilience to drought and changing climate »

The Masle group's central interest is on the interplay between genetic and environmental determinants of plant development and adaptation to stress.

Mathesius Group - Root microbe interactions - symbionts to parasites »

We are interested in the molecular mechanisms controlling nodule development in legumes, and how this is linked to other aspects of root architecture.

Millar Group - Plant microRNA biology and disease resistance  »

The principal interest of the lab is gene silencing mediated by microRNAs, with a focus on microRNAs that control plant disease resistance.

Nicotra Group - Plant physiological ecology, plant evolutionary biology, reproductive ecology »

We are interested in phenotypic plasticity - the range of forms a given genetic individual can exhibit under different environments.
Pogson Group

Pogson Group - Chloroplast to nuclear signalling: light, drought and carotenoids »

The overarching theme of our research is to determine the controls and regulators of communication between the chloroplast and nucleus.

Price Group - The cyanobacterial CO2 concentrating mechanism and the use of synthetic biology to transfer it to C3 crop plants »

The Price lab is presently focusing on the molecular biology and physiology of photosynthesis in cyanobacteria (blue-green photosynthetic bacteria) and plants

Rathjen Group - Plant immunity »

Rathjen group focuses on all aspects of plant immunity, characterising the fascinating interplay between host and pathogen.

Ruan Group- Optimising Carbon Allocation for Development, Yield and Resilience  »

Our research focuses on identifying molecular and biochemical bottlenecks.

Schwessinger Group - Plants, fungi, evolution »

Our Group focuses on questions around plant biosecurity in Australia by studying the interaction between plants and their fungal pathogen.

Solomon Group - Wheat biosecurity »

The Solomon group focuses on pathogens of wheat that threaten food security and stability.
the von Caemmerer Group in 2021

von Caemmerer Group - CO2 fixation and water loss of leaves »

We are investigating aspects of carbon acquisition by plants including the biochemistry of CO2 fixation and regulation of CO2 diffusion into and within leaves.

Way Group - Plant Ecophysiology and Global Change Biology  »

One of the most pressing concerns in biology is whether we can predict how plants and ecosystems will respond to climate change.

Whitney Group - Synthetic Photosynthesis - bioengineering enzymes to adjust carbon fixation »

We focus on the development and use of synthetic tools to scrutinize the biology of the most abundant protein, the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme Rubisco.

Williams Group - Plant structural immunology »

We aim to understand the molecular basis of the interactions between plant hosts and the microorganisms, particularly fungi, that colonise them.