CRC for Plant Biosecurity - education

Young CRCNPB scientist recognised in national award

K.Scott — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 03:24:46 +0000

Media Release: 28 November 2008

A PhD student's commitment to plant biosecurity research has won the 2009 Northern Territory Young Australian of the Year Award.

Ms Rachel Meldrum, PhD student with the Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity (CRCNPB) is based at the Diagnostic Services Division of the Northern Territory's Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources.

Ms Meldrum was nominated for her contribution to science and the sustainability of Australia's banana industry and said she was honoured and surprised to receive the award.

‘Personally, I am flattered to win the award given the calibre of the other nominees', she said.

‘It's not often that science is given this high-level platform, so I am grateful my research in the banana industry is recognised for its importance to all Australians'.

Ms Meldrum's CRCNPB project involves researching how the exotic plant disease (Fusarium wilt) is spread in the banana industry, and will also develop alternative quarantine strategies to minimise the economic and social impact of possible incursions.

CRCNPB Chief Executive Officer, Dr Simon McKirdy said the award was a credit to Ms Meldrum's enthusiasm and dedication, and paved the way for her to have a successful career in science.

‘Rachel is a great ambassador for young scientists, which is rewarding in a time when Government recognises Australia's future science capability is critical to a strong, thriving and innovative society', he said.

Dr McKirdy said the CRCNPB is committed to training high-quality postgraduate and post-doctoral scientists to provide the nucleus of Australia's future plant biosecurity capability.

‘We currently have 26 students enrolled in universities across Australia who are all conducting research to benefit the nation', he said.

In a time when biosecurity is emerging as a serious global issue, Australia's plant industries are relatively free of many of the plant pests and diseases that impact on agricultural industries in other countries.

‘Students like Rachel, and all our researchers focus on innovative research to ensure Australia's plant industries maintain their valuable competitive advantage in the market,' said Dr McKirdy.

‘The CRCNPB plays a vital role to enhance the scientific effort, enabling Australia's plant industries to pre-empt and, therefore, diminish the economic, social and environmental impact of emergency plant pests,' he said.

The CRCNPB is the central coordinating body for plant biosecurity research across all Australian states and territories and was established under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Program.

Ms Meldrum's research is supervised by staff from the Northern Territory's Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources and the University of Queensland.

ends

Contact: Kate Scott, Communications Officer - Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity

email: k.scott@crcplantbiosecurity.com.au tel: 02 6201 2882 or 0438 389 092

Interviews: Dr Simon McKirdy, Chief Executive Officer tel: 02 6201 2882 or 0438 389 092

Investigating plant pests just got fun!

K.Scott — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:18:48 +0000

Media release: 7 November 2008

Australia's former Chief Scientist, Dr Jim Peacock AC officially launched a beautifully illustrated big book for children yesterday at the CSIRO Discovery Centre.

Developed and written by the Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity (CRCNPB), Dr Jim Peacock said Plant Pest Investigation will be a key resource to foster interest in science and educate children about the importance of plant biosecurity.

‘Resources such as this book provide the younger generation with awareness of important issues and are also fundamental to capturing enthusiasm for science at an early age,' said Dr Peacock.

‘By sharing the story with their families, hopefully children will raise community awareness about plant biosecurity issues and become ambassadors for science,' he said.

CRCNPB Chief Executive Officer, Dr Simon McKirdy said the book was part of the CRCNPB's school education strategy, which addresses Australian Government reports on declining participation in science and the possible future shortages of skilled scientists.

‘Through Plant Pest Investigation, we hope to address some of the issues government has identified by portraying themes of plant biosecurity and science through an engaging and exciting story,' said Dr McKirdy.

‘Our aim is to create enthusiasm for science at an early age to inspire a new generation of Australian scientists, as well as provide an educational resource that can be used in the classroom,' he said.

Fifty kindergarten children from Gold Creek Primary School attended the launch and participated in a reading of Plant Pest Investigation by the book's character scientist, Dr Wheaten.

Plant Pest Investigation is a story of siblings Sam and Lily who embark on a scientific investigation with scientist Dr Wheaten, to find the reason behind Sam's sick plant. Their investigation takes them through memories of their overseas holiday, a trip to their grandparents' farm and a visit to a real science laboratory. During their investigation, they learn about the importance of protecting Australia's crops from pests.

Plant Pest Investigation can be ordered through the Cooperative Research Centre for National Plant Biosecurity's website www.crcplantbiosecurity.com.au

The CRCNPB is the central coordinating body for plant biosecurity research across all Australian states and territories.

Education and training update

CRICHTONA — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 23:07:12 +0000

This month Matthew Tan submitted his PhD thesis for examination. Matthew completed his PhD on new diagnostic methods for nematodes and amazingly completed more than two months short of the three year mark! Hot on his heels is Rachel Mann (nee Powney) who is also due to submit her thesis on fire blight. Matthew has started working with a diagnostics company in Singapore and Rachel is with the Department of Primary Industries Victoria. Congratulations to Matthew and Rachel.

A happy Matthew Tan following his thesis submission, with his supervisors, David Berryman (left) and Michael Jones (right).

I recently conducted a post-PhD survey of our student cohort. The main purpose of the survey was to determine the satisfaction levels of our current students and to identify areas for improvement in the Plant Biosecurity CRC. It was very pleasing to note that 56% of our students rate their overall experience with the CRC as ‘very good’ and 44% as ‘good’ – the top two categories! Areas of improvement include the need to streamline some processes and more input into the professional development sessions that we provide. Some of the comments received are listed below:

The extra opportunities provided by the CRC were great. I learnt valuable skills through the workshops, was able to make great collaborative links which were fruitful and I finished up with a thesis I am proud of.

Thanks to the CRC's support I obtained a golden chance to gain training in the plant biosecurity field.

The CRC provided excellent opportunities for professional development and networking through workshops, science exchange meetings, and field trips. It was definitely the best way to spend three years.

As the CRCNPB comes to an end I would like to acknowledge the support of all of the PhD supervisors. Wherever possible our students have been supervised by both an academic and an industry supervisor.

The time that supervisors allocate to their students should not be underestimated, with many hours spent planning, analyzing and conducting experiments with the students, as well as plenty of late nights spent editing thesis chapters and manuscripts. And don’t forget the need for several boxes of tissues when the going gets tough!

On behalf of the CRC I would like to thank everyone who has been involved with our student projects and I hope that you have received a lot of enjoyment from working with our students.

Kirsty Bayliss
Education and Training Program Leader

Back to The Leaflet.

Education and training update

CRICHTONA — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 03:13:30 +0000

In this issue I am pleased to announce that David Savage and Bonnie Vogelzang have submitted their PhD theses. Further, Ashley Zamek has completed her Honours thesis.

Both David and Bonny completed their PhDs on spore-trapping related topics, with David looking at the dispersal of spores and Bonnie focussing on their detection. Ashley investigated native parasitic wasps and their use as a new eradication tool for fruit fly incursion management. All three projects contribute significantly to plant biosecurity science and capacity building.

I would like to congratulate two of our PhD students who won prizes at the recent Australasian Plant Pathology Society (WA) Annual Student Symposium. Matt Tan went home with a $400 cash prize for the best presentation, while Steve Coventry, now an honorary sandgroper, took home $250 and a book for the Scientific Endeavour award. The competition was fierce and both should be congratulated on their fantastic presentations.

Enrolments in the Postgraduate Certificate in Plant Biosecurity are now open for 2012. At the moment enrolments in the postgraduate Diploma and the Masters remain closed whilst some alterations are made to these courses. However, candidates can commence the Certificate and progress to the Diploma and/or Masters, as the first semesters of the three courses are identical. Direct enrolment into the Diploma and Masters should be open soon.

If you wish to take a single unit that is offered by the Plant Biosecurity Program, rather than enrol in a whole degree, you can. To enrol in one unit only, you must apply directly to the university teaching the unit. If you are enrolled in a postgraduate course elsewhere you can apply for a ‘cross-institutional enrolment’ in the unit you are interested in.

If you are not enrolled anywhere else but wish to take the unit for your own interest or for professional development, you should apply as a ‘not for award’ student. In both cases you will receive a grade on completion of the unit. Remember you must apply directly to the university that teaches the unit that you are interested in. This applies to people taking single units only.

Enrolments can be made at Murdoch University.

Once enrolled you can select the unit(s) you wish to take during the semester. The fees for 2012 are $2600 per unit for domestic students and $2813 for internationals, which is very reasonable for a 12 week unit. Please note that enrolments will close 31 January 2012. Questions regarding any of the courses should be directed to Kirsty Bayliss.

Kirsty Bayliss
Education and Training Program Leader

Back to The Leaflet.

Education and training update

CRICHTONA — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 03:49:40 +0000

PhDs
Congratulations to Steven Coventry and Kylie Ireland, both of whom have recently submitted their theses for examination. Steve investigated the biotic factors that affect the dispersal of rain-splashed asexual spores (conidia) and wind-borne sexual spores (ascospores), using Ascochyta of chickpea as a model. Steve has now taken up employment with the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia (DAFWA). Read more about Steven’s PhD project in this edition of The Leaflet.

Kylie’s study had a strong international focus, looking at the susceptibility of Australian plant species, grown and sold as ornamentals within parks and gardens, to Phyophthora ramorum. As this pathogen is not present in Australia, Kylie spent a large part of her PhD based in the USA gaining firsthand experience in the biology, ecology and management of this disease. Kylie has recently taken up a position with the Queensland Government where her focus will be on myrtle rust. More information about Kylie’s research project is available here.

Grains workshop
The CRCNPB – in conjunction with Cooperative Bulk Handling (CBH) and the Crawford Fund – recently supported a workshop in correct grain storage and biosecurity for some of Australia’s near neighbours. Ten representatives from flour milling companies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Vietnam travelled to Perth to gain an insight into the control of grain storage pests, to participate in training exercises to reduce their grain losses, and to improve their biosecurity practices.

The training provided participants with experience in the principles of grain storage and fumigation to control pests and thus avoid losses, estimated at 10% worldwide. The course also explained the need for better grain protection and biosecurity for international import and export trade. CBH – who have strong relationships with grain milling companies throughout Asia – hosted the trainees at their Australian Grain Centre Laboratory and Metro Grain Centre. The participants also received in-the-field experience of on-farm storage and experimental silo trials at Arthur River and Lake Grace, and a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) facilities at Perth airport.

All participants mentioned the value of the training and the importance of viewing the value chain, from the farm to storage. All participants recognised that they have been applying too much fumigant to their stored grain and realised they could save their companies a significant amount of money by using less. A number also admitted that they apply the fumigant incorrectly and do not use sealed silos, which negates the purpose of the fumigation. A number of the participants were going to implement changes to their fumigation programs on their return home.

The five-day workshop was held at Murdoch University and was delivered by Pat Collins, Michelle Chami (DAFWA), YongLin Ren, James Newman, Michael Thompson, Chris Edmeades and Kirsty Bayliss. The ABC interview (podcast) can be downloaded from the ABC website.

James Newman (Murdoch University) introducing participants to the Giant Ram in Wagin. Left to right – James Newman, Hendra Tanumihardja, Elmar Nau, Sultan Ahmed, Yannes Piung, Arief Zakaria, Seymour Magabe, Kelly Lai, Thoa Kim, Imron Tengriano, Rasheen Bappu.

Ms Seymour Magabe and Mr Arief Zakaria, both from Indonesia, identifying stored grain pests under the microscope in the Murdoch postharvest laboratory.

Education and training: an update

CRICHTONA — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 01:12:33 +0000

I would like to start this month’s column by congratulating students who have recently had papers accepted in international journals, including Kylie Ireland, Mark Stanaway and Mark Castalanelli. A number of our students have now published their research, with some students having multiple publications. This is a great achievement, particularly prior to submission of their theses.

As a reminder, all CRCNPB students are entitled to apply for a publication incentive - a cash bonus for publishing their work. The incentive is based on a tiered scale (conditions apply; read the Application for Student Publication Incentive Form in the members area of the website for details). I encourage all of our students to write as they go, with the publication incentive providing a reward for those who actively do this.

Mark Castalanelli needs to be congratulated twice in this newsletter, as he has recently been offered a position with the entomology group at the WA Museum. As luck would have it, at the same time Mark was also offered a postdoctoral position in the US, but has chosen to stay in WA for now. Good luck Mark in your new position.

From older to younger students – earlier this month I was asked to speak to a group of Year 6 and 7 students who were visiting the Post Harvest Laboratory at Murdoch University. The lab visit was organised by Mrs Manjree Agarwal who works with Assoc/Prof YongLin Ren. We introduced the students to the concept of plant biosecurity, before talking about grain and the need to protect it from pests and diseases. Following the lab visit the teacher passed on the following message:

“A big thank you to everyone for last Friday, it was a truly valuable learning experience. The children absolutely loved it and were raving about what they saw - no doubt they were checking their porridge for creepy crawlies!!”

We hope to continue the school education program if the CRC re-bid is successful, with some exciting ideas already planned to encourage the next generation of plant biosecurity scientists.

Those who are interested in the postgraduate Plant Biosecurity Program, you will be happy to hear that we have approached two new universities to join the teaching consortium, which will really strengthen the program. More details will be made available on the website soon.

We are also looking forward to our first graduations later this year, with a Certificate student having recently completed her course with straight distinctions and a Masters student due to complete later in the year. This is a fantastic achievement after only running these courses for a short time. Enrolments for 2012 will re-open later this year.

Education and Training: An update

CRICHTONA — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:09:03 +0000

In this edition the Education and Training Program Leader - Kirsty Bayliss - is pleased to announce that Mr Paul Royce has submitted his PhD thesis for examination. Paul was the CRCNPB's first PhD student, and his submission has been a long awaited event! Congratulations Paul. You can read more about his PhD here. Congratulations is also due to Nichole Hammond and Alistair McTaggart who have both had their PhD theses accepted. It is very pleasing to hear the examiner reports on the student projects which are all coming back very favourable.

In March, the pilot Grain Storage and Biosecurity course was conducted by Charles Sturt University. This new course has been developed in conjunction with key stakeholders from Viterra, GrainCorp and CBH group and with input from Plant Health Australia and Murdoch University Stored Grains Associate Professor YongLin Ren. The course builds on the Grain Quality Protection Industry Course that was first offered in 1990 but has been substantially revised to incorporate industry best practice regarding grain biosecurity, stored grain pests and fumigation requirements.

The course has both an on-line study component, and a face to face workshop at CSU, Wagga Wagga. The workshop was delivered by Dr Paul Weston (CSU), Assoc Prof John Kent (CSU), Dr Jo Holloway (I&I NSW), Dr Jo Slattery (Plant Health Australia), and Gerard McMullen (GP McMullen Consulting).

The Program covered:

marketing and grain quality management
biosecurity risk management
integrated pest management in grain storages
grain pest insect identification
grain inspection, detection, monitoring and sampling
OHS risk management
fumigation of grain storages, and
use of pesticides, label interpretation, legal obligations and calibration of application equipment.

At the conclusion of the workshop the following comments were received from the students:
‘The course was very applicable and focused exactly on our needs and problems.’
‘The material covered, the discussions and even the formal assessments were very relevant and useful.’
‘There will be direct, practical benefits for the workplace.’
‘The course and material is very relevant to the AQIS staff inspecting and certifying grain prior to export.’

The opinion of everyone involved is that the course is highly relevant to the grains industry, especially in this time of deregulation. The CRCNPB looks forward to a successful future for the course and encourages anyone interested to enrol in next year’s course which will be held in March 2012.

Education and Training: An update

CRICHTONA — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:10:49 +0000

Congratulations to Mark Castalanelli on the recent submission of his thesis. Mark investigated the biology and systematics of Trogoderma species, with special reference to morphological and molecular diagnostic techniques for identification of Trogoderma pests. An outcome of his study will be a new molecular diagnostic method for the identification of Trogoderma. Mark is currently employed with the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia and is interested in pursuing a career in bioinformatics.

Expected hot on Mark’s heels are Paul Royce, Steven Coventry and Rachel Powney and we wish them the very best as they complete the final stage of their PhDs.

Congratulations must also go to our students who were finalists in three of the four Science Committee Awards at the Science Exchange:

Wayan Mudita (for Collaboration)
David Savage (for Science Excellence), and
Sharon Van Brunschot, who won the Science Committee Award for Innovation.

Congratulations must also go to:

Brian Garms (Board Award for Best Student Poster)
John Weiss (Board Award for Best Student Oral Presentation), and
Rebecca Zappia (People’s Choice Award for Best Poster).

During the Science Exchange the students continued to receive positive feedback from a number of their peers and researchers, which highlights how successful the postgraduate courses have been.

Enrolments in the postgraduate courses in plant biosecurity have now closed for 2011. A total of 20 students have enrolled this year, which means numbers have doubled in 12 months.

The curriculum was collaboratively developed by five of our participant universities. The continued success of the curriculum hinges on the continued presence of the CRC, the linkages forged between the CRC and universities teaching the courses, and the continued support of government agencies that are enrolling their staff in the courses. If you are still thinking about enrolling I encourage you to talk to some of our current students and hear first hand of how enjoyable the courses are.

More information is available on the postgraduate curriculum website.

Education and Training: An update

VANMEURSA — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 04:49:43 +0000

Our PhD candidates are currently working hard to meet their completion deadlines, with twelve due to submit their theses by April 2011. Alistair McTaggart is on track to achieve this, having delivered his final seminar at Queensland University of Technology on Thursday 2 December. Alistair has been located with Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation throughout his PhD, mainly at the Indooroopilly site and more recently at the new Boggo Road site, which Alistair affectionately refers to as ‘The Bog’. His project has looked at the smut fungi, and has involved a revision of the Ustilago, Sporisorium and Macalpinomyces complex using traditional and molecular methods. We wish Alistair the best of luck during his final stages of writing and submission. For further information on Alistair’s project, see The fastest and smuttiest CRC PhD project

CRC PhD scholarships offer more than just a stipend, we also offer our students support and professional development over the term of their PhD. Since the inception of the CRC we have brought our PhD candidates together annually, to provide training in biosecurity and career-related skills. It is expected that students will attend at least three workshops over the course of their PhD. Workshops that have been held to date include Presenting for Success, Scientific Writing, Networking Skills, Biosecurity Awareness, Project and Intellectual Property Management, Scientific Communication and Statistics. Meeting annually also gives students the opportunity to network and discuss successes/problems they may be experiencing with their PhD projects.

Earlier this year, PhD students went on a site visit to the Queensland government quarantine facility in Brisbane where they were able to view the quarantine glasshouses and plant tissue culture facilities and also met the quarantine dogs that work at the airport. In addition, we have run Q&A sessions with industry and government representatives, so that candidates have a better understanding of what employers expect and the sorts of roles that will be available on completion of their projects. The feedback from students following these workshops is consistently positive. Our next workshop is being held in the two days prior to the Science Exchange in February and will include another site visit to see plant biosecurity in action: protecting our valuable viticulture industry.

To provide our PhD candidates with the knowledge and skills sought after by employees a number of our students are embedded with our government and industry participants, rather than being based at a university. This gives students an insight into the day to day operations of plant biosecurity. Furthermore, all of our students have an academic supervisor and at least one non-university supervisor, again to expose them to real life research. Five of our students have received direct support from industry, including the Grains Research and Development Corporation, Horticulture Australia, and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, indicating the value of their projects to Australian plant industries.

Photo caption: PhD workshop held prior to the 2009 Science exchange

Photo acknowledgement: Di Harris Photographic

Article written by: Dr Kirsty Bayliss

Education and Training: An update

K.Scott — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 23:49:25 +0000

It is with much pleasure that we congratulate Mr Mark Stanaway on the submission of his PhD thesis Hierarchical Bayesian Models for Estimating the Extent of Plant Pest Invasions for examination. Mark was granted leave from his employer, Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, to undertake his PhD with the CRC, commencing in late 2006. All four of his supervisors, Professor Kerrie Mengersen, and Drs Rob Reeves, Grant Hamilton and Peter Whittle were based at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Mark’s thesis investigated the use of hierarchical Bayesian models as decision-making tools for plant biosecurity surveillance activities. He used case studies of the spiralling whitefly (Aleurodicus disperses) and the red-banded mango caterpillar (Deanolis sublimbalis) to examine how pests can spread, incorporating human-assisted movement, ecological factors, and uncertainty. The tools developed in his study may assist future assessment of area freedom and effective management of incursion response programs. Mark has published one paper from his PhD and is currently preparing two further papers. We congratulate Mark on his submission and eagerly await the outcome of the examination period.

Close on the heels of Mark was Nichole Hammond who submitted her thesis on October 27. Nichole was also granted leave from her employer, the Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA) commencing her PhD in early 2007. Nichole enrolled at Murdoch University and was supervised by Dr Simon Reid, with input from Dr Darryl Hardie and Dr Tony Martin (DAFWA), Dr Grant Hamilton (QUT) and Dr Cindy Hauser (Australian Centre of Excellence for Risk Analysis). In a similar vein to Mark, Nichole examined decision-making tools for surveillance, using Karnal bunt (Tilletia indica) as her case study. Nichole also conducted a survey of growers to examine the level of detecting and reporting of high priority pests in the grains industry. We wish Nichole the best of luck during the examination process.

With a number of students nearing the end of their PhD studies it was considered timely to conduct a survey of their post-PhD plans.

A total of 32 of our students responded with the results indicating that following submission, 47% of students will be seeking a postdoctoral position within Australia, 19% will be returning to their employer (as they were granted study leave to complete their PhD), 14% will be seeking positions overseas, and the remainder are happy to work anywhere. Of the respondents, 60% indicated they would prefer a career in plant biosecurity, with 40% happy to work in the broader biosecurity arena. Thankfully none of the students said they were not interested in a career in biosecurity of any sort! This bodes well for the CRC’s goal to increase Australia’s capacity in plant biosecurity.

Enrolments in the 2011 enrolments for a postgraduate Certificate, Diploma or Masters in Plant Biosecurity are now open. This postgraduate study in plant biosecurity has been developed specifically for those working in the plant biosecurity sector or for people who wish to pursue a career in plant biosecurity. The courses are delivered entirely online so students are able to fit study around their busy lifestyles at a time and place that is convenient for them.The courses are also offered asindividual units which means they can be studied by people with an interest in a specific topic or those who are not sure they want to commit to a full certificate, diploma or masters. If you are currently enrolled in another postgraduate course you may be able to complete units from the plant biosecurity program and have them count towards your qualification. The cost of each unit, with the exception of the Masters Dissertation, is from AUD$2,500 for 2011 (depending on where you enrol). If you require any further information please refer to the Plant Biosecurity Program website or contact Dr Kirsty Bayliss.

Article written by: Dr Kirsty Bayliss