Joanne Ashnest

Joanne Ashnest

Australia

I am interested in reproductive systems biology of plants, from meiosis and gamete production, to fertilisation, seed development, germination and seedling establishment. During my PhD in Melbourne, Australia, I investigated the processing and trafficking of seed storage proteins and their proteases in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana. I then worked as a postdoctoral research associate in Saskatchewan, Canada, first studying the phenomenon of apomixis (asexual reproduction through seeds) and then seeking to improve germination traits in two important prairie crops, canola and soybean, using comparative complex mixture proteomics and genome-wide association studies.

I currently work as a lecturer and researcher at Charles Sturt University, Australia, where I am developing a research program to investigate the biology of germination, emergence and establishment in Australia’s major crop species.