Guest: Mohitul Hossain

Host: Celia Spyridaki 

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Celia Spyridaki speaks with Mohitul Hossain, a PhD student at the Centre for Crop and Disease Management (CCDM) at Curtin University, about the next generation of genome-enabled tools for crop disease surveillance.

Mohitul shares his international academic journey, completing forestry studies across Bangladesh, Finland and Germany, before moving into plant pathology and ecophysiology research in Australia. His work now focuses on developing genome-based decision-support systems that help researchers, breeders and growers better anticipate disease risks and make more informed cultivar choices.

The conversation explores how automated screening for pathogenicity effectors, combined with region-specific effector-based cultivar recommendations, could transform how crop diseases are monitored and managed. By integrating genomics, surveillance data and decision-support technologies, this research aims to deliver faster, more precise responses to emerging disease threats and strengthen the resilience of cropping systems.

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Guest: Chris Reed

Host: Ali Zahid

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Ali Zahid sits down with Chris Reed, a first-year PhD candidate and WAARC Scholar based at Murdoch University’s Western Crop Genetics Alliance.

Chris’s research tackles a persistent challenge for Western Australian barley growers: black point, a grain defect that reduces quality and causes significant economic losses for the malting, brewing and distilling industries. Through his PhD, Chris is working to better understand the causes of black point and support the development of new malting barley varieties with improved resistance.

Supervised by Professor Chengdao Li and Dr Yong Jia, Chris discusses why black point remains such a difficult problem to solve, what success would mean for growers and industry, and how applied genetics research can deliver real-world outcomes for WA agriculture.

Beyond the lab, Chris reflects on balancing PhD life with family responsibilities, sharing how he juggles study and research alongside raising two young daughters with his wife, a cardiothoracic anaesthetist at Fiona Stanley Hospital. He speaks candidly about the challenges, the support systems that make it possible, and his appreciation for the opportunity to contribute to an important research gap while building new skills.

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Guest: Yunlong Huo
Host: Angelia Tanu

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Angelia Tanu sits down with Yunlong Huo, a PhD candidate at Murdoch University, to explore his journey from industry back into research. 

With two Master’s degrees in animal nutrition and a decade of experience in the cattle industry, Yunlong is now focused on strengthening the downstream side of beef production. His PhD project is developing a national protocol for using CT scanning to accurately measure beef lean meat yield, creating a gold standard to train and calibrate faster, lower-cost technologies used on abattoir production lines. 

The work has the potential to deliver benefits right across the supply chain, from genetic selection and on-farm decision-making through to processors and end consumers.

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Guest: Angelia Tanu
Host: Yunlong Huo

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Yunlong Huo chats with Angelia Tanu.

Angelia is a CSIRO and The University of Western Australia (UWA) PhD student whose journey into agricultural science began far from the paddock, growing up in Indonesia and discovering a passion for research after moving to Western Australia. A former tennis athlete who represented UWA at UniNationals, Angelia completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at UWA and has worked across DPIRD, Murdoch University, CSIRO, InterGrain and UWA. 

Angelia’s current PhD tackles one of Australia’s most costly crop constraints - poor canola establishment - by investigating the genetics and physiology behind longer hypocotyls to enable more reliable deep sowing. Drawing on genomics, breeding, bioinformatics, and physiology, her work aims to improve canola resilience as climates become more variable and input pressures increase.

• Follow Angelia on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/angelia-tanu

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Guest: Ali Zahid
Host: Chris Reed

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Chris Reed chats with Ali Zahid.

Originally from Pakistan, Ali is a PhD student at Murdoch University where he is looking into the training of generalist predators by investigating how dietary experience influences predatory behaviour of ladybird beetles.

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Guest: Saira Azmat
Host: Montana Baddeley

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Montana Baddeley chats with Saira Azmat, who grew up in Pakistan and completed her early education and Masters there before moving to Western Australia for her PhD at The University of Western Australia.

Saira’s research is focused entirely on agriculture, addressing some of Western Australia’s most pressing challenges, including saline soils and phosphorus-deficient landscapes that limit cereal crop production. She works specifically with barley, a key crop in the region, investigating how phosphorus affects root morphology and how plants adapt to salinity stress. Her work aims to inform better management practices and breeding strategies that are tailored to WA’s unique conditions.

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Guest: Ruby Wiese
Host: Hitashi Aggarwal

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Hitashi Aggarwal chats with Ruby Wiese, who grew up on a cropping and livestock farm near Narrogin, WA, and is now completing her PhD in agricultural science at The University of Western Australia. 

Ruby’s research is part of a project developing a new method for harvesting subterranean clover, a key pasture legume that buries its seeds just below the soil surface.  With current vacuum harvesting methods facing challenges like inefficiency and soil disturbance, she’s exploring a swathing-based alternative. Her work focuses on finding the optimal timing for swathing to maximise seed recovery and minimise losses. It’s innovative research with the potential to reshape how this vital pasture seed is harvested.

• Swathing subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) does not suck: a promising alternative to vacuum seed harvesting
• Building New Technologies for Sustainable and Profitable Sub Clover Seed Harvesting
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Guest: Huyen Pham
Host: Georgia Welsh

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Georgia Welsh sits down with Huyen Pham, a passionate agricultural researcher originally from Vietnam. 

Now in the third year of her PhD at The University of Western Australia, Huyen shares her journey from studying Agroecology in Japan to investigating how wheat roots interact with soil. 

Her research focuses on rhizosheath (the soil that clings to wheat roots) and how this trait can improve access to water and nutrients, particularly in acidic soils. 

By identifying wheat lines with larger rhizosheaths, Huyen hopes to support the development of varieties better adapted to Western Australia’s challenging conditions.

• Connect with Huyen on LinkedIn
• A hidden advantage beneath the surface

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Guest: Montana Baddeley
Host: Roberto Lujan Rocha

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Roberto Lujan Rocha speaks with Montana Baddeley, a PhD student at The University of Western Australia. 

Originally from Geraldton, Montana’s passion for livestock genetics began on her family’s horse stud and evolved into a multidisciplinary research career. 

Her PhD, supported by the WA Agricultural Research Collaboration (WAARC), explores the interplay between genetics, environment and management to identify the ideal ‘Super Cow’ for Australia’s rangelands - an animal that can thrive and remain productive even in drought conditions. 

Montana shares how she blends scientific rigour with creative thinking to develop innovative solutions for complex agricultural challenges.

• Connect with Montana on LinkedIn

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Guest: Hitashi Aggarwal
Host: Ruby Wiese

In this episode of Cultivating the Future, Ruby Wiese speaks with Hitashi Aggarwal, a PhD student at Murdoch University with roots in the agricultural heartland of Punjab, India. 

Hitashi shares how growing up in a farming community inspired her passion for agricultural science and plant genetics. 

Now, her research focuses on using CRISPR/Cas gene editing to address one of wheat breeding's major challenges: its tendency to self-fertilise. 

By inducing male sterility and enhancing female receptivity, her work aims to pave the way for more efficient, cost-effective hybrid wheat production. 

This episode offers a fascinating look into how cutting-edge science is being applied to solve real-world agricultural problems.

• Connect with Hitashi on LinkedIn

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