Aaron Phillips

Dr Aaron Phillips

Research Officer

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

My research interests are rooted in understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms of plant stress tolerance, with a particular passion for unusual or understudied species. I am keenly interested in emerging crop species such as hemp and agave and have significant experience working with Australian native crop relatives. My proficiency in bioinformatics and strong data analysis skills complement my physiological expertise.

I am an Early Career Researcher currently working as a Research Officer under Professor Rachel Burton within the School of Agriculture, Food, and Wine at Waite Campus. My research interests are rooted in understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms of plant stress tolerance, with a particular passion for unusual or understudied species. I am keenly interested in emerging crop species such as hemp and agave and have significant experience working with Australian native crop relatives. My proficiency in bioinformatics and strong data analysis skills complement my physiological expertise.

My doctoral research, conducted under the guidance of Prof. Rachel Burton, Prof. Brian Atwell, and Dr. Nathan Watson-Haigh, focused on using modern phenomic and genomic tools to explore the abiotic stress tolerances of Oryza australiensis, an extremophile wild rice native to the northern savannahs of Australia. I examined the responses to combined heat stress and CO2 fertilization, and the individual and combined effects of drought and low soil nitrogen. Notably, I used ONT sequencing to assemble the world's first nuclear genome assembly for O. australiensis and developed a tool for the assembly of chloroplast genomes from long-read data.

Rice

My academic journey has also included a Master of Research in Plant Science from Macquarie University. Under the supervision of Professor Brian Atwell and Associate Professor Rachael Gallagher, I characterized the physiological and molecular responses to heat stress in commercial and wild species of cotton and tobacco, as well as in eight populations of kangaroo grass. This work is ongoing and is expanding to compare and contrast genus- and species-specific expression patterns of genes/proteins involved in tolerance to extreme heat.

Cotton flowerTobaccoThemeda

I am currently involved in a project with Associate Professor Beth Loveys that focusses on grapevine hydraulics during stem heating events. By measuring physiological responses to stem heating, we hope to develop a model for water movement in grapevine tissues to better understand how bush fires impact vineyard performance on a fundamental level. 

I have garnered significant industry experience. As a Research Officer at the University of Adelaide, I am currently involved in an industry-linked role with Vircura, focused on the establishment of germination, tissue culture, and glasshouse management for diverse Agave species. This project aims to induce phenotypic variation in cloned explants and is working towards reliable transformation systems for Agave. In doing so, we hope to get a South Australian Agave industry off the ground, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the Australian Government's aim to transition to Sustainable Aviation Fuel.

Agave flowering stalk

Further industry experience has come from a collaboration with South Australian lighting company VAILO. This Postdoctoral research focused on the cultivation of hemp. We utilized bespoke lighting to perform comprehensive physiological investigations in cannabis light responses, with the aim of enhancing cannabinoid content in female flowers. This project also had a minor Agave component, in which I identified optimal light spectra for the indoor growth of clones derived from tissue culture, informing industry practices.

CannabisAgave

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2023 - 2024 Research Officer University of Adelaide
    2022 - 2023 Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Adelaide
    2018 - 2019 Research Assistant Macquarie University
    2015 - 2015 Research Assistant Macquarie University

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2019 - 2023 University of Adelaide Australia PhD
    2017 - 2017 Macquarie University Australia Master of Research
    2016 - 2016 Macquarie University Australia Bachelor of Philosophy
    2011 - 2014 Macquarie University Australia Bachelor of Advanced Science (Biology)

FJ Sandoz Scholarship (2019-2023), University of Adelaide. $6,000 per annum.

Australian Plant Phenomics Facility Postgraduate Internship (2020). Valued at $10,000.

Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research Internal Grant (2019), Macquarie University. $25,000.

Val Williams Scholarship in Botany (2017), Australian Plants Society. $2,500.

Joyce Vickery Fund Award (2017), Linnean Society. $2,500.

Professional and Community Engagement Program International Travel Grant (2014), Macquarie University. $2,000.

I have demonstrated practical classes and marked for a range of undergraduate units at Macquarie University, including first-, second-, and third-year lab skill, evolution, and plant biology units. During undergraduate, I was a Peer-Assisted Learning leader, in which I taught organic chemistry to fellow undergraduate students. I have demonstrated and marked for several courses at the University of Adelaide including Foundations in Plant Science, and Agricultural Biochemistry.

  • Position: Research Officer
  • Phone: 83137175
  • Email: aaron.phillips@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: Waite
  • Building: Plant Genomics Centre
  • Org Unit: School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
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External Profiles