I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plants For Space, supervised by Professor Jenny Mortimer. I am passionate about plant physiological responses to abiotic stress, optimising photosynthesis for future climates and controlled environments, and sustainable agriculture. I am interested in studying the physiology of photosynthesis and its interactions with environmental drivers to improve crop productivity and water use efficiency.

Currently, I am working with NASA, Space Lab Technologies (Colorado), and US universities on an Artemis III deployed instrument to grow plants on the moon. The Lunar Effects on Agricultural Flora (LEAF) project will investigate how plants respond to the unique stresses on the moon’s surface, reducing risks for sustainable off-plant crop production and enabling sustained Lunar habitation. Previously, I successfully completed a collaborative project funded by the UK Space Agency and Australian Space Agency, lead by Vertical Future (UK), and in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, University of Western Australia, University of Southern Queensland, Axiom Space (USA), and Saber Astronautics. This project focused on autonomous agriculture for Space exploration (specifically the Axiom Space Station) and controlled environment agriculture on Earth. Using cameras and machine learning, coupled with plant physiology, we developed methods for autonomous stress detection in lettuce plants.

From 2020-2023, I was a PhD candidate in the School of Agriculture, Food, and Wine supervised by Professor Rachel Burton, A/Professor Beth Loveys and Professor Tim Cavagnaro (now Flinders University). My research focused on industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) drought tolerance, water use efficiency, and physiological responses to water deficit. My PhD was awarded in May 2024 and I received a Dean's Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence. I also worked as a research assistant for Dr Stephanie Watts-Fawkes (now Wageningen University and Research) from 2020 to 2025, investigating arbuscular mycorrhizal symbioses with various crop and model plants to increase plant and grain nutrition under abiotic stresses.

I spent most of 2022 as a visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley with a Fulbright Scholarship (Future and South Australia scholarships). At UC Berkeley, I undertook research and was part of the Bowles Agroecology laboratory where I investigated how soil management and variety influence dry-farmed tomato plant production and quality under water stress.

I am proud to also be a Playford Trust PhD Scholarship recipient, Tim Healey Memorial Scholarship recipient, CJ Everard Scholarship holder, and AgriFutures Australia Horizon Scholarship alumna.

Please get in touch about collaborations or other opportunities. 

^ ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space conference at the University of Adelaide, October 2024. Photo: Naomi Jellicoe.

^ Presenting to the Australian Space Agency, July 2025.

^ In the field, University of California, Berkeley, September 2022.