Dr Allison Pearson
Research Fellow
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Faculty of Sciences
My Research
My expertise is in crop plant genetics. I have experience in plant sequencing, SNP detection, marker design and genotyping and genetic map construction. The focus of my work is the development of Australian wheat and barley varieties that have improved yield under Australian field conditions. I am currently working on a project funded by the International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) for "Improving wheat yield by optimising energy use efficiency". This project involves the running of a large TPA experiment using over 800 genotypes for the detection of QTL to identify genomic regions associated with yield and stress tolerance traits.
Other work and experience also includes the study and improvement of Australian wheat and barley for enhanced salinity tolerance. Soil salinity is a major limitation to cereal production and breeding new salt tolerant cultivars has the potential to improve cereal crop yields. We have worked on different populations to study the effects of salinity and to determine the regions of the genome which contain loci and/or genes for enhanced salinity tolerance which can be bred into elite Australian germplasm. As well as a previously funded GRDC project which I worked on we also have a SAGIT-funded project which is developing an advanced mapping population using embryo rescue. This project has allowed a population that would normally take 3-4 years to develop using traditional methods be completed in 12 months with the lines developed ready for use in glasshouse and field experiments. In addition SAGIT have refunded the project until the end of 2019 to perform greenhouse trials at the Plant Accellerator on this same wheat RIL population.
Are you interested in doing a PhD at the University of Adelaide?
Scholarships:
There are a number of scholarships available with the university scholarships for Australian students known as the Australian Postgraduate Awards (APA). These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and in designated areas of research strength. The University also offers a range of Scholarships for international students. The application involves filling in the "application form for admission/scholarship".
When applying for domestic scholarships please remember to tick both the APA and Divisional box. After the closing date, the Graduate Centre will forward your application to the School to consider. If an APA is not awarded then the school will consider offering a divisional scholarship. Further details can be found at the scholarship websites http://www.adelaide.edu.au/scholarships/
Further information on international PhD scholarships can be found at: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/graduatecentre/scholarships/research-international/opportunities/
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2012 Post-Doctoral Research Fellow University of Adelaide -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2007 Scholarship Molecular Plant Breeding and Cooperative Research Centre (MPB-CRC) MPB-CRC — — 2006 Scholarship Honours Scholarship The Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation (GWRDC) — — -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2011 La Trobe University Australia PhD 2006 La Trobe University Australia Bachelor of Biotechnology and Cell Biology Honours -
Research Interests
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Journals
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Conference Papers
Year Citation 2004 Downey, M. O., Pearson (nee Hogg), A. S., Krstic, M. P., & Robinson, S. P. (2004). The effect of bunch exposure on anthocyanin accumulation in Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) grapes and wine. In Blair (Ed.), Proceedings of the 12th Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference (pp. 75-78). Melbourne, Australia. 2004 Downey, M. O., Pearson (nee Hogg), A. S., Krstic, M. P., & Robinson, S. P. (2004). The effect of light on Anthocyanin accumulation in Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.). In I. Konczak, & W. Zhang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Anthocyanins. Sydney, Australia. 2004 Hannah, R., Downey, M. O., Pearson (nee Hogg), A. S., & Krstic, M. P. (2004). Bunch exposure and accumulation of anthocyanins in different grape cultivars (Vitis vinifera L.). In I. Konczak, & W. Zhang (Eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Anthocyanins. Sydney, Australia.
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Date Investigators Title Funding Amount Role 2016 AS Pearson Conference Funding Award Plant Nutrition Trust $1,995 Sole applicant 2017-2018 AS Pearson, SJ Roy
Development of a wheat RIL population for salinity tolerance South Australian Grains Industry Trust (SAGIT) $66,762 Lead Investigator 2018-2019 AS Pearson, SJ Roy
Phenotypic evaluation of a wheat RIL population for salinity tolerance SAGIT $110,652 Lead Investigator 2018 AS Pearson Development of a wheat RIL population for salinity tolerance - conference SAGIT - Travel Award $5,450 Sole applicant 2018
AS Pearson Travel Award CASS Foundation $4,000 Sole applicant 2018-2019 AS Pearson Improving the salinity tolerance of wheat for increased yield in Australian soils Yitpi Foundation $15,000 Sole applicant 2020-2021 AS Pearson, SJ Roy Saline field evaluation of a wheat population identifying novel salinity tolerance SAGIT $135,006 Lead Investigator
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2015 Co-Supervisor Identification of Loci and Gene for Salinity Tolerance in Cereals Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms . Chana -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2014 - 2017 Co-Supervisor Identification of Salt Tolerance Genes in Bread Wheat Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Ahsan Asif
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Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2018 - ongoing Member EMCR Forum - Australian Academy of Science Australia 2017 - ongoing Member Crop Science Society of South Australia Australia 2017 - ongoing Member Australian Society of Plant Scientists Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles
