Dr Bettina Berger

After a degree in biotechnology and a PhD in molecular biology of plants, I used a two-year fellowship to focus on the emerging field of plant phenomics. I joined the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics in 2008, where I used non-destructive imaging to study the effects of salinity on barley.

When The Plant Accelerator opened in 2010, I joined the team as Senior Scientist and became Scientific Director in 2015. The Plant Accelerator is one of the nodes of the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) funded under the National Collaborative Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and provides critical infrastructure and services to the plant science community in Australia and abroad. In my roles, I have set up novel screening techniques to study plant growth and performance using automated, non-destructive imaging. I have engaged with researchers at all stages of their career, from the public sector and industry. Users of The Plant Accelerator include Australian researchers, as well as overseas customers from Europe, North America and Saudi Arabia, and I enjoy the possibility of hosting visiting students and scientists and train them in modern phenotyping approaches. I have managed large scale phenotyping projects looking at various aspects of crop performance, including early vigour, salinity tolerance and nutrient use efficiency.

While my basic research has focused on salinity tolerance, I am equally passionate about developing novel phenotyping approaches to support plant scientists in answering their research questions. Working together with customers and learning from each other to achieve the best possible outcome for their research project has been my biggest motivation.