Melissa de Oliveira Santos Garcia

Dr Melissa de Oliveira Santos Garcia

Research Fellow

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Faculty of Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

I'm a plant geneticist interested in plant breeding and the use of new genetic diversity. After completing my BSc in Biological Sciences, I did a MSc on Genetics and Plant Breeding where I looked at the genetic diversity in a genus of Brazilian orchids. During my PhD, I continued to work on genetic diversity and its use in plant breeding by studying a legume forage. This project was a collaboration between the University of Campinas and the Brazilian Agricultural Corporation (Embrapa) to assist their breeding programs. Following my PhD, I got a postdoc position to study sugarcane as part of a large program aiming at improving sugarcane for ethanol production.
In 2011, I moved to Australia to work at the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics (ACPFG). At ACPFG, I was involved in several projects such as the introgression of yield QTL into different backgrounds, the development and use of new molecular markers and marker technologies, QTL mapping and genome wide association studies. I was also involved in a collaboration with DuPont Pioneer to study hybrid wheat.
From 2015 to 2020, I worked on the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for genetic diversity and molecular breeding for wheat in a hot and dry climate (IH130200027) where I led a program that looked at germplasm development for genetic diversity, mostly through the use of a nested association mapping population.
Since late 2019, I have been leading the Faba bean breeding program at the University of Adelaide, with a focus on developing new varieties for the Southern region of Australia and using genomics approaches in plant breeding.

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  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2011 Research Fellow University of Adelaide
    2004 - 2011 Postdoctoral Fellow University of Campinas

  • Language Competencies
    Language Competency
    English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
    Portuguese Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2005 - 2009 The University of Campinas Brazil PhD
    2002 - 2004 The University of Londrina Brazil MSc

  • Research Interests
    Genetics Quantitative Genetics
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  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 Co-Supervisor Breeding Faba Bean (Vicia Faba L.) for Acidic Soils of Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Samuel Catt
    2018 Principal Supervisor Nested Association Mapping to Identify Genomic Regions Associated with Wheat Yield under Australian Agronomic Conditions Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Charity Chidzanga

  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2016 - 2020 Principal Supervisor Identification of Novel Loci and Alleles for Drought and Heat Stress Tolerance in Wheat Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Jessica Schmidt
    2015 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Towards the positional cloning of yield QTL on chromosome 1B for drought tolerance in wheat Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Habtamu Seboka Tura
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  • Committee Memberships
    Date Role Committee Institution Country
    2017 - ongoing Member Wheat Initiative Expert Working Group on Wheat Breeding Methods and Strategies — —
  • Position: Research Fellow
  • Phone: 83136564
  • Email: melissa.garcia@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: Waite
  • Building: WT08, floor 2
  • Room: 2 17
  • Org Unit: School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Connect With Me
External Profiles