Topic Areas and Contacts
The following is a list of research areas within the School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences. If you are interested in discussing potential research projects in any of these areas, please contact the Academic listed. You should also consider speaking to Subject Coordinators and /or staff who have taught you in any specialist areas.
Animal Metabolism and Physiology
The animal production research group undertake research over a broad range of species including pigs, poultry, dairy cattle, sheep, beef cattle and goats. Research opportunities include projects integrating all aspects of animal production including genetics, physiology, growth, nutrition, metabolism, environment, management and reproduction. This research aims to improve animal efficiency, improve meat and milk quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. Production animal research projects are available in a variety of areas including:
- Understanding the physiology of heat stress and developing methods to mitigate such negative effects
- Assessment of novel nutritional supplements to modify animal production (e.g. ameliorate heat stress or reduce methane emissions)
- Investigating novel alternate feed protein sources (e.g. insects)
- Robotic dairy cattle production systems
- Reducing ruminant methane emissions
- Biomarker development for feed conversion efficiency
- Development of novel food products
- Maintaining product quality and consumer health
- Use of in vitro models to assess ruminant feed quality
- Using genetic markers to select for thermal tolerance
- Methods to increase the value of feed grains
- Employing DXA technology to measure tissue deposition in farm animals
- The use of novel technologies to monitor animal production, health and growth
Prof. Frank Dunshea fdunshea@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Kristy DiGiacomo kristyd@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Jeremy Cottrell jcottrell@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Surinder Singh Chauhan ss.chauhan@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Paul Cheng long.cheng@unimelb.edu.au
Food Science
Meat and co-products quality and functionality
Meat quality and functionality is influenced by on-farm genetics, nutrition and post-harvest biochemistry, processing and storage of the muscle. This research project will take an aspect of meat (beef, pork or lamb) and investigate methods (additives, biochemistry, packaging, storage temperature) by which the quality, functionality and sensory appeal of the meat can be improved. The research may also investigate extracting bioactive elements from meat or organs (heart, intestine) in order to understand and develop higher nutritional value from meat and co-products. The preference is for students with a strong chemistry background/experience. Funding may be available for research on pork muscle.
Prof. Robyn Warner robyn.warner@unimelb.edu.au
Prof. Frank Dunshea fdunshea@unimelb.edu.au
A/Prof. Zhongxiang Fang zhongxiang.fang@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Minh Ha minh.ha@unimelb.edu.au
Fermentation microbiology and quality
Fermentation is a microbial process that transforms raw foods into recognisable products. A complex microbial community converts flour into bread, grapes into wine, grain into beer and cocoa beans to produce chocolate. This project investigates the microbial interactions which lead to flavour and which can affect the functionality of the foods macromolecules. Traditional microbiological and advanced molecular biological methods will be used to understand the yeast and bacteria present. Laboratory scale fermentations will be followed to understand the community dynamics and macromolecule conversion. Analytical chemistry is used to understand how the food components have changed. Both major and minor projects can be accommodated.
A/Prof. Kate Howell khowell@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Senaka Ranadheera senaka.ranadheera@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Pangzhen Zhang pangzhen.zhang@unimelb.edu.au
Functional molecules in grape, wine and plant-based foods
Natural molecules from plant-based foods, such as terpenoids, phenolics, alkaloids and kawa lactones, have various biological functions and may influence human health. This research area is to investigate the influences of plant growing environment and food processing conditions on the concentration of functional molecules present in plant-based foods and how this change could further influence their health benefits.
Dr. Pangzhen Zhang pangzhen.zhang@unimelb.edu.au
Plant Physiology and Remote Sensing
There are new and emerging technologies for monitoring plant water usage, rapid plant health assessment and pest monitoring. Project areas include:
- Unravelling night-time water uptake and transpiration mechanisms in plants using sap flow sensors, gas exchange and chemometric techniques
- Automated recognition of disease and insect attacks in grapevines using infrared thermography and artificial neural networks
- Developing wireless automated information systems for in-field monitoring of pests from plants by using automated pheromone traps
- Development of robotic systems to measure canopy architectural parameters at high spatial resolution for crops.
- Using newly developed infrared thermography scanners to detect plant water status for irrigation scheduling
A/Prof. Sigfredo Fuentes sfuentes@unimelb.edu.au
Rural Innovation Research Group
The group analyses many social dimensions of agriculture including:
- The adaptive capacity of dairy farm businesses for future climates
- Trans-disciplinary research designs
- Exploring social changes in agriculture
- Rural communities and agriculture industries
- Agricultural Innovation Systems
- New roles in extension
- Young people into farming, succession planning
- Human resource management on farms and workforce planning
- Precision agriculture
- The role of extension in rural industries
- Benefit / cost analysis of on-farm innovation
- Farm practice change, technology adoption and farmer decision-making
Prof. Ruth Nettle ranettle@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Margaret Ayre mayre@unimelb.edu.au
Dr. Barbara King kingbj@unimelb.edu.au
Soil Science
The Soil Science and Greenhouse Gases group is currently offering research projects focusing on understanding the factors that constrain agricultural productivity and effect the environmental sustainability of these systems. These include studies in soil chemistry, physics and microbiology as well as opportunities to work on projects measuring gaseous emissions from agricultural systems in the field (cropping, pasture and intensive animal production).
- Efficiency of nitrogen fertilisers and utilization of organic wastes in agricultural systems, biophysical modelling of nutrient cycling processes - Prof. Deli Chen delichen@unimelb.edu.au
- Nitrogen use efficiency in agriculture, quantification and mitigation of gaseous emissions from agricultural systems, novel fertilisers - Dr. Helen Suter helencs@unimelb.edu.au
- Influence of pasture species composition and diversity on soil health and the climate resilience of dairy farms - Dr. Helen Suter helencs@unimelb.edu.au
- Using wastes as soil conditioners and soil phosphorus dynamics - Dr. Tony Weatherley anthony@unimelb.edu.au
- Microbial processes of nutrient transformations - Prof. Jim He he@unimelb.edu.au, Dr. Hang-wei Hu hang-wei.hu@unimelb.edu.au
- GIS and satellite remote sensing for soil water modelling and crop performance - Dr. Alexis Pang alexisp@unimelb.edu.au
- Agricultural/environmental applications of electronic noses - Dr. Alexis Pang alexisp@unimelb.edu.au
- Assessment and management of field-scale soil and crop variability using various technologies (soil ECa; gamma radiometrics; NIR/MIR field measurements; sensors for nitrogen content; spatial science analyses - sampling distribution and frequency) (Industry collaboration project) - Dr. Alexis Pang alexisp@unimelb.edu.au
- Agricultural big data for environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation - Dr. Shu Kee (Raymond) Lam shukee.lam@unimelb.edu.au
- Nutrient (re)cycling and agricultural waste management - Dr. Tony Weatherley anthony@unimelb.edu.au, Dr Clayton Butterly clayton.butterly@unimelb.edu.au