
Doctoral studies in Plant Physiology, and Computational Science and Engineering
Within the Department of Plant Physiology, the aim of our graduate program is to provide PhD education of the highest international standard, with a focus on both scientific and personal development. We currently have over 20 PhD students from more than ten different countries around the world, offering students a diverse and stimulating environment in which to undertake their studies.
Courses, workshops and seminar series are offered in which graduate students are integrated into an interactive scientific environment. Our PhD program gives graduate students the opportunity to undertake basic research in all areas of plant physiology, plant molecular biology, including functional genomics and bioinformatics, and plant biotechnology.
The department is made up of 16 research groups all lead by an individual principle investigator who run research programs on topics ranging from studies of how plants respond at the whole plant and ecosystem level to changes in climatic factors (e.g. cold and drought) and biotic stresses (e.g. herbivory by insects), down to studies designed to understand how plants sense changes in their environment through changes in light or circadian rhythms, how cellular activity is regulated via intracellular signaling mechanisms through to wood formation and the role of plant hormones in establishing tissue polarity.
These diverse research programs provide students with the opportunity to undertake challenging research projects and to learn and utilize the full range of advanced modern research methodologies.