I am a plant scientist trained in weed science. Why WEEDS? Well, weeds (or what we call unwanted plants) cost the Australian economy $5 billion each year in terms of lost production and control efforts. In addition, they cause irreparable damage to the environment and biodiversity.

My research focuses weed biology, invasion ecology and ecologically based integrated weed management (IWM). The overarching goal of my program is to improve our understanding of weed biology and evolution to be able to develop sustainable management strategies. The development of true IWM programs dominated by non-chemical and ecological practices is at the core of my applied research. The objective is to prevent the weed seedbank built-up while reducing the sole reliance on herbicides. Over the years my prime focus has been on understanding the ecological mechanisms driving the weed adaptations under changing climate, land use and management practices. It has allowed me to study weeds and invasive plant species in a range of landscapes including agronomic crops, pastures and rangelands.

I am a big fan of multidisciplinary research and systems approach aimed to address the complex problems. Like weeds my research interests are also evolving all the time with current focus on understanding the adaptive mechanisms, especially phonological changes and their genetic bases in weed species exposed to different selection pressures.

Teaching interests lie in the areas of weed ecology, farming systems and sustainable crop production. Big fan of two-way knowledge exchange and concept-based learning. No question is a silly question !!!