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Dr Rebecca Zwart

Dr Rebecca Zwart
Name Rebecca Zwart
Position Senior Lecturer
Section School of Agriculture and Environmental Science
Office T328
Location Toowoomba Campus
Phone +61 7 4631 1544
Extension 1544
Email
Qualifications BAppSc(Hons) Qld , PhD Qld
Homepage https://research.usq.edu.au/researcher/80xw4/dr-rebecca-zwart
The views expressed on staff homepages may not reflect the views of the University.

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer and the Honours Program Director with the School of Agriculture and Environmental Science at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. I earned my PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Queensland and have over 20 years of research experience in genetic characterisation of disease resistance of various cereal and pulse pathogens, including root-lesion nematodes, fusarium head blight, and rusts. My research has been key to developing an understanding of the genetic regions conferring resistance to the root-lesion nematodes Pratylenchus thornei and Pratylenchus neglectus in synthetic hexaploid wheat, chickpea and mung beans and how this resistance can be exploited in breeding programs for crop improvement. I have a strong interest in international collaboration and have established and led bi-lateral funded research projects between India and Australia. My research career includes international experience as a visiting scientist at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – National Chemical Laboratory in India for 4 years and as a research scientist with the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research in Belgium for 3 years. I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Australasian Association of Nematologists, serving as the Newsletter Editor. I am currently coordinating and teaching biology, cell and molecular biology and plant breeding courses. I am an active supervisor of undergraduate and postgraduate research students, guiding them to achieve their academic and professional goals.

Research Career


  • Crop and Pasture Protection (Pests, Diseases and Weeds) ( 070308 )
  • Crop And Pasture Protection (incl. Pests ( 300409 )
  • Crop And Pasture Production ( 300400 )

Root-lesion nematodes, disease resistance, quantitative genetics, molecular markers, genome-wide association studies, transcriptomics, metabolomics, crop improvement


Australasian Association of Nematologists (Newsletter Editor)
Australasian Plant Pathology Society
Nematological Society of India


  • Centre for Crop Health (CCH)

Teaching


BIO1101 Biology 1
BIO2107 Cell and Molecular Biology 1
BIO3207 Cell and Molecular Biology 2
AGR2304 Plant Breeding


Honours Program Director

Supervision


  • Crop and Pasture Protection (Pests, Diseases and Weeds) ( 070308 )
  • Crop And Pasture Protection (incl. Pests ( 300409 )
  • Crop And Pasture Production ( 300400 )