Plant scientist off to study US corn as Fulbright scholar

A young plant biologist who developed a passion for the environment when he took up surfing in primary school has been awarded a 2013 Fulbright Western Australia Scholarship to undertake research in the US.

Tiago Tomaz, who recently finished his PhD at The University of Western Australia and works at the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, will go to the University of Illinois for 12 months from January next year.

While he was a student at the UWA-based Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Tomaz investigated the way plants ‘breathe’ and produce energy in a process called respiration. A key finding from his research was that removing two proteins involved in plant respiration can increase levels of vitamin C and have big effects on plant growth.

The ability to increase a plant’s vitamin C content - a natural antioxidant - has many implications for improving the current approach to dietary vitamin supplements and developing antioxidant-rich foods. This knowledge may also help create plants better able to withstand environmental stressors associated with climate change. Tomaz’s focus is on developing crops able to grow well under changing climactic conditions.

“My time as an undergraduate student at UWA and postgraduate researcher at Plant Energy Biology gave me a clear route to pursuing my passion for the environment,” he said. “I’m now looking to build upon the knowledge and techniques learnt at UWA by applying these outside the laboratory to field-based research on crop plants.”

Tomaz currently works in a team hoping to increase the drought and cold tolerance of popular Australian wheat varieties. In the US, he will be involved in a research project aiming to enhance ozone tolerance capabilities of one of the world’s major cereals: maize (sweet corn).

Tomaz was presented with his Fulbright Scholarship at the Annual Fulbright Presentation Dinner, held last week in Canberra.