Hickey Lab

The Hickey lab conducts discovery and applied research to support crop improvement. Our group is situated within QAAFI at The University of Queensland

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

What if we could breed crops for entire farming SYSTEMS, not just individual performance?

Our new preprint explores "legacy effects" - how one crop's genetics influence the next crop in rotation.

The results surprised us! 🧵

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

This morning I will provide an overview of the opportunities to apply AI in plant breeding… of course nothing to worry about! 😆

Promising results include phenotyping, prediction and parent selection

Genomics-Assisted Breeding Workshop 11:30am, Town and Country #PAG32

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Congrats to the Hickey Lab Awardees for 2024!

Best Paper: Jingyang Tong for his two articles in @TheorApplGenet:
https://t.co/cM8zc0l8rY
https://t.co/hP923k7Xin

Best Presentation: @samir_alahmad for his talk "UAV phenotyping to predict the hidden half of barley" at PAG

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

I'm looking for a new PhD student to work with industry to advance predictive breeding methods

Project team includes myself, Dr @HannahMRobin and Dr @AllanRattey in partnership with @InterGrain1

➡️https://t.co/F9oFkupf74

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Our latest paper explores the potential to harness haplotypes conferring multiple disease resistance in wheat breeding

Check it out in @TheorApplGenet: https://t.co/KAZD2xlrzd

Congratulations to PhD student Jingyang Tong!

[abts2026 @abts_2026]

Dr Samir Alahmad @QAAFI discusses Using drones to predict the hidden half of barley
@HickeyLab @arc_gov_au @UQ_News @CSIRO @InterGrain1 #ABTS2024 #barley

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Now online! Study by @YC_Kang05 explored the relationship between seminal root angle and root architecture in durum wheat

Root angle associated with differences in allocation of roots at different depths but not aboveground traits or total root biomass https://t.co/6dtBaKW0R1

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

In 2018, we published multi-crop speed breeding protocols in @NaturePlants and today the article has attracted 1,000 citations!

Congrats to all involved across UQ, John Innes Centre, our collaborators and particularly @BrandeWulff, @sreyag_ and Amy Watson https://t.co/zYYEMoJ2o8

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

A genome-wide atlas of rust resistance loci in wheat!

A summary of QTL/genes for the three rusts from 170 publications over two decades. We positioned 920 loci across 21 chromosomes based on the latest reference genome

Check it out in @TheorApplGenet: https://t.co/AjQiFNUm1U

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Are you interested in building a career in crop quantitative genetics?

A unique opportunity for a Postdoctoral/Research Fellow to further develop their expertise and research profile. Develop and apply innovative AI-guided breeding methods! Apply here: https://t.co/iHQNb6LRYM

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Our article “Satellite-enabled enviromics to enhance crop improvement” features on the cover of the new issue of Molecular Plant! 🌾 🌎 🛰️

Check it out here:
https://t.co/Cg88cahvKf

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

New @TheorApplGenet paper reveals positive genetic correlations between stay-green and barley yield across multiple environments; highlighting the potential as a future breeding target

Huge thanks to our collaborators @InterGrain1 & congrats to @Stephanie_B37 on her first paper!

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

We are pretty excited about these mungbean plants! Why?

They have been bred using our AI-guided breeding platform to stack haplotypes across the genome to increase seed size

Lines will be distributed to breeders around the world as part of our ⁦@ACIARAustralia⁩ project

[Hickey Lab @HickeyLab]

PhD student Stephanie Brunner presenting her barley stay-green research at the German Plant Breeding Conference last week
@TheorApplGenet paper coming soon!

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

We are recruiting a Centre Manager for ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding led by The University of Queensland. If you have partnership experience and looking for a new leadership opportunity, this could be the position for you! Apply by 10th Jan
https://t.co/3EWWJXoML4

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

So proud of our amazing graduates!

I think we set a new record with 5 PhD graduates and 1 Masters associated with the @HickeyLab! Congrats to @YasmineCan, @Dipika_UQ, @AsadAmeenpak, @yadavseema43, Amy Mackenzie and Maggie Zhang

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

What a great way to celebrate a successful year of crop science across the Godwin, Hickey, Crisp, Massel and Smith labs at UQ!

We also discovered that @samir_alahmad is a lawn bowls super star…

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Congrats to the Hickey Lab Awardees for 2023!

Best Paper: @shanice_vanhaef for her article "Building a better Mungbean" in Food and Energy Security: https://t.co/HSY4RfUoag

Best Presentation: Jingyang Tong for his talk on "Haplotype-based resistance breeding" at PAG Australia

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Hanging out with the UQ crew at @asps_ozplants in Hobart 😆

[Lee Hickey @DrHikov]

Applications now open for the position Centre Manager associated with the ARC Training Centre for Predictive Breeding, based at UQ, Brisbane, Australia. We are looking for a highly organised and energetic leader with partnership experience. Please share!
https://t.co/9oNjXqHntV