Hongwei Liu(刘宏伟)

Doctoral research (04/2013-01/2017) In 2017, I earned my PhD in Agriculture Sciences from the University of Queensland, where I was supervised by Prof. Peer Schenk, A/Prof. Paul G. Dennis, and Dr Lilia C. Carvalhais. My research focused on understanding the microbiomes of plants and soils, particularly in the context of biotic and abiotic stresses. Over the course of my PhD, I led three interlinked major projects funded by ARC and GRDC, which explored the functions of plant and soil microbiomes in maintaining agroecosystem health. Thanks to my team's success, I was able to publish high-quality research papers (five as 1st-author) by the time I submitted my thesis,a feat that exceeds the average for comparable PhD students in my field. In addition to my research, I co-supervised two Honours students and served as a Tutor at UQ in 2015-2016 (BIOL3011 Plant-Microbe and Insect Interactions and BIOL7012 Plant Interactions). Despite the demands of these duties, I completed my PhD in just three years and nine months. I also received significant support from the school and university for travel and research purposes, totaling approximately $10,000 from 2013-2017. One particularly notable achievement was winning a prestigious Graduate School International Travel Grant (GSITG) (top 10%) from UQ in November 2015, which enabled me to present my tillage research results at the ‘Ecology of Soil Microorganisms’ conference in Prague, Czech Republic. During that same trip, I also visited the Department of Soil Ecology at the University of Bayreuth in Germany to learn the Soil Zymography technique. Overall, my PhD experience equipped me with a diverse range of skills in microbiome research and team leadership, and I am eager to apply these skills to new challenges in the future. Postdoctoral research (08/2017-current) After successfully navigating a highly competitive selection process, I was thrilled to secure a full-time postdoctoral position at the renowned Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE) at WSU, where I devoted an average of 80:20 time to research and mentoring. At HIE I lead research endeavours to understand functional responses and linkages of soil, plant and insect microbiomes, under biotic and abiotic stresses. This appointment allowed me to lead three projects [ARC funded (2) and Hort Innovation Australia (HIA) (1)], and completed four studies to advance knowledge of plant- and pollinator-associated microbiomes, and their importance on crop/pollinator performance.