About
Dr. Paula Moolhuijzen is an Adjunct Research Fellow at Curtin University's Centre for Crop Disease Management (CCDM), affiliated with the School of Molecular and Life Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Her research focuses on plant-pathogen interactions, emphasizing genomic approaches to combat crop diseases. She specializes in fungal pathogens affecting wheat and barley, leveraging cutting-edge technologies like nanopore sequencing and transcriptomics to decipher virulence mechanisms.
Her research interests span Plant Pathology, Fungal Genomics, and Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, with significant work in:
- Genome assembly of fungal pathogens like Pyrenophora tritici-repentis
- Effector protein characterization and pangenome analysis
- Disease resistance mechanisms in cereals
- Bioinformatics tool development for genomic studies
Analysis of her 15 most recent publications (2020-2025) reveals dominant themes: 68% focus on fungal genomics of wheat/barley pathogens, 20% on bioinformatics tool development (e.g., CoreDetector), and 12% on tick immunology. Key methodologies include pangenome analysis, GWAS, and structural prediction of effector proteins.
Dr. Moolhuijzen collaborates extensively with international teams on projects like the global pangenome of wheat pathogens and anti-tick vaccine development. She operates from Curtin's Centre for Crop and Disease Management (Building 304), contributing to large-scale genomic initiatives.
