Matthew Tucker

Professor Matthew Tucker is the Interim Director of the Waite Research Institute and co-chair of the University of Adelaide’s Signature Research Theme in Food, Agriculture and Wine. He chairs the Institutional Biosafety Committee and serves as joint Director of the Adelaide node of Plant SynBio Australia. As an established plant biologist, his research focuses on plant reproduction, shoot growth, and seed development.

• University of Adelaide (Interim Director, Waite Research Institute)
• Signature Research Theme: Food, Agriculture and Wine
• Institutional Biosafety Committee (Chair)
• Plant SynBio Australia (Joint Director)

His laboratory specializes in improving crop yield and grain quality through traditional breeding, gene editing, and genetic modification. His work has been supported by grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), SAGIT, GRDC, ARDC, EMBO, and the EU. He has published over 100 scientific articles in journals such as Nature Plants, Nature Communications, and Development.

Professor Tucker is a Chief Investigator with the ARC Training Centre for Future Crops Development and the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space. His research explores cereal inflorescence, flower, and grain development, with recent studies on germline β-glucan deposits and callose biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Collaborations include the James Hutton Institute (Scotland), University of Milan (Italy), and University of Hohenheim (Germany).

Scientific awards include the ARC Future Fellowship (2015). He supervises numerous PhD, MPhil, and Honours students, either as primary or co-supervisor. Former students and staff have transitioned to institutions like the University of Freiburg, JIC, and La Trobe University.