Peter Solomon

Prof Peter Solomon is a Professor at The Australian National University (ANU), leading the Wheat Biosecurity Lab and directing the ARC Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity within the Division of Plant Sciences. He holds a BAppSc(Hons) and PhD in plant pathology. His research focuses on fungal pathogens threatening global wheat production, including Stagonospora nodorum and Zymoseptoria tritici, addressing their economic impacts and developing disease management strategies. He also investigates fungal secondary metabolites for agricultural and biomedical applications.

Research Interests: Fungal pathogen virulence mechanisms, plant-pathogen interactions, biosecurity threats, and novel antimicrobial compounds from fungi. His work combines genomics, metabolomics, and field studies to combat crop diseases like septoria blotch and crown rot, which cause over $900M annual losses in Australia.

Grants & Projects: Leads major initiatives such as the ARC Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity (2024–2029) and genetic solutions for wheat disease resistance (2023–2027). Collaborates internationally to map pathogen evolution and improve crop resilience.

Labs & Teams: Directs a multidisciplinary team studying fungal genomics, pathogen biology, and bioactive compound discovery. The lab employs cutting-edge techniques like transcriptomics and CRISPR-based gene editing.