Rebecca Thistlethwaite

Dr Rebecca Thistlethwaite is a Research Fellow at the University of Sydney's School of Life and Environmental Sciences, based at the Plant Breeding Institute Narrabri. Her work focuses on enhancing wheat's heat tolerance through genetic and genomic approaches to address climate challenges. She holds a PhD from the University of Sydney (2017) and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Hons) (2012). Her research integrates field trials, controlled environments, and genomic tools to identify heat-tolerant wheat varieties.

Key research interests include abiotic stress adaptation in cereals, genetic diversity for climate resilience, and optimizing breeding strategies through genomic selection. She leads projects funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. Notable achievements include her 2024 Superstars of STEM recognition and her GRDC Postgraduate Scholarship (2012–2017).

Dr Thistlethwaite collaborates with the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and has published widely on heat tolerance mechanisms, meiosis timing under stress, and climate impacts on crop nutrition. Her work bridges laboratory and field research, aiming to improve global wheat yields amid rising temperatures.