Rebecca Zwart

Dr Rebecca Zwart is a Senior Lecturer and Honours Program Director at the School of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), Toowoomba, Australia. With a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Queensland and over 20 years of research experience, she specializes in the genetic characterization of disease resistance in cereal and pulse crops against pathogens like root-lesion nematodes, fusarium head blight, and rusts. Her work bridges molecular genetics with practical crop improvement strategies.

• Education: BAppSc (Hons) and PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Queensland
• International Experience: Visiting Scientist at CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (India, 4 years); Research Scientist at Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (Belgium, 3 years)

Research Focus

• Elucidating genetic regions conferring resistance to root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus thornei, P. neglectus) in wheat, chickpea, and mung bean
• Developing molecular tools for marker-assisted selection in breeding programs
• Investigating biochemical defense mechanisms and metabolomic profiles in resistant crops
• Exploring tripartite interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobia, and nematodes in legumes

Recent Publications demonstrate expertise in genome-wide association studies, transcriptomics, and metabolomics applied to nematode resistance in pulse and cereal crops, with collaborations spanning Australia, India, Belgium, and Kenya.

Scientific Awards

• 2008 Endeavour Research Fellowship
• Postgraduate Scholarship in Plant Breeding/Biotechnology from QLD Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries

Teaching includes foundational and advanced courses in Biology, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Plant Breeding. She emphasizes practical laboratory and field-based learning, with testimonials highlighting her learner-friendly course design and industry-relevant content.

Supervision spans Honours, Masters, and PhD students, focusing on root-lesion nematode resistance genetics in chickpea and mung bean through QTL mapping, GWAS, and phenotyping innovations.