Biography

Dr Joanna Melonek is a research fellow at The University of Western Australia. Joanna’s career path has taken her from a Master’s thesis in her home country of Poland, to a PhD position in Germany, then on to postdoctoral work in sunny Perth, Australia. Her research focuses on plant mitochondria, and in particular on a family of proteins known as pentatricopeptide repeat proteins (PPRs).  She’s particularly interested in a sub-set of PPRs called restorer-of-fertility proteins as they have potential application in hybrid crop breeding. Hybrid crop varieties typically produce higher and more stable yields under changing environmental conditions.