Onyemaechi Henry Obiazikwor, is an integral member of the cohort of FFS-supported PhD candidates involved in the $1.4 million project, ‘Novel microbiome technologies to increase profitability for Australian horticulture’, led by Associate Professor Kirsty Bayliss, Academic Chair in Biosecurity and Food Security at Murdoch University’s Food Futures Institute. Obiazikwor’s journey from Nigeria to Australia was driven by his unwavering passion for agricultural biotechnology research.
His doctoral research involves analysing the root, stem and seed microbiomes of the world’s most popular tuberous crop, potato, before and after subjecting them to various stressors, as the basis for developing new, crop-customised bio-inoculants that cut chemical use and costs and boost potato crop health and yield.
Obiazikwor’s PhD work is being supervised by A/Prof. Bayliss, with input from project partners Hort Innovation, Eco Growth International, Melville Park; and the Phytobiomes Alliance.
He is due to complete his research by March 2026.
