Modern agriculture and biomedical research are driven by the availability of big data and the development of data science. The recent development in data analytics coupled with gene editing technology has transformed crop breeding and enabled a new frontier of de novo breeding. Through Murdoch University and Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC)’s initiative, multiple PhD Scholarship positions have been made available on developing new data analytics methods and modelling for grain research innovation and ensuring enduring profitability for Australian grain growers and breeders.

We are seeking a PhD student who is interested in performing PhD on applied bioinformatics. Scholarship of $70,000 AUD will be offered to successful candidate. The PhD project will focus on data analytics, data mining, and statistical modelling of complex biological system in crops. The project will have access to large volume of state-of-the-art Next Generation Sequencing-based genomics and pan-genomics data, large field trial data across multiple geographical sites, and environment data. The PhD research will involve cutting-edge bioinformatics and data science technologies, and this is a perfect training opportunity for those who is interested in machine learning, data mining, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics. High-performance computing may also be involved based on candidate’s experience and interests. Even if majority of the research will be computation based, the candidate will work with a team of bioinformatician, crop geneticist, field trail experts, and computational scientists. It is highly likely completion of PhD will lead to post-Doctorate research opportunities on data science and statistical modelling as either an extension or a spin-off of the PhD program.