People
John Golz, Group leader and Senior Lecturer in Genetics
John completed his undergraduate degree at the University of East Anglia (UK) in 1992 and his PhD at the University of Melbourne (Australia) in 1998. He then took up an EMBO postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Edinburgh with Prof. Andrew Hudson. In 2003, John was awarded a ARC QEII fellowship and moved back to Australia to establish his own group at Monash University. Since 2006, he has been a group leader at the University of Melbourne, accepting a lectureship position in 2008.
Maheshika Herath, PhD candidate – joined the lab in 2018.
Maheshika completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka followed by a Master degree in Biology from Texas Tech University USA, focusing on the genetic engineering of cotton for abiotic stress tolerance. She joined the lab as a PhD student in June 2018. Her research project aims to investigate the regulatory pathways controlling seed mucilage production in the model plant Arabidopsis.
Runjue Yao, PhD candidate (Melbourne-CNRS Network Joint PhD program) – joined the lab in 2021.
I obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Bioscience and a Master’s degree in Botany from Lanzhou University (China). During my undergraduate and postgraduate studies I have investigated the relationship between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plants, as well as studying a group of receptors-like cytoplasmic kinase involved in seed coat development. These projects exposed me to the world of cell signal transduction something that I am keen to study further. My current PhD project involves looking at the molecular pathways involved in seed size control.
Nicole Thomson, PhD candidate – joined the lab in 2022.
Nicole completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Genetics at the University of Otago, NewZealand. Her research project investigated the regulatory differences of key vernalisation gene variants in perennial ryegrass. She is interested in understanding the regulation of key genes involved in several important plant phenotypes that contribute to plant nutrition, yield, or tolerance to stress.
Her PhD project aims to investigate the interactions of the LEUNIG/LEUNIG_HOMOLOG regulatory complex in early embryogenesis in the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana.
Maryam Zarean, PhD candidate – joined the lab in 2022.
Maryam completed her Master of Agricultural Sciences in Plant Breeding at the Isfahan University of Technology, Iran. Her research project investigated the stability and transferability of symbiotic fungal endophytes in tall fescue. Her studies at the University of Melbourne are supported by a Rowden White Scholarship alongside Melbourne Research Scholarship. Her PhD project aims to characterize the SUPPRESSOR OF LEUNIG_HOMOLOG gene in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
Declan Lafferty, Research support officer – joined the lab in 2024.
Declan completed a Bachelor of Technology (Hons) at the University of Auckland (NZ) followed by his PhD at the joint graduate school between Plant and Food Research and UoA. He then took up a postdoctoral associate position at the Boyce Thompson Insitute at Cornell Univeristy (USA), wherehe worked on establishing transformation protocols for hornworts. Since 2024, he has been a Research Support Officer in the Golz Lab.His project involves enhancing carbon sequestration in Canola roots and evaluating its potential as acarbon sink to mitigate climate change.
Tan-ping Huang, MSc candidate – joined the lab in 2024.
Tanping completed her Bachelor of Science degree in China at Zhengzhou University, with a focus on endophytic bacteria and their metabolites in ginseng. In 2023, she joined the Golz Laboratory to pursue a degree in Masters of Biosciences. Her project aims to investigate the regulatory pathways controlling seed mucilage production in Arabidopsis.
Rebecca Carra, Casual RA – joined the lab in 2022.
Rebecca completed her Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne in 2020 with a major in Plant Sciences. She completed her Masters of Biosciences in the Golz lab and is now working as a casual RA. Her project aims to investigate the regulatory pathways controlling seed mucilage production in Arabidopsis.
Lab Alumni:
Research Assistant:
Dr Patrick Allen (2022-2023)
Postgraduates:
Victoria Ferns, MBiotech student (2022-2023)
Rebecca Carra, MSc student (2022-2023)
Kelly Rodgers, MAg student (2022)
Amelie Bauer, PhD student in the CNRS-UoM graduate program (2020-2023)
Juntan Zhang, MSc student (2020-2021)
Qiwei Li, PhD student supported by a CSC scholarship (completed 2017-2022)
Arca Zaw, MSc student (2016-2017)
Joanna Kaptur PhD student in the Max Planck-UoM graduate program (2016-2021)
Debra David, PhD student (2014-2018)
David Yoannidis, MSc student (2013-2014)
Mahmud Hassan, PhD student (2013-2018)
Nadee Jayawardana, PhD student (2012-2016)
Paul DeFazio, MSc student (2012-2013)
Joanne Lee, PhD student (2011-2014)
Murray Walker, MSc student (2008-2009)
Oliver Bonaccorso, PhD student (2004-2009, submitted 2017)
Melissa Stahle, PhD student (2005-2010)
Undergraduates:
Arlo Murffet, SCIE30001 student (2023)
Kim Heely, Hons student (2021)
Janath Fernando, SCIE30001 student (2021)
Kim Heely, SCIE30001 (2019)
Francis Tenazas, Hons student (2015)
Libby Puah, Hons student (2010)
Janine Kuehlich, Hons student (2008)
Adi Suputra, Hons student (2007)