Lumen Winter 2018 - Flipbook - Page 15
who had identified novel salt tolerance traits
in wild relatives of wheat and was planning
to figure out what genes were linked to those
traits,” she said.
“He mentioned there was a PhD opportunity
in this area, which sounded exciting to me.
“I grew up hearing in the news about
the increasing salinity problems in the
Murray River, so the chance to figure out
how to protect crop plant yields against
rising salinity was an opportunity not
to be missed.”
After completing her PhD, Caitlin found
there were lots of opportunities for work,
but she chose one that would allow her to
stay in the field she was most interested
in advancing – plant science.
“I definitely wanted to continue to
contribute to plant science because plant
science holds the keys to solving major global
challenges. Our food, raw material, medicinal
and fresh water needs are all either directly
derived from or intricately linked with plant
industries,” she said.
Surprisingly, given her success to date, there
was a time when Caitlin seriously considered
a career outside research.
“Near the end of my undergraduate
degree, I had a wonderful work experience
opportunity. It involved learning about
managing an almond orchard, such
as watering regimes and plant health
management. While doing this I had
great fun flying around in a light aircraft,
practicing shooting clay targets, swimming in
the orchard swimming pool, and careening
about on a quad bike.
“At the end of it, the company sent me a
$1000 thank you cheque and offered me
a position.
“I had to decide between this opportunity
and continuing to study; in the end the
thirst for new knowledge tipped me over to
pursuing a higher research degree.
“I DEFINITELY WANTED
TO CONTINUE TO
CONTRIBUTE TO PLANT
SCIENCE BECAUSE
IT HOLDS THE KEY
TO SOLVING MAJOR
GLOBAL CHALLENGES.”
Above: Dr Caitlin Byrt conducting a
recent experiment at the Waite campus,
in conjunction with researchers from
the South Australian Research and
Development Institute (SARDI),
supported by the Australian Research
Council Centre of Excellence in Plant
Energy Biology and the Grains Research
and Development Corporation
Photo by Russell Millard
“That thirst is still there, I made the
right decision.”
Alumni Magazine ~ Winter 2018
13
