Professor Lee Hickey
Professor

Lee Hickey

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 54805

Background

Professor Lee Hickey is a plant breeder and crop geneticist within the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation at The University of Queensland, Australia. He is an ARC Future Fellow and Director of the ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding. His own research group specialises in plant breeding innovation to support development of more productive food crops, such as wheat, barley and chickpea. He has a strong interest in the integration of breeding technologies, such as genomic prediction, AI, speed breeding and genome editing. His advice for speed breeding crops is sought internationally and the technology is now adopted by plant breeding programs worldwide, which is fast-tracking development of improved crop varieties for farmers. His research outcomes have featured in >90 refereed publications, including articles in high profile journals Nature Plants, Nature Protocols and Nature Biotechnology. Lee is a prolific science communicator and his research outcomes have appeared in mainstream media such as BBC World News, National Geographic, and the New York Times. He is passionate about training the next generation of plant breeders and currently mentors 18 PhD students, while 20 of his previous graduates now work for leading plant breeding companies and high-profile research institutes around the globe.

Check out the Hickey Lab website here

Follow Professor Lee Hickey on X: @DrHikov

Research interests

  • Speed breeding techniques to reduce the length of breeding cycles
  • Understanding the genetics of physiological traits that support yield in different environments
  • Integrating breeding technologies to accelerate genetic gain in breeding programs
  • Innovative genomic selection methodologies
  • Identifying novel sources of disease resistance

Availability

Professor Lee Hickey is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Agricultural biotechnology Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences Biological Sciences Crop and pasture production Genetics

Qualifications

  • Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Research Commercialisation, The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Research impacts

Tapping into roots to develop sustainable wheat

Professor Hickey's ARC Future Fellowship aims to deliver genetic solutions to optimise root systems in wheat crops, read the article here.

Digging deep to boost barley

Teaming up with Integrain, Australia’s leading barley breeding company, in an ARC Linkage project to develop innovative breeding methods develop more productive crops in the face of climate change.

Why the world needs faster food

We need to embrace new technology to feed the world in the face of climate change and rapidly evolving pests and diseases: watch Prof Hickey's TEDx talk.

Grow Faster, Grow Stronger: Speed-Breeding Crops to Feed the Future

Speed breeding technology featured in the New York Times, read the article here.

Lab-free genome editing to develop future crops

Professor Hickey reieved a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award to develop lab-free genome editing systems, watch the video.

Search Professor Lee Hickey’s works on UQ eSpace

155 works between 2009 and 2024
All (155) Journal Article (98) Book Chapter (6) Conference Publication (42) Other Outputs (9)

1 - 20 of 155 works

Featured

2024

Journal Article

Evolutionary computing to assemble standing genetic diversity and achieve long‐term genetic gain

Villiers, Kira, Voss‐Fels, Kai P., Dinglasan, Eric, Jacobs, Bertus, Hickey, Lee and Hayes, Ben J. (2024). Evolutionary computing to assemble standing genetic diversity and achieve long‐term genetic gain. The Plant Genome, 17 (2) e20467, e20467. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20467

Evolutionary computing to assemble standing genetic diversity and achieve long‐term genetic gain

Featured

2024

Journal Article

Characterizing stay-green in barley across diverse environments: unveiling novel haplotypes

Brunner, Stephanie M., Dinglasan, Eric, Baraibar, Silvina, Alahmad, Samir, Katsikis, Christina, van der Meer, Sarah, Godoy, Jayfred, Moody, David, Smith, Millicent, Hickey, Lee and Robinson, Hannah (2024). Characterizing stay-green in barley across diverse environments: unveiling novel haplotypes. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 137 (6) 120, 120. doi: 10.1007/s00122-024-04612-1

Characterizing stay-green in barley across diverse environments: unveiling novel haplotypes

Featured

2024

Journal Article

Satellite-enabled Enviromics to Enhance Crop Improvement

Resende, Rafael T., Hickey, Lee, Amaral, Cibele H., Peixoto, Lucas L., Marcatti, Gustavo E. and Xu, Yunbi (2024). Satellite-enabled Enviromics to Enhance Crop Improvement. Molecular Plant, 17 (6), 848-866. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2024.04.005

Satellite-enabled Enviromics to Enhance Crop Improvement

Featured

2019

Journal Article

Breeding crops to feed 10 billion

Hickey, Lee T., N. Hafeez, Amber, Robinson, Hannah, Jackson, Scott A., Leal-Bertioli, Soraya C. M., Tester, Mark, Gao, Caixia, Godwin, Ian D., Hayes, Ben J. and Wulff, Brande B. H. (2019). Breeding crops to feed 10 billion. Nature Biotechnology, 37 (7), 744-754. doi: 10.1038/s41587-019-0152-9

Breeding crops to feed 10 billion

Featured

2018

Journal Article

Speed breeding is a powerful tool to accelerate crop research and breeding

Watson, Amy, Ghosh, Sreya, Williams, Matthew J, Cuddy, William S, Simmonds, James, Rey, María-Dolores, Asyraf Md Hatta, M, Hinchliffe, Alison, Steed, Andrew, Reynolds, Daniel, Adamski, Nikolai M, Breakspear, Andy, Korolev, Andrey, Rayner, Tracey, Dixon, Laura E., Riaz, Adnan, Martin, William, Ryan, Merrill, Edwards, David, Batley, Jacqueline, Raman, Harsh, Carter, Jeremy, Rogers, Christian, Domoney, Claire, Moore, Graham, Harwood, Wendy, Nicholson, Paul, Dieters, Mark J., DeLacy, Ian H. ... Hickey, Lee T. (2018). Speed breeding is a powerful tool to accelerate crop research and breeding. Nature Plants, 4 (1), 23-29. doi: 10.1038/s41477-017-0083-8

Speed breeding is a powerful tool to accelerate crop research and breeding

2024

Journal Article

Mapping quantitative trait loci for seminal root angle in a selected durum wheat population

Kang, Yichen, Alahmad, Samir, Haeften, Shanice V., Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Tong, Jingyang, Dinglasan, Eric, Voss‐Fels, Kai P., Potgieter, Andries B., Borrell, Andrew K., Makhoul, Manar, Obermeier, Christian, Snowdon, Rod, Mace, Emma, Jordan, David R. and Hickey, Lee T. (2024). Mapping quantitative trait loci for seminal root angle in a selected durum wheat population. The Plant Genome ARTN e20490, e20490. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20490

Mapping quantitative trait loci for seminal root angle in a selected durum wheat population

2024

Journal Article

Genome-wide atlas of rust resistance loci in wheat

Tong, Jingyang, Zhao, Cong, Liu, Dan, Jambuthenne, Dilani T., Sun, Mengjing, Dinglasan, Eric, Periyannan, Sambasivam K., Hickey, Lee T. and Hayes, Ben J. (2024). Genome-wide atlas of rust resistance loci in wheat. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 137 (8) 179, 1-16. doi: 10.1007/s00122-024-04689-8

Genome-wide atlas of rust resistance loci in wheat

2024

Journal Article

Root angle, phosphorus, and water: interactions and effects on durum wheat genotype performance in drought-prone environments

van der Bom, Frederik J. T., Williams, Alwyn, Raymond, Nelly S., Alahmad, Samir, Hickey, Lee T., Singh, Vijaya and Bell, Michael J. (2024). Root angle, phosphorus, and water: interactions and effects on durum wheat genotype performance in drought-prone environments. Plant and Soil, 500 (1-2), 69-89. doi: 10.1007/s11104-023-05966-z

Root angle, phosphorus, and water: interactions and effects on durum wheat genotype performance in drought-prone environments

2024

Journal Article

Seminal root angle is associated with root system architecture in durum wheat

Kang, Yichen, Rambla, Charlotte, Haeften, Shanice V., Fu, Brendan, Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Potgieter, Andries B., Borrell, Andrew K., Mace, Emma, Jordan, David R., Alahmad, Samir and Hickey, Lee T. (2024). Seminal root angle is associated with root system architecture in durum wheat. Food and Energy Security, 13 (4) e570. doi: 10.1002/fes3.570

Seminal root angle is associated with root system architecture in durum wheat

2024

Journal Article

Investigating the genetic control of plant development in spring barley under speed breeding conditions

Rossi, Nicola, Powell, Wayne, Mackay, Ian J., Hickey, Lee, Maurer, Andreas, Pillen, Klaus, Halliday, Karen and Sharma, Rajiv (2024). Investigating the genetic control of plant development in spring barley under speed breeding conditions. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 137 (5) 115. doi: 10.1007/s00122-024-04618-9

Investigating the genetic control of plant development in spring barley under speed breeding conditions

2024

Journal Article

Fusarium wilt constrains mungbean yield due to reduction in source availability

Van Haeften, Shanice, Kang, Yichen, Dudley, Caitlin, Potgieter, Andries, Robinson, Hannah, Dinglasan, Eric, Wenham, Kylie, Noble, Thomas, Kelly, Lisa, Douglas, Colin A, Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent R (2024). Fusarium wilt constrains mungbean yield due to reduction in source availability. AoB PLANTS, 16 (2) plae021, plae021. doi: 10.1093/aobpla/plae021

Fusarium wilt constrains mungbean yield due to reduction in source availability

2024

Book Chapter

Transforming food production with AI

Cooper, Mark, Hickey, Lee, Jiang, Xianxian, La Fata, Giorgio, Lomas, Harold, Miller, Tim, O’Brien, Susan, Patel, Parth and Tomarchio, Samuel (2024). Transforming food production with AI. Food AI: A game changer for Australia’s food and beverage sector. (pp. 5-13) edited by Janet R. McColl-Kennedy and Damian Hine. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: The University of Queensland, Australia's Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA).

Transforming food production with AI

2023

Journal Article

Use of continuous genotypes for genomic prediction in sugarcane

Yadav, Seema, Ross, Elizabeth M., Wei, Xianming, Liu, Shouye, Nguyen, Loan To, Powell, Owen, Hickey, Lee T., Deomano, Emily, Atkin, Felicity, Voss‐Fels, Kai P. and Hayes, Ben J. (2023). Use of continuous genotypes for genomic prediction in sugarcane. The Plant Genome, 17 (1) e20417, e20417. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20417

Use of continuous genotypes for genomic prediction in sugarcane

2023

Journal Article

Wheat stripe rust resistance locus YR63 is a hot spot for evolution of defence genes – a pangenome discovery

Mackenzie, Amy, Norman, Michael, Gessese, Mesfin, Chen, Chunhong, Sørensen, Chris, Hovmøller, Mogens, Ma, Lina, Forrest, Kerrie, Hickey, Lee, Bariana, Harbans, Bansal, Urmil and Periyannan, Sambasivam (2023). Wheat stripe rust resistance locus YR63 is a hot spot for evolution of defence genes – a pangenome discovery. BMC Plant Biology, 23 (1) 590, 1-12. doi: 10.1186/s12870-023-04576-2

Wheat stripe rust resistance locus YR63 is a hot spot for evolution of defence genes – a pangenome discovery

2023

Journal Article

Optimising clonal performance in sugarcane: leveraging non-additive effects via mate-allocation strategies

Yadav, Seema, Ross, Elizabeth M., Wei, Xianming, Powell, Owen, Hivert, Valentin, Hickey, Lee T., Atkin, Felicity, Deomano, Emily, Aitken, Karen S., Voss-Fels, Kai P. and Hayes, Ben J. (2023). Optimising clonal performance in sugarcane: leveraging non-additive effects via mate-allocation strategies. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14 1260517, 1260517. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1260517

Optimising clonal performance in sugarcane: leveraging non-additive effects via mate-allocation strategies

2023

Journal Article

Featured cover

Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Kang, Yichen, Smith, Daniel, Nair, Ramakrishnan M., Douglas, Colin A., Potgieter, Andries, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee T. and Smith, Millicent R. (2023). Featured cover. Food and Energy Security, 12 (6). doi: 10.1002/fes3.516

Featured cover

2023

Journal Article

Nuclear exchange generates population diversity in the wheat leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina

Sperschneider, Jana, Hewitt, Tim, Lewis, David C., Periyannan, Sambasivam, Milgate, Andrew W., Hickey, Lee T., Mago, Rohit, Dodds, Peter N. and Figueroa, Melania (2023). Nuclear exchange generates population diversity in the wheat leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina. Nature Microbiology, 8 (11), 2130-2141. doi: 10.1038/s41564-023-01494-9

Nuclear exchange generates population diversity in the wheat leaf rust pathogen Puccinia triticina

2023

Journal Article

Accurate prediction of quantitative traits with failed SNP calls in canola and maize

Weber, Sven E., Chawla, Harmeet Singh, Ehrig, Lennard, Hickey, Lee T., Frisch, Matthias and Snowdon, Rod J. (2023). Accurate prediction of quantitative traits with failed SNP calls in canola and maize. Frontiers in Plant Science, 14 1221750, 1-15. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1221750

Accurate prediction of quantitative traits with failed SNP calls in canola and maize

2023

Journal Article

Advancing artificial intelligence to help feed the world

Hayes, Ben J., Chen, Chensong, Powell, Owen, Dinglasan, Eric, Villiers, Kira, Kemper, Kathryn E. and Hickey, Lee T. (2023). Advancing artificial intelligence to help feed the world. Nature Biotechnology, 41 (9), 1-2. doi: 10.1038/s41587-023-01898-2

Advancing artificial intelligence to help feed the world

2023

Journal Article

Building a better Mungbean: breeding for reproductive resilience in a changing climate

Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Kang, Yichen, Smith, Daniel, Nair, Ramakrishnan M., Douglas, Colin A., Potgieter, Andries, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee T. and Smith, Millicent R. (2023). Building a better Mungbean: breeding for reproductive resilience in a changing climate. Food and Energy Security, 12 (6) e467. doi: 10.1002/fes3.467

Building a better Mungbean: breeding for reproductive resilience in a changing climate

Current funding

  • 2024 - 2029
    ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding for Agricultural Futures
    ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centres
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2028
    Program 2 - Resistance Sources: Using 'FastStack' to develop effective durable net blotch resistance gene stacks
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2028
    Genetic initiative to transform symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Australian pulse crops
    PROC-9176963 Genetic initiative to transform symbiotic nitrogen fixation in Australian pulse crops
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2028
    Fast tracking deployment of chickpea heat tolerance
    GRDC - PROC-9176886 - Fast tracking deployment of chickpea heat tolerance to develop chickpea varieties with improved high temperature tolerance
    Open grant
  • 2024 - 2027
    Root structure and function traits: Overcoming the root phenotyping bottleneck in cereals
    PROC-9176895 Phenomics methods and tools to enable improved resource capture efficiency in grain crops
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2028
    Enhancing Genomic Prediction for Changing Environments in Wheat
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2027
    RustHapSelect: Fast-tracking rust resistance haplotypes into high-yielding germplasm (GRDC grant administered by CSIRO)
    CSIRO
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2027
    Improving crops from the ground up: genetic solutions to optimise roots
    ARC Future Fellowships
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2026
    Digging deeper to improve yield stability
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2025
    International Mungbean Improvement Network 2 (ACIAR-funded sub-contract with World Vegetable Center)
    Mungbean Improvement Network
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2024
    Cereal blueprints for a water-limited world
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2020 - 2024
    Screening of diverse barley germplasm for rapid discovery and utilisation of novel disease resistance in barley using R-HapSelect : A haplotype-based toolkit
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2020
    Lab-free genome editing to develop our future crops
    UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    Accelerated Varietal Improvement and Seed Delivery of Legumes and Cereals in Africa (AVISA)
    International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    Establishment of wheat shortening the breeding-cycle using speed breeding
    Rural Development Administration
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2022
    Rooty: a root ideotype toolbox to support improved wheat yields
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2023
    FastStack - evolutionary computing to stack desirable alleles in wheat
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2022
    Postdoctoral Fellowship interfacing crop improvement and agronomy/nutrition programs
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Mechanisms controlling root architecture in crop plants
    Universities Australia - Germany Joint Research Co-operation Scheme
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2019
    Accelerated genomic selection to speed up genetic gain in wheat
    ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    Winter wheat selection
    UniQuest Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Speed pre-breeding for rapid trait pyramiding in durum wheat
    Monsanto Company
    Open grant
  • 2015
    A high-throughput phenotyping platform for transpiration efficiency in cereal crops
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2014
    Mining novel disease resistance genes in wheat landraces from the VIR (N I Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry) collection
    UQ Early Career Researcher
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2019
    Accelerating the utilisation and deployment of durable adult plant resistance to leaf rust in barley (Grains and Research Development Corporation grant administered by the University of Sydney)
    University of Sydney
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2019
    Delivery of wheat root traits that contribute to water limited yield stability
    Grains Research & Development Corporation
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2019
    Maintaining a barley pre-breeding capability in Queensland (Grains Research & Development Corporation grant administered by QLD Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry)
    Queensland Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2015
    Resistance to Pathogens - UQ - CSP155
    CSIRO
    Open grant
  • 2013
    Validation of rapid gene transfer methodology in barley
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

Availability

Professor Lee Hickey is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor Lee Hickey directly for media enquiries about:

  • Barley breeding
  • Barley disease
  • Barley genetics
  • Crops
  • Food production
  • Speed breeding
  • Wheat breeding
  • Wheat disease resistance
  • Wheat genetics

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