Overview
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
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.
Works
Search Professor Lee Hickey’s works on UQ eSpace
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
2023
Journal Article
Partitioning the forms of genotype-by-environment interaction in the reaction norm analysis of stability
Waters, Dominic L., van der Werf, Julius H J, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee T. and Clark, Sam A. (2023). Partitioning the forms of genotype-by-environment interaction in the reaction norm analysis of stability. Theoretical and applied genetics, 136 (5) 99, 1-14. doi: 10.1007/s00122-023-04319-9
2023
Conference Publication
Breeding technologies to develop summer pulse crops
Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent (2023). Breeding technologies to develop summer pulse crops. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 13-15 March 2023.
2023
Conference Publication
Physiological insight to improve mungbean productivity
Smith, Millicent, Van Haeften, Shanice, Dudley, Caitlin, Kohl, Theresa, Douglas, Colin, Ryan, Merrill, Potgieter, Andries, Chapman, Scott, Robinson, Hannah, Dinglasan, Eric and Hickey, Lee (2023). Physiological insight to improve mungbean productivity. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 13-15 March 2023.
2023
Conference Publication
Understanding the genetics of mungbean senescence behaviour using longitudinal UAV data
Van Haeften, Shanice, Kang, Yichen, Douglas, Colin, Dudley, Caitlin, Ryan, Merrill, Smith, Millicent, Chapman, Scott, Robinson, Hannah, Potgieter, Andries and Hickey, Lee (2023). Understanding the genetics of mungbean senescence behaviour using longitudinal UAV data. Australian Summer Grains Conference, Gold Coast, QLD Australia, 13-15 March 2023.
2023
Other Outputs
Whole-genome marker profiles for durum wheat intro-selection lines
Hickey, Lee, Kang, Yichen and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Whole-genome marker profiles for durum wheat intro-selection lines. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/8b3af41
2023
Other Outputs
Whole-genome marker profiles for bread wheat intro-selection lines
Hickey, Lee and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Whole-genome marker profiles for bread wheat intro-selection lines. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/3c1bbae
2023
Other Outputs
Mungbean phenology and yield data
Hickey, Lee, Van Haeften, Shanice and Smith, Millicent (2023). Mungbean phenology and yield data. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/0fd1ff2
2023
Other Outputs
Field-based root phenotype data for durum wheat intro-selection lines - raw and pre-processed data
Hickey, Lee, Kang, Yichen and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Field-based root phenotype data for durum wheat intro-selection lines - raw and pre-processed data. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/92c3c86
2023
Other Outputs
Field-based root phenotype data for bread wheat intro-selection lines - raw and pre-processed data
Hickey, Lee, Kang, Yichen and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Field-based root phenotype data for bread wheat intro-selection lines - raw and pre-processed data. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/9c3b35d
2023
Other Outputs
UAV imagery for bread and durum wheat intro-selection lines selected for root traits
Hickey, Lee and Alahmad, Samir (2023). UAV imagery for bread and durum wheat intro-selection lines selected for root traits. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/24ee7f8
2023
Other Outputs
Mungbean UAV imagery
Hickey, Lee, Van Haeften, Shanice and Smith, Millicent (2023). Mungbean UAV imagery. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/62fc842
2022
Journal Article
Genomic mate-allocation strategies exploiting additive and non-additive genetic effects to maximise total clonal performance in sugarcane
Yadav, Seema, Ross, Elizabeth, Wei, Xianming, Powell, Owen, Hivert, Valentin, Hickey, Lee T., Atkin, Felicity, Deomano, Emily, Aitken, Karen S., Voss-Fels, Kai P. and Hayes, Ben J. (2022). Genomic mate-allocation strategies exploiting additive and non-additive genetic effects to maximise total clonal performance in sugarcane.
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
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
-
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring genetic diversity and rust resistance in historical and modern germplasm for wheat breeding in Ethiopia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor David Jordan, Professor Emma Mace, Dr Kai Voss-Fels
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating root-shoot dynamics to improve water-use efficiency of barley
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Alex Wu, Associate Professor Karine Chenu, Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Millicent Smith, Dr Dongxue Zhao
-
Doctor Philosophy
Application of haplotype-based genotype by environment interaction modelling approaches to cereal breeding programs
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Kai Voss-Fels
-
Doctor Philosophy
Predicting better parents to accelerate genetic gain in wheat breeding
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Alison Kelly, Associate Professor Karine Chenu, Dr Eric Dinglasan, Professor Ben Hayes
-
Doctor Philosophy
Integrating new breeding technologies to accelerate genetic gain in mungbean
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eric Dinglasan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Harnessing natural genetic variation and genome engineering to optimise barley root systems
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Godwin, Dr Karen Massel, Dr Peter Crisp, Dr Hannah Robinson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Establishing a predictive breeding toolkit to improve fibre and yield traits in cotton
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Hannah Robinson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Genomic Prediction of Specific Combining Ability in Sugarcane
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ben Hayes, Dr Seema Yadav
-
Doctor Philosophy
Enhancing Crop Resilience through Genome Editing: Overcoming Genetic Limitations
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eric Dinglasan, Dr Peter Crisp, Dr Yasmine Lam
-
Doctor Philosophy
AI-accelerated breeding of high-protein mungbean
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eric Dinglasan, Dr Millicent Smith, Professor Ben Hayes
-
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the molecular and physiological basis of flowering behaviour in mungbean
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Elizabeth Dun, Professor Christine Beveridge, Dr Karen Massel, Professor Michael Udvardi, Dr Millicent Smith
-
Doctor Philosophy
Expanding the barley breeding toolkit to support the development of leaf rust-resistant cultivars
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Yasmine Lam, Dr Samir Alahmad
-
Doctor Philosophy
New insight and tools to increase yield potential and reliability in mungbean
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Andries Potgieter, Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Millicent Smith
-
Doctor Philosophy
Molecular genetic analysis of multi-disease resistance in barley using cutting-edge technologies
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ben Hayes, Dr Eric Dinglasan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Modification of root system architecture to increase climate resilience in barley
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Karen Massel, Professor Ian Godwin
-
Doctor Philosophy
Breeding Better Bananas
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Elizabeth Aitken
-
Master Philosophy
Applying genomics tools for novel nematode resistance in sugarcane
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ben Hayes, Dr Eric Dinglasan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Physiological traits and environmental characterisation to improve yield stability in barley
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Samir Alahmad, Dr Millicent Smith, Dr Alan Severini, Associate Professor Karine Chenu
-
Doctor Philosophy
Pan-epigenomics for crop improvement
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kai Voss-Fels, Dr Peter Crisp
-
Doctor Philosophy
Molecular genetic analysis of rust disease resistance in wheat using cutting-edge technologies
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eric Dinglasan, Professor Ben Hayes
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the potential for epigenetic gain and precision genome engineering in barley and wheat improvement
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Peter Crisp, Dr Hannah Robinson
-
Doctor Philosophy
Beat the heat: adapting chickpea to a hotter world
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Karine Chenu, Dr Millicent Smith
-
Doctor Philosophy
New insight and tools to increase yield potential and reliability in mungbean
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Andries Potgieter, Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Millicent Smith
-
Doctor Philosophy
Modification of root system architecture to increase climate resilience in barley
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Karen Massel, Professor Ian Godwin, Dr Hannah Robinson
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring genetic diversity and rust resistance in historical and modern germplasm for wheat breeding in Ethiopia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor David Jordan, Professor Emma Mace, Dr Kai Voss-Fels
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Advancing genetic knowledge and breeding tools to improve chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eric Dinglasan, Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Kai Voss-Fels, Dr Millicent Smith
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
New insights into designer root systems for durum wheat improvement
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor David Jordan, Professor Emma Mace, Associate Professor Andries Potgieter, Dr Samir Alahmad
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the genetics of spot blotch resistance in barley
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kai Voss-Fels
-
2023
Master Philosophy
Investigating the genetics and value of root traits to support yield in barley
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Godwin, Dr Samir Alahmad
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Development of phenotyping and selection tools to support breeding of future wheat varieties with improved root systems
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Samir Alahmad, Dr Kai Voss-Fels
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating envirotyping methodology to evaluate contributions of stay-green traits to wheat yield in Australian environments
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Mark Cooper, Associate Professor Karine Chenu, Professor Ben Hayes, Dr Kai Voss-Fels
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Mining the Vavilov wheat diversity panel for new sources of adult plant resistance to stripe rust
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Godwin, Professor Elizabeth Aitken
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Accelerating the development of durum wheat adapted to drought and crown rot conditions
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kai Voss-Fels
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Integrating genomic selection and speed breeding to increase genetic gain in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum) breeding
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ben Hayes
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Unlocking new sources of adult plant resistance to wheat leaf rust
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Elizabeth Aitken
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
New tools and sources of genetic resistance to breed yellow spot resistant wheat
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Ian Godwin
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating root traits for drought adaptation in barley: an insight into the genetics influencing root system architecture
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Alison Kelly
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Dissecting the genetic interactions associated with Rph20-based leaf rust resistance in barley: 'minor genes' with major implications
Principal Advisor
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Protecting wheat from rust diseases through transfer of genetic resistance from landraces
Associate Advisor
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Optimising Genomic Selection for Sugarcane
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kai Voss-Fels, Dr Elizabeth Ross, Dr Owen Powell, Professor Ben Hayes
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Building Blocks for Designer Ideotypes: Dissecting Plant Architecture Genes using CRISPR/Cas9
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Erik Van Oosterom, Dr Karen Massel, Professor Ian Godwin
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Molecular genetic characterisation of stripe rust resistance genes from Vavilov's wheat collection
Associate Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Gene Regulatory Networks Underlying Wheat Root Responses to Nitrate and Phosphate
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Christine Beveridge, Associate Professor Milos Tanurdžić
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Molecular genetic characterisation of triple rust resistance in Aegilops tauschiii
Associate Advisor
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Breeding wheat for drought adaptation: Development of selection tools for root architectural traits
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Karine Chenu
Media
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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