Overview
Background
Dr Millicent Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Crop Physiology at The University of Queensland. Her research is focused on understanding the physiological mechanisms that underpin yield stability and quality in grain legumes. Millicent works closely with breeders, both in Australia and overseas, to develop improved knowledge on abiotic stress adaptation and tools to accelerate genetic gain. Dr Smith leads a national research project funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation focused on deploying novel phenotyping and genomics approaches to fast-track the development of new chickpea varieties that display lower yield loss in response to high temperature. Millicent is passionate about training the next generation of plant scientists. She leads a growing research team of postdoctoral scientists, postgraduate and undergraduate research students and has been awarded for her innovative teaching approaches applied to large undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
Availability
- Dr Millicent Smith is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours), University of Sydney
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney
Works
Search Professor Millicent Smith’s works on UQ eSpace
2018
Journal Article
Source-sink relationships in crop plants and their Influence on yield development and nutritional quality
Smith, Millicent R., Rao, Idupulapati M. and Merchant, Andrew (2018). Source-sink relationships in crop plants and their Influence on yield development and nutritional quality. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01889
2018
Journal Article
Limitations to using phloem sap to assess tree water and nutrient status
Smith, Millicent R. and Merchant, A. (2018). Limitations to using phloem sap to assess tree water and nutrient status. Tree Physiology, 39 (2), 332-339. doi: 10.1093/treephys/tpy132
2018
Other Outputs
Novel techniques to improve yield quantity and quality in common bean
Smith, Millicent (2018). Novel techniques to improve yield quantity and quality in common bean. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture and the Environment, The University of Sydney.
2018
Book Chapter
Metabolic adaptation and allocation of metabolites to phloem transport and regulation under stress
Dumschott, Kathryn, Merchant, Andrew and Smith, Millicent (2018). Metabolic adaptation and allocation of metabolites to phloem transport and regulation under stress. Metabolic adaptations in plants during abiotic stress. (pp. 21-26) edited by Akula Ramakrishna and Sarvajeet Singh Gill. Boca Raton, FL, United States: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/b22206-2
2016
Journal Article
Carbon isotope composition of carbohydrates and polyols in leaf and phloem sap of Phaseolus vulgaris L. influences predictions of plant water use efficiency
Smith, Millicent, Wild, Birgit, Richter, Andreas, Simonin, Kevin and Merchant, Andrew (2016). Carbon isotope composition of carbohydrates and polyols in leaf and phloem sap of Phaseolus vulgaris L. influences predictions of plant water use efficiency. Plant and Cell Physiology, 57 (8), 1756-1766. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcw099
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Millicent Smith is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring the molecular and physiological basis of flowering behaviour in mungbean
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Elizabeth Dun, Professor Christine Beveridge, Professor Lee Hickey, Dr Karen Massel, Professor Michael Udvardi
-
Doctor Philosophy
Beat the heat: adapting chickpea to a hotter world
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lee Hickey, Associate Professor Karine Chenu
-
Doctor Philosophy
Physiological traits and environmental characterisation to improve yield stability in barley
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lee Hickey, Dr Samir Alahmad, Dr Alan Severini, Associate Professor Karine Chenu
-
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluating Diverse Taro (Colocasia) Germplasm to Enhance Food Security and Climate Resilience in the Pacific Islands
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Scott Chapman, Professor Ian Godwin, Dr Eric Dinglasan, Dr Bradley Campbell
-
Doctor Philosophy
AI-accelerated breeding of high-protein mungbean
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lee Hickey, Dr Eric Dinglasan, Professor Ben Hayes
-
Doctor Philosophy
Integrating Agricultural Landscape Genomics and Abiotic Stress Resilience in Mungbean
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lee Hickey, Dr Maddie James, Professor Daniel Ortiz-Barrientos
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating root-shoot dynamics to improve water-use efficiency of barley
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Alex Wu, Associate Professor Karine Chenu, Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Dongxue Zhao, Professor Lee Hickey
-
Doctor Philosophy
Natural variation and optimization of symbiotic nitrogen fixation via predictive breeding in mungbean
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lee Hickey, Dr Will Shaffer, Professor Michael Udvardi
-
Doctor Philosophy
Nitrogen use dynamics in high protein gene edited sorghum
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Karen Massel, Dr Peter Crisp, Professor Ian Godwin
Completed supervision
-
2025
Master Philosophy
Understanding G × E Interactions for Yield and Protein Content in Australian Chickpea: From Phenotyping to Genetic Analysis
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Bradley Campbell, Associate Professor Daniel Cozzolino
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
New insight and tools to increase yield potential and reliability in mungbean
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Lee Hickey, Associate Professor Andries Potgieter, Dr Hannah Robinson
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing plant growth and utilisation of phosphorus fertiliser with contrasting placement strategies and soil fertility
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Michael Bell, Dr Tim McLaren
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Advancing genetic knowledge and breeding tools to improve chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Eric Dinglasan, Dr Hannah Robinson, Dr Kai Voss-Fels, Professor Lee Hickey
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Physiological determinants of potential yield in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Graeme Hammer, Dr Vijaya Singh
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr Millicent Smith directly for media enquiries about:
- climate change and crop improvement
- crop science
- plant based protein
- tropical crops
Need help?
For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team: