Heather Prichard

University of Melbourne

Heather Prichard leads the Centre for AgriBioscience plant genomics program at the University of Melbourne, focusing on epigenetic regulation of seed dormancy and germination timing across cereal crops under climate stress — work directly relevant to securing yield stability as Australian growing conditions become more erratic. Her group discovered a family of small RNA regulators that control the transition from dormancy to germination in wheat and barley by modulating ABA signalling, identifying tractable breeding targets that do not require transgenic modification. Prichard received the Australian Academy of Science's Fenner Medal for distinguished research in biology by an early-career researcher and holds several joint patents with Corteva on marker-assisted selection platforms for drought tolerance in sorghum. Her longitudinal multi-environment trial network spanning five Australian states generates phenotypic data for GWAS studies coordinated with the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium. She also chairs the Australian Society of Plant Scientists' equity and inclusion working group.