Blog icon

Biography

I am a senior research scientist with CSIRO Agriculture and Food in Canberra, Australia. My research focuses on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of plant pathogens, their ecological and agricultural impacts, and novel means of pest control.

This includes:
* The development of strategies for the durable deployment of plant genes conferring resistance to pathogens
* The economic value of genetic resources
* Investigating potential for gene drives to control agricultural pests
* Plant pathogen epidemiology and integrated disease management
* Plant-microbiome assembly and function

Background:
I received my BSc (Honours) from Curtin University in 2003 and a PhD from the Australian National University in 2008. In 2008 I was awarded the Dropkin Fellowship in Plant Pathology for research at the University of Chicago, and in 2010 I returned to Australia to take up an Australian Research Council postdoctoral fellowship. I was appointed to a research scientist position at CSIRO in 2012.

Learn more:
For more information about Dr Barrett's research or the CSIRO Biotic Threats Group, visit our website https://research.csiro.au/bioticthreats/

Get in touch:
I am always happy to hear from potential collaborators at any stage of their career

Current Roles

  • Senior Research Scientist
    Current projects include research on pathogen evolution and resistance durability in crops, quantitative resistance to blackleg disease in canola, epidemiology of ascochyta blight of chickpeas, plant and insect microbiomes, and the use of gene-drives to control agricultural pests.

Academic Qualifications

  • 2008

    PhD (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology)
    Australian National University

  • 2003

    BSc, Hons (Environmental Biology)
    Curtin University

  • 2002

    BA (Geography)
    Curtin University

Professional Experiences

  • 2008-2010

    Research Fellow
    University of Chicago

  • 2010-2012

    ARC Postdoctoral Fellow
    CSIRO

  • 2012-2015

    Research Scientist
    CSIRO