Dairy UP PhD team grows
Dairy UP welcomes three more PhD candidates.
Vivien Tan is studying the influence of genotype and environment interactions on in Kikuyu toxicity. Vivien is excited to be part of a team studying the causes of toxicity in kikuyu. “It is challenging but stimulating to be working on such an important issue. I really hope that my research can shed light on the causes of toxicity and its possible control,” she said.
Having graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science, majoring in Plant Science from the University of Queensland Vivien joins the Dairy UP team under the supervision of Professors Richard Trethowan and Yani Garcia and Drs Krista Plett and Barbara Rodriquez from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries.
Mulisa Faji Dida’s PhD involves analysing greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farms and Kikuyu pastures to assess the real environmental impact of these systems and ways to achieve carbon neutrality. He joins the Dairy UP team that under the supervision of Prof. Luciano Gonzalez and Prof. Yani Garcia at the University of Sydney.
Mulisa holds a Bachelor of Science in Animal and Range Science from Mada Walabu University and a Master of Science in Animal Production from Haramaya University in Ethiopia.
Blessing Azubuike joins the Dairy UP as part of the P1 Unlocking the Potential of Kikuyu project team. She is developing innovative ways to optimise individual cow feeding and milk efficiency in pasture-based dairy systems. This multidisciplinary project involves dairy science, pasture production and utilisation, complex data acquisition and analysis, machine learning and optimisation using sophisticated modelling tools. Blessing has moved to Australia to undertake her PhD, having completed her undergraduate studies in Nigeria. She joins Dairy UP under the supervision of Prof. Yani Garcia, Associate Prof Cameron Clark, Dr Anna Chilingaryan and Dr Martin Correa Luna at the University of Sydney.
About Dairy UP
Dairy UP is a collaborative research, development and extension program for the NSW dairy industry. It aims to unlock the potential of pastures, cows, water and milk to increase productivity and profitability, and de-risk the industry and develop new markets.