DoctorMadeline Carins Murphy

Dr Madeline Carins-Murphy's research is focused on the vulnerability of the plant internal water transport system to environmental stress. She is particularly interested in the impact of drought and heat on plant productivity, reproduction and mortality which is of critical importance for understanding how both natural vegetation and crops will respond to projected climate change. Her research has established fundamental structure-function relationships in leaves and flowers that reflect the central role of water transport in plant acclimation, adaptation and evolution. In her current postdoctoral position, she is actively developing the use of novel real-time imaging techniques to monitor water stress and damage to living plants in the field.

Biography
During her PhD (2011-2015) under the supervision of Professors Tim Brodribb and Greg Jordan at the School of Natural Sciences (University of Tasmania), she showed that the spatial relationships between 1) leaf cells and 2) structures that regulate water delivery (veins) and water loss (stomata) are such as to maximise carbon gain through uptake of CO2, while minimising carbon investment in leaf infrastructure. This fine-tuning of water transport to match demand underpins plant acclimation, adaptation, and evolution – as evidenced by the conservation of these relationships across different growing conditions, species, and plant groups. These discoveries inform projections concerning past plant function and future responses to climate change.

Since completing her PhD, she has held a postdoctoral position at the University of Tasmania in Prof Brodribb’s research group investigating plant-stress damage thresholds using novel imaging techniques (the “optical technique” and X-ray microtomography). Success in gaining funding for an ARC Linkage Project in 2018 has allowed her to continue this line of research. Since then she has been working with industry partners (a local horticultural business) to deliver research outcomes to local growers and answer fundamental questions about plant water and heat stress physiology.

Career summary
Qualifications

2010 B.Sc. (1st Class Hons.) Plant Science, University of Tasmania
2016 Ph.D. ‘Cell expansion coordinates leaf vein and stomatal density’, University of Tasmania