Lucas Reber is a PhD candidate in Agricultural Sciences at the University of Melbourne (Australia).

Lucas earned his Bachelor’s degree in horticultural sciences at the Leibniz University in Germany and his Master’s degree in Biosciences at the University of Melbourne.

What are your research interest and what are you going to present at PAG Australia?

I am interested in the molecular and cellular mechanisms that make our crops suitable for agriculture. My research investigates genes that were crucial for the domestication of wheat and barley. I use a combination of bioinformatics and wet lab techniques to untangle the molecular function of the encoded proteins. The work I am going to present will focus on using AlphaFold predictions to assay molecular interactions.

Why did you choose to work in this topic?

We have huge amounts of genomic data but need to find ways of effectively utilizing these resources. I got fascinated by recent advances in predicting structures and interactions of proteins in silico. Tools like AlphaFold promise to enhance our understanding of how proteins obtain their unique three-dimensional structure, which can inform us about their function and will help answering biological questions.

In what way do you think being recipient of the IWGSC Early Career Award could help you in your career?

I am excited and honored that the award recognizes the importance of my research. I have attended PAG in 2023 and thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people and listening to exciting talks. The travel stipend will allow me to participate in the conference and the IWGSC workshop once more, where I will be exposed to a global network of researchers. By sharing my research, I hope to facilitate future collaborations.

What are your career plans?

I will graduate from the University of Melbourne in 2026. My goal is to find a position as a post-doc and contribute to exciting research at the intersection of plant sciences, molecular biology, and bioinformatics. 

More information

PAG Australia Talk:
Discovering protein-protein interactions in cereals using AlphaFold-Multimer
IWGSC Workshop, Thursday 19 September 2024, 11:15 am - 1:00 pm

Links:
Crop Genetics and Molecular Evolution Lab