Nawar Shamaya has lived through challenges few of his fellow Department Primary Industry colleagues have ever faced.
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Dr Shamaya is an Iraqi refugee living in Australia on a protection visa after fleeing war-torn Baghdad.
With a PhD in plant genetics from the University of Adelaide, which focussed on salinity tolerance in wheat, he has been working with DPI researchers at the Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute (WWAI).
Cereal geneticist, Livinus Emebiri, said Dr Shamaya’s involvement in two major projects exploring heat tolerance in wheat and pre-emptive breeding for exotic pests and pathogens is a win for DPI.
“Nawar’s background in molecular markers is contributing immensely to our focus on safeguarding the wheat industry against yield loss due to heat stress and the potential threat from exotic pests and pathogens,” Dr Emebiri said.
“His background in research and academic rigour is appreciated by the team.”
Dr Shamaya’s 12 week placement with DPI takes him to Yanco, Condobolin and Trangie with trip to Tamworth Agricultural Institute (TAI), where he will attend the Australian Pulse and Australasian Grain Science Association conferences.
Nawar said he’s looking forward to working with Kristy Hobson and the chickpea breeding team on the two-week stint at TAI.
“My experience with DPI feels a lot like home – staff are very welcoming and supportive,” he said.
“Getting out in the paddock to do in-crop observations and record data is a pleasant change from the laboratory work I’m used to.
“And working as part of the DPI team is giving me great insights into the Australian vernacular.”
Find more about Dr Shamaya’s experiences, including his love affair with Adelaide, click here.
