Science interest leads Hediyeh to WA

The University of WA student relocated to Perth 18 months ago and hasn’t looked back.

Hediyeh grew up in a family of five in the northern Iranian city of Rasht, with little exposure to the agricultural world.

It was her keen interest in science and genetic manipulation that led her towards the industry.

“In my opinion, agriculture is one of the most important fields in every nation due to the fast growing population and the need to supply food for people,” Hediyeh said.

“Especially today we have to cope with many problems such as climate change and soil issues.

“I was interested in this field, so I chose to study agriculture.”

After completing a degree in agricultural engineering, agronomy and plant breeding at the University of Guilan in Iran, for Hediyeh WA was the best place to expand her knowledge in the field.

“Australians are pioneering in agriculture, they use precision agriculture and have the most recent equipment and facilities and I thought that’s where I can improve my knowledge about agriculture,” she said.

“This is one of the most high ranking universities in Australia and it’s also well known for agricultural

science.”

With the support of her parents, Hediyeh commenced her masters degree in agricultural science in 2016 and in early 2017 she was awarded an Australian Wool Education Trust Masters scholarship.

She was among 15 undergraduate and masters students from across Australia to receive a AWET scholarship, which will help fund her research into toxicity tolerance in subterranean clover.

“Subterranean clover is a key pastoral legume in Australia, it’s very important for sheep,” Hediyeh said.

“My research project is about boron toxicity tolerance in sub clover, I work on a diverse panel of sub clover which is 125 genotypes and I’ve phenotyped for boron toxicity tolerance among these 125 genotypes.

“I’ve found continuous variation for boron toxicity among those genotypes.

“It’s helpful information, it could be used for breeding studies or genetics and genomic studies to find the molecular base for boron toxicity in the species.

“Because of the many issues we are facing today – toxicity problems, deficiency problems, soil issues, climate conditions – we need plants which are tolerant to these issues and one of the best ways to cope with these issues is through the use of genetics and breeding.”

As part of the scholarship program, Hediyeh joined other recipients on a study trip to the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales.

She visited commercial sheep properties and learnt more about precision sheep management, reproduction, grazing management and sheep health.

Hediyeh said the three-day tour gave her a greater understanding of the sheep industry outside of the lab.

“Because my area of study is not directly related to sheep production, one of the conditions was I have to enrol in one sheep production unit,” she said.

“It was interesting, it was a good opportunity for me to get familiar with sheep and improve my knowledge.”

With six months remaining of her masters degree, Hediyeh is completing her thesis and is considering publishing her findings.

She will soon decide whether to extend her studies in Australia and commence a doctorate degree.

“I want to be a researcher to help scientists in this field, so I’m considering doing my PhD here,” she said.

“I’ve enjoyed every moment doing my research, I’m not afraid of hard work and I like the challenges.

“I think we need more young people to get involved and try to find new ways of improving agriculture, so I’m looking forward to being a part of that.”

The UWA student said although she missed her family in Iran, she had found adjusting to life in Australia a relatively smooth process.

She said family and university support networks had allowed her to envisage an extended future in WA.

“I’m enjoying every day I’m here, I’ve met many people here and they’re all friendly,” she said.

“I’m happy that everybody here encourages you, they help you to do whatever you want to do. I think that’s important, it helps you to improve.

“My supervisors have been great, they’ve given me great support during this journey and their encouragement has really helped.

“My parents have also supported me and encouraged me, without their support I was not able to continue my education.”