Josie Clarke

Lab or field?

Porque no los dos – definitely both.
Conference or stakeholder meeting?

Stakeholder meeting – hearing what growers want and need and having them in the decision making process is so important to ensure we are focusing research outcomes with an industry and community focus.
Literature review or project report?

Lit review – or even better opinion article – asking where we are going next and identifying our faults and triumphs to take with us into the next stage.
Conventional or molecular methods?

Molecular – that will supplement the necessity of conventional breeding, there’s so much potential, reduced timeframes and great benefits.
Hybrid, inbred or vegetative?

Hybrids – you can’t beat hybrid vigour.
Qualitative or quantitative research?

Again both – they both tell a story, the challenge of taking a qualitative trait and turning into a quantitative measure or marker is exciting.
Genstat or R?

Genstat – PRISM for making graphs though, I’ve had one too many miss placed symbol experiences in R.
Favorite crop & why?

Very hard to choose! As an Australian I could say barley because it’s the key ingredient in beer. But for colour, canola, and soybean because it reminds me of home.
What do you love most about your job?

Problem solving and communicating with others for collaborative problem solving – as well as being challenged and pushed out of my comfort zone, I always feel like i’m learning and progressing.
Any major hurdles?

Learning to ask for help, definitely as a PhD student you may sometimes feel like a burden but being able to ask for help and also learn from others and take advice has helped so much: “there’s no such thing as a stupid question!”
What is your dream to achieve in your field of expertise?
For me I’d love to be involved in commercial research or an industry research group. I would always love to come back to academia and bring that knowledge from the industry back. In my experience I’ve always learnt the most from academics with commercial experience.
Who has influenced you most and why?

Gosh, a lot of people. From having great mentors in horticulture who encouraged me to follow my dream because they knew I liked research. My honours mentor Helen Bramley who supported me and again helped me follow my dream of doing me PhD and let me explore my own topics (I love
epigenetics and the potential of epigenetic priming as a short-term solutions for cultivar improvement for events such as drought and heat stress).
Most important publication or the publication of which you are most proud?

Funnily enough, I’m just about to submit my first one – whichever one it is I’ll probably frame it on my wall.
What is your favorite aspect of your research?

Getting to be hands on, learning new methods and thinking of ways of making old methods more efficient.
What would make your research and crop science experience even better?
The opportunity to collaborate and do even more work experience at other institutions. There’s so much to learn from other scientists and institutions. I really enjoyed my time at CIMMYT, not just from the technical aspect, but from meeting other professionals and listening to their career journeys.
What is the best career decision you ever made and why?
Leaving – it doesn’t sound great but leaving my role as an agronomist to pursue my PhD. Leaving is never an easy thing to do, you may feel like you’re letting others down, but taking the risk and following what is best for your potential is something I am proud of. I’m especially proud of it because it wasn’t an easy thing to do.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years I hope to have my own contract research consultancy firm, leasing or owning a farm and growing crops with my family. In the next 6 months I will have launched my not-for-profit and charity Ability Agriculture in order to increase awareness, representation and opportunity for those with disabilities in agriculture.
Beach or mountain?

Ahhh both – my family’s farm is surrounded by Mount Yarahappini, but we are also only 20 minutes from the beach, so I’ve grown up loving “up river and down river” as we call it in my home town.
Tea or coffee?

Chai latte.
Appetizer or dessert?

Dessert.
Instagram or Twitter?

Insta.
Fame or fortune?

Fortune.