My name is Alfredo Caldera, I am a PhD student in the Centre for Crop Science at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland and associate student of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture. I work on the APSIM–WGP for yield stability in soybean project within the ARC Training Centre in Predictive Breeding. My PhD involves working collaboratively with Iowa State University, BASF and CoE Plant Success members. I am being supervised by Dr Melanie Wilkinson (UQ) and my committee also comprises Dr Owen Powell (UQ), Prof. Mark Cooper (UQ), and Dr. Colin Cavanagh (BASF).
My PhD project will include investigating whether combining APSIM with whole genome prediction can improve the modelling of Genotype-Environment-Management (GxExM) interactions. Ultimately the overall goal of this project is to improve genomic prediction algorithms to accelerate soybean genetic gain for yield and yield stability targets.
Before starting my PhD, I worked as a Research Assistant in the Wheat Physiology Group at CIMMYT in Mexico, focusing on field plant phenotyping to evaluate physiological traits under diverse abiotic stresses and supporting the physiological pre-breeding pipeline. I also completed a one-year internship at KWS in Germany, first with the Biostatistics of Maize Group, where I was introduced to genomic prediction models and worked on their calibration and application in European maize breeding programs, and later with the Yield Traits Group, where I helped build data pipelines for thermal and hyperspectral datasets and addressed research questions related to abiotic stress.
When I’m not working, you’ll find me in a quiet corner of the local coffee shop, maybe reading a book, or simply waiting for the coffee to do its work. I also like to write poetry, not professionally but I hope to shape my thoughts into a short manuscript one day.
