Jo Williams is a Lucerne Breeder at AlfaGen Seeds, based in Keith, South Australia who is pursuing her PhD at the La Trobe University under Chief Investigator, Dr Noel Cogan.
The project will target the development of genomic selection applications within commercial breeding operations of lucerne. The project will develop genomic selection based breeding capabilities whilst also expanding the approaches to evaluate breeding in a global setting. It will also develop a framework of defined meta-environments and prediction equations, with identified accuracies. The project will also aim to expand the genomic breeding approaches to be beyond seasonal biomass.
Jo has been breeding with AlfaGen for the past 15 years, focusing on improving forage and seed yield, enhancing pest and disease resistance, and increasing salt tolerance within the germplasm. Prior to joining AlfaGen, she spent five years at SARDI in the Field Crops Evaluation Team, where she developed strong skills in trial design and evaluation.
Jo looks forward to integrating modern genomic and predictive breeding tools into a commercial lucerne breeding program, directly contributing to the goals of the ARC Training Centre and the Australian forage seed industry.
Outside of work, Jo enjoys spending time with her family and friends, especially at the beach with a glass of champagne!
