Truong Nguyen

“The only solution is to wait for the rain to come..." This quote describing the drought situation was voiced by many desperate farmers including my uncle (you can see him and his farming land in my background picture) in conversations held throughout my trips in Viet Nam and Australia. The emotional connection I had to these farmers’ stories inspired me to direct my career towards agriculture science - an earthy, joyful, and yet challenging path.

My goal is to become a plant breeder to create crop varieties that are resilient under harsh climatic conditions such as salinity and drought stresses. I am currently working on a phD project about the genetics of black rice, which is also known as purple rice, or forbidden rice (lua nep cam/ nep than). Black rice has been long cultivated as a specialty crop throughout Asia. Through this research project, I aim to characterize a collection of unique black rice lines, which originate from 19 countries across Asia and Africa to identify the genetic and environmental drivers underlying the nutritional quality of pigmented grain and feed into a black rice breeding program in Australia. The skills and knowledge I gain from this project will further help me pursue a career as a plant breeder in the near future.