Phenomics Infrastructure
for Excellence in Plant Science (PIEPS)
The Australian Plant Phenomics Facility is committed to facilitating cutting edge
research in plant phenomics. We have introduced the Phenomics Infrastructure for
Excellence in Plant Science scheme to provide improved access to APPF platforms
to interdisciplinary collaborators undertaking innovative projects of significant scale
and vision.
Background
The Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) is a world leading research
facility aimed at underpinning innovative plant phenomics studies to
accelerate the development of new and improved crops, healthier food
and more sustainable agricultural practice.
Established under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure
Strategy, the APPF involves two quite different but highly complementary
research facilities; The Plant Accelerator ® in Adelaide and the High
Resolution Plant Phenomics Centre (HRPPC) in Canberra.
The APPF provides researchers with access to high quality plant growth
facilities and state-of-the-art automated phenotyping capabilities in
controlled environments and in the field.
To help accelerate research outputs, our phenomics technologies are
supported by experts from a number of fields, i.e. agriculture, plant
physiology, biotechnology, genetics, horticulture, image and data analysis,
mechatronic engineering, computer science, software engineering,
mathematics and statistics.
Conditions of Award
The Phenomics Infrastructure for Excellence in Plant Science scheme involves access to APPF
phenotyping capabilities at reduced cost to facilitate exceptional research projects of significant
scale and vision that produce high impact outcomes using plant phenomics approaches (i.e.
delivering substantial outcomes for Australian agriculture and resulting in high impact journal
publications).
Emphasis is placed on novel and interdisciplinary approaches with preference given to collaborative
projects on an international scale. The APPF team will work in partnership with you to provide
consultation on experimental design for optimal use of the equipment.
Selection is based on merit. Applications are assessed in consultation with the APPF’s independent
Scientific Advisory Board. Interviews will be conducted.
Timing:
Project timing will depend on availability of the required phenotyping platform and
most suitable season for plant growth.
Award:
The level of support depends on the nature and scale of the project, type and
duration of infrastructure use and the anticipated outcome and impact of the
project. The award is capped at $50,000.
Project:
Projects of significant scale and vision that produce high impact outcomes in plant
phenomics (i.e. delivering substantial outcomes for Australian agriculture and
resulting in high impact journal publications) will be considered.
Eligibility:
The Phenomics Infrastructure for Excellence in Plant Science scheme is open to all
publicly funded researchers.
Emphasis is placed on novel collaborations that bring together scientists preferably
from different disciplines (e.g. from plant physiology, computer science, engineering,
biometry, quantitative genetics, molecular biology, chemistry, physics) and from
different organisations to focus on problems in plant science.
Researchers will work in partnership with the APPF to determine experimental
design and optimal use of the equipment.
Conditions:
 Project findings must be disseminated in international, high-quality peer review
journals and must be made freely available as soon as possible after publication,
and licensed in ways which allow others to build upon and re-use this content.
 Researchers must acknowledge the APPF in the ‘Acknowledgements’ section of
any publications that may arise from the use of the Facility; “Australian Plant
Phenomics Facility, an Australian Research Facility established under the National
Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS)”.
 Successful applicants must submit a report within six months of completion of
the plant imaging phase for inclusion in the APPF Progress Report, describing the
project, how the facility helped address their research question, preliminary
research findings and anticipated and/or achieved results.
Note:
The APPF reserves the right not to make an award.
Deadline:
Round 1: 30 November 2015
Round 2: 31 May 2016 (TBC)
Applications: Prior to submitting the application, applicants are asked to contact the APPF to
discuss the project proposal, infrastructure needs and access fees to determine
project feasibility and level of support.
-
The Plant Accelerator, Adelaide: Dr Bettina Berger or Dr Trevor Garnett
HRPPC, Canberra: Dr Xavier Sirault or Prof Justin Borevitz
Applications must be submitted using the attached application form to
helli.meinecke@adelaide.edu.au
The CVs of all project collaborators must be attached to the application.
Application - Phenomics Infrastructure
for Excellence in Plant Science (PIEPS)
About the Principal Investigator
Family Name :
Given Name:
Email address:
Phone No.:
Organisation:
Department:
Street address:
Suburb:
Proposed Project
Project Title:
APPF infrastructure involved:
Timeframe for the project:
APPF staff with whom the proposal has been discussed:
Abstract / Description of the project (max. 500 words):
Impact / anticipated outcome:
Target journal:
Collaborators and their role in the project:
P/C and State:
Please comment on your research group’s and/or organisation’s ability to provide statistical analysis support of
the large datasets acquired from using APPF infrastructure:
Project budget and level of support sought:
Other relevant information including preliminary data:
Please attach the CVs of all collaborators in this project.