Commitee

Dr Tonya Wiechel is a plant pathologist at Agriculture Victoria passionate about understanding and managing the complex interactions between soilborne pathogens, crops, and their environments.

Her research journey began with Phytophthora cinnamomi in the Brisbane Ranges, inspiring a career dedicated to soil health and disease management. She has explored key potato diseases—common scab, powdery scab, Rhizoctonia, and Verticillium—and now leads research on root rot of apples and pears.

Tonya brings a practical, systems-based approach to tackling soilborne challenges and is committed to fostering

Research Leader – Plant Pathology, Agriculture Victoria, Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), Victoria Horsham

Adjunct Principal Research Fellow, School of Applied Systems Biology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.

Joshua’s research specialises in pulse pathology, soilborne disease and surveillance. The Plant Pathology research team covers grains, horticulture, diagnostics and biosecurity.

Joshua currently leads multiple national GRDC projects and is the Victorian node leader in Program 3 of the National Soil-borne Disease Initiative.

He started as a research scientist in 2013 for the Victorian Government, managing a soil-borne disease program. The soil-borne disease program focused on root lesion and cereal cyst nematodes. Joshua re-established the Pulse Pathology research program from 2018 in Horsham, while still supporting the soil-borne disease program. During 2022, Joshua became the Research Leader – Plant Pathology at Agriculture Victoria. He has always been passionate about agriculture and enjoys the balance of field and office work, while having the ability to communicate with growers and agronomists to keep the research program relevant to industry.

Dr Nigel Crump is a plant pathologist and General Manager of the Australian Seed Potato Industry Certification Authority (AuSPICA). With expertise in the management of potato diseases, he works closely with growers, seed potato producers, and regulators to strengthen seed quality, biosecurity, and certification standards. Internationally, he serves as Co-Deputy Chair of the UNECE Specialised Section on Seed Potatoes and as Company Secretary and Communications Chair of the World Potato Congress Inc. A Director of Potatoes Australia Ltd, Nigel’s leadership promotes innovation in diagnostics, digital certification, and sustainable trade, ensuring the resilience and global reputation of the Australian potato industry.

Chloe Findlay is a research scientist working for the Field Crop Pathology team at Agriculture Victoria in Horsham, Victoria. Chloe completed her Honours in Agriculture at the University of Melbourne in 2021, where she researched the impact of temperature on the development of botrytis grey mould on lentil.

Chloe is managing part of the Pulse Pathology Research program with her focus being Sclerotinia white mould, Ascochyta blight, Botrytis grey mould and soilborne diseases of pulses.

Dr Chantelle Girgan is a Senior Diagnostician and Research Scientist in the Crop Health Services team at Agriculture Victoria Research. Chantelle is a Nematologist with 15 years experience in Nematology and 10 years experience in diagnostics.

Previously, Chantelle was a researcher the curator of the National Collection of Nematodes in South Africa. Chantelle’s research interests includes nematode taxonomy, plant-parasitic nematodes (especially lesion nematodes), free-living nematodes and soil health.

Chantelle also has experience in the identification and enumeration of nematodes, nematode diversity and ecology in both natural and agricultural ecosystems, glasshouse trials with root-knot nematodes, and nematode surveys in various cropping systems.

Dr. Dharushana Thanabalasingam joined Agriculture Victoria in mid-2023 as a Research Scientist with her major work involving in the monitoring of faba bean, lentil and wheat crops across Victoria for foliar and soil borne diseases. Also, she is managing field trials to develop integrated management strategies for new chickpea Ascochyta blight resistance and improved field screening methods for lentil Botrytis resistance.

Prior to joining Agriculture Victoria, Dr. Dharushana has completed her PhD at the University of Tasmania, focusing on identifying critical inocula sources for the systemic poppy downy mildew. In addition, she is a graduate chemist with her expertise in Natural Products Chemistry studying the bioactivities of plant and plant endophytic fungal secondary metabolites for potential agricultural benefits.

Dr. Dharushana is a three-time Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS) bursary awardee who had presented her research findings at APPS biannual conferences and Australasian Soilborne Diseases Symposium between 2019-2025 and a committee member of Victorian region for the APPS since mid-2024. She enjoys working indoor and outdoor, values multidisciplinary research and is always keen to expand her expertise.

Dr Jatinder Kaur is a Research Scientist at Agriculture Victoria and an Adjunct Research Fellow at School of Applied Systems Biology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.

Jatinder is an experienced researcher having 20 years experience in various agriculture research projects with particular focus on microbiome studies of key crop and pasture plant species and discovery & characterization of plant beneficial microbes which can potentially be used in commercial biofertilisers and bioprotectants.

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Jatinder has also worked on projects investigating mode of action of commercial biological products on crop plants using advanced metagenomic and transcriptomic approaches. Previously, Jatinder was also involved in development and validation of diagnostic assays for Epichloe fungal endophytes and various other plant pathogens.

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Jatinder is actively involved in supervision of postgraduate students working on plant microbiome and plant pathology projects.

Shakira Johnson is an Innovation Broker at CRDC, where she manages strategic RD&E investments across biosecurity, surveillance, weeds and pest management. With a technical foundation as a Molecular Plant Pathologist, her career is defined by bridging the gap between advanced science and on-farm application.

Shakira brings a diverse perspective to her work, rooted in international research collaborations to a recognised leader in biosecurity extension for the vegetable and potato industry, she has spearheaded cross-industry research strategies for plant pest surveillance and nematology. Currently serving on the Soilborne Disease Symposium Organising Committee, she specialises in convening researchers, industry leaders, and government to transform complex data into productive outcomes for Australian growers.