Dr Nadia Radzman

Most legumes could form nitrogen-fixing nodules through mutualistic symbiosis with soil bacteria. Therefore, legume crops do not rely heavily on nitrogen fertilisers. Since high nitrogen fertilisers usage consumes fossil fuels and leads to various environmental problems, nitrogen-fixing crops provide more sustainable option for food production. I am fascinated by the high plasticity of legume root development and this drives my research interest in understanding the mechanisms underlying this property.

My project focuses on the early stages of legume nodule development that involves transcription factors and small signalling peptides. Understanding these regulations could help to improve nitrogen fixing capacity in legumes that could aid the efforts towards more sustainable agriculture. I am also interested in applying my research findings to increase the productivity of underutilised legume crops.