Australia’s pre-eminent scientific organisation has recognised Murdoch University Professor Rajeev Varshney for his groundbreaking and translational contributions to crop productivity and global food security.

Professor Varshney’s election as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science sees him join the ranks of the nation’s most distinguished scientists, with his inclusion marking him as the only West Australian out of 26 scientists elected in 2025.

Professor Varshney is an internationally renowned expert in genomics, genetics and pre-breeding who serves as director of the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation, director of the WA State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre, and international chair – Agriculture and Food Security at Murdoch University.

His groundbreaking work in crop genomics is helping to secure food production in the face of climate change. 

His research breakthroughs include decoding genomes of over a dozen crops, developing the genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) framework, and conceptualising and popularising the super-pangenome approach. 

These tools and approaches are accelerating crop improvement programs all over the world.

He currently leads multiple research projects designed to boost Australian cereal, legume and horticultural crop productivity, working directly with primary industry across the country and research development corporations, such as GRDC and Hort Innovation.