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Prof Paul Iji

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Dr Paul A. Iji is a Professor of Animal Science and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry at Fiji National University, Koronivia Campus, Suva. Prof Iji studied in Nigeria, Scotland and Australia and has worked in similar positions in Nigeria and South Africa. His main area of research is gastrointestinal physiology of poultry. He has supervised and currently supervises several postgraduate students. He is the author of a book, Writing and Publishing Your Research (Amazon), and several journal and conference papers.
Unable to supervise more students.
Collaborates with Agriculture and Food Technology discipline of the University of the South Pacific.

Dr Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni

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Manager, Plants & Postharvest Technologies Division, Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa
Adjunct Associate Professor, Postharvest Horticulture, University of Sunshine Coast;

Member: Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of Sunshine Coast;

Fellow: Meryl Williams Fellowship (ACIAR)
Yes. I am willing to supervise students in the areas of Pacific/tropical postharvest horticulture and natural products.
Dr. Seeseei Molimau-Samasoni ‘s research interests/expertise are as follows:

Postharvest technologies of tropical fruit and produce, research into market access of Samoan/Pacific produce, value chains

Plant natural products, soil microbiota & genome mining, antimicrobial bioactivity, genome-wide screens, chemical genetics, identification of drug mechanism of action

Pacific student development
None

Dr Bree Wilson

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Research fellow (Plant pathology, biofertlisers, biological control)
Dr Bree Wilson works at the Centre for Crop Health, University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ). She is an Adjunct at the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of Sunshine Coast (UniSC).
Yes. Bree is able to supervise PhD or MSc students in the areas of insect biological control, plant pathology, mycorrhizal fungi and other microbial related studies
Papua New Guinea (PNG), 7 years
Fiji, 2 years
Bree has supervised 5 PhDs to completion and 4 MSc to completion in the areas of insect biological control, plant pathology, mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). She has supervised a students from several different countries including Australia, Papua New Guinea, Nepal, Cambodia and Fiji.

I enjoy supervising higher degree by research students (HDR students), and watching them become experts in their chosen fields.

Professor Steven Underhill

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Director, ACPIR, UniSC
Professor Steven Underhill specialises in subtropical and tropical postharvest horticulture systems in developing countries, based on poverty alleviation and livelihood development outcomes.

His current research program focuses on the South Pacific (Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Kiribati) where he works with smallholder farmers to improve their postharvest handling and quality management systems. Working closely with colleagues at the Fiji National University, the University of the South Pacific, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, and the World Vegetable Centre, Taiwan, much of his research is conducted in the Pacific.

Ongoing research covers a diversity of research topics from sensor-based postharvest handling assessments, postharvest infrared thermal imagery, smallholder farm postharvest capacity building, through to dwarfing-orientated genetic research in breadfruit. All collectively orientated towards supply chain development in transitional economies and wider food security/poverty alleviation benefits.
Prof Underhill is currently Professor of Horticulture and Director of the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research (ACPIR) at the University of the Sunshine Coast, holds a Principal Research Fellow position at The Scientific Research Organization of Samoa, is an Adjunct Foundation Professor of Horticulture at the School of Natural Resources and Applied Sciences, Solomon Islands National University, and an adjunct Professor of Horticulture at the Fiji National University.

In 2010, he was awarded an Australian Day medal for services to Queensland Primary Industry. He is currently a member of:
• International Society for Horticultural Science commission – Quality and Postharvest Horticulture
• International Society for Horticultural Science working group – Litchi, longan and other sapindaceae fruit

Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands and Kiribati

Dr Md Abdul Kader

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Discipline Coordinator, Agriculture and Food Technology Discipline & Senior Lecturer, Soil Science
Dr Md Abdul Kader is a soil scientist with a PhD in Applied Biological Science from Ghent University, Belgium and currently leading the Agriculture and Food Technology Discipline, SAGEONS, USP as Discipline Coordinator. He has more than 20 years of teaching, HDR student supervision (50+) and research experiences at different universities of Asia, Europe and Pacific. Dr Kader has been teaching Soil Science courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and leading a small research unit on soil science. The laboratory is equipped with a CN analyser, ICP-OES, AAS, spectrophotometer and other essential small necessary gazettes for basic soil research. His research unit deals mainly with carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in soils, nutrient cycling in agro-ecosystem with applications in both agricultural and environmental problems. He is currently focusing on research to the sustainability of agro-environment by reducing the losses of nutrients and utilising bio-based fertilisers (compost, vermicompost, bio-inoculant etc.) in the South Pacific Island countries.
Yes. Any topics on soil management, nutrient cycling and management, C and N cycling, agronomic aspects of crops cultivated in the Pacific, Agricultural greenhouse gas emission as well as agricultural waste management.
Dr Kader has been teaching 3 courses on Soil Science, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and supervising HDR students since 2017 at USP. Currently, he is conducting research on different aspects of soil management in the South Pacific Island countries, composting and vermicomposting, and nutrient cycling in taro-based cropping systems in addition to his main research interest on soil organic matter and N dynamics in agro-ecosystem. For successful implementation of his research agenda, he has established a wide research network throughout Europe, Australia and Asia as well as most national research organisations and national Universities of the South Pacific Island countries, international and regional organisations e.g. SPC, FAO, UNESCO, SPREF and have research collaboration with many reputed international research groups.

Dr Kader is collaborating with Prof. R W Bell of Murdoch University, Australia where he is an adjunct. They are investigating C and N cycling under minimum tillage in rice based cropping systems. He also has research collaboration with Dr. Ben Macdonald, Dr. Dio Antelle and Dr. Michael Webb, CSIRO, Dr. Dorin Gupta, Melbourne University, Dr. Zakaria Solaiman, University of Western Australia, Associate Professor Dr. F A Dijkstra, Sydney University, Australia, Prof. Peter Lockhart, Messy University, Prof. Reiner Hofmann, Lincoln University, New Zealand. Among his European collaborators are Prof. S. Sleutel and Prof De Neve, Ghent University, Belgium, Prof. Pete Smith of Aberdeen University, UK. Prof. P Leinweber of University of Rostock, Germany, are notable.

Dr Siaka Diarra

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Associate Professor
Dr Siakka Diarra has the following qualifications:
PhD Animal Science (Monogastric Nutrition) ATBU Bauchi, Nigeria 2008
Postgraduate Diploma in Education NTI, Kaduna, Nigeria 2006
M.Sc. Animal Science University of Maiduguri, Nigeria 2002
B.Sc. Animal Husbandry IPR/IFRA, Katibougou, Mali 1986
Topics of interest:
Animal nutrition
Livestock production systems
• Teaching Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in Animal Science
• Developed the Postgraduate Diploma in Animal Science
• Supervising Masters and PhD students in Animal Science
• Collaborating with SROS, MAF Samoa, Pacific regional institutions

Dr Deeksha Krishna

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Associate Dean Research & Assistant Professor, Department of Soil Science and Biosystem Engineering, College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Fiji National University Fiji
Dr Deeksha Krishna’s research interest focuses on how climate affects agriculture, soil, and ecosystem function. She has previously worked in IRRI as a Soil Scientist -CSISA, ICAT-GHGMI MRV system setup for GHG emission-agriculture Fiji.
Up to 3 students
Topics of interest:
Soil fertility, Nutrient management, Soil and Water Management, Soil and Water Conservation, Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Change with soil health, soil contamination, Abiotic & biotic stress- plant and soil, GHG emission–rice.
Dr Deeksha Krishna teaches soil science courses to undergraduate and post graduate students. Currently she is part of the research team for ACIAR-Landcare project Fiji. She is also a Crawford Fund mentee. She has completed an ACIAR leadership training and UNITAR Women’s Leadership Course in tsunami‐based disaster risk reduction training. Dr Krishna has worked as national expert in Fiji’s setup of sectoral monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system for estimating agriculture sector GHG emissions for Fiji under Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI), through Fiji’s Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT) project, MOE Fiji.

Prof Arun Elias

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Director and Dean, Rajagiri Business School, Kochi, India
Professor Arun Elias is the Dean, College of Business, Hospitality and Tourism Studies, Fiji National University from November 2021.

Prior to joining FNU, Prof Elias was associated with Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand for more than 22 years. He held positions like Associate Dean (International and Accreditation), Director MBA and Post Experience progarmmes, and Associate Professor in Management.
In addition to his PhD in Management from Victoria University of Wellington, Arun has two master’s degrees, in Industrial Engineering and Management from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur and in Agricultural Engineering from Allahabad University. Before joining Victoria, he worked in Tata Steel India as an Industrial Engineer; in academia as a lecturer in Agricultural Engineering with Allahabad University; and in R & D as an Agro specialist in Sustainable Agriculture.
He has extensive experience in international accreditation of business schools, being both a mentor for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and a panel member of the Association of MBAs (AMBA) Accreditation Panel.
Yes, with interest in the following topics:
Systems Approaches to Complex Problems in Agriculture
Supply Chain Management
Stakeholder Management
Agri-business Management

Dr Sarah Burkhart

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Senior Lecturer, Nutrition & Dietetics, School of Health and Behavioural Sciences
Dr Sarah Burkhart is a Senior Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics in the School of Health and Behavioural Sciences, and the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research at UniSC. Sarah’s research uses a food systems lens to explore food security and food choice in the Pacific Islands. Working with Pacific partners, academics and stakeholders, Sarah is interested in nutrition education and food provision in Pacific Island school settings and understanding determinants of food security across Pacific Island food systems, with a focus on food environments and consumer behaviour/food choice.

Sarah is currently leading projects that aim to develop a food and nutrition resource toolkit for Pacific Island teachers, to develop an Overview of Food and Nutrition Security in the Pacific Islands Report, and to adapt a NOVA screener for use in the Pacific Islands. She is also part of a team scoping the potential for local agriculture in food provision in Pacific Island schools. Other current and recent projects have focused on the role of diets, food systems and policy in the prevention of obesity and non-communicable diseases in Fiji, the current state and capacity for school food and nutrition education programmes across 14 Pacific Island countries, food environments in Samoa, nutrition impacts of climate change in Fiji, the impact of Covid-19 on food systems and food choice, dietary assessment methods and food literacy in the Pacific Islands region.

Sarah is a co-founder and current chair of the Pacific School Food Network, a group that advocates for and supports school food activities throughout the Pacific Islands region to eliminate hunger and improve food security.

Sarah teaches into several courses across the Bachelor of Nutrition and the Bachelor of Dietetics, with a focus on improving the student experience and readiness for practice using blended learning and the flipped classroom approach. Sarah’s scholarship of learning and teaching interests include the integration of a food systems approach and sustainability within Nutrition and Dietetic curricula, the use of blended learning strategies and the flipped classroom approach. Sarah is also an advocate for involving students in overseas learning and research experiences and has travelled with, and supervised UniSC students undertaking projects in Samoa and the Solomon Islands.

Sarah is a Registered Nutritionist with the Nutrition Society of Australia (NSA). She is also a member of the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) and is currently Chair for the SNEB Division for International Nutrition Education and Chair-elect for the SNEB Sustainable Food Systems Division.
Yes, would depend on workload at the time.
Topics of interest:
School food and nutrition environments in the Pacific Islands
Food environments in the Pacific Islands
Food choice in the Pacific Islands
Currently or have recently collaborated on research that includes; Cook Islands, Fiji, FSM, Kiribati, Palau, Marshall Islands, Niue, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

Collaborating partners include FAO-UN, SPC, Ministries of Education/Health/Agriculture, Global Child Nutrition Foundation, National and Regional Universities, Pacific School Food Network, DFAT, The Alliance for Bioversity International and CIAT.

Dr Daniela Medina Hidalgo

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Research Fellow
Dr Medina Hidalgo is a Research Fellow with the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research (ACPIR). She holds a BSc in agricultural engineering from EARTH University in Costa Rica, an MSc in environment with a specialisation in climate change adaptation, from Griffith University in Australia, and a PhD in human geography from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Daniela has over 10 years of experience in international agricultural development projects. She worked for the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture as climate change and agriculture specialist for over 6 years. Her work allowed her to engage with policymakers and governments in the development, implementation, and evaluation of climate change strategies for the agricultural sector in the Americas and the Caribbean regions, and support capacity building, knowledge, and information management strategies.

Daniela also has practical and technical experience working with farmers’ organisations, community groups and the tourism sector on sustainable agriculture practices, agroforestry, payment for environmental services programs, waste management and environmental education. She has work and travel experience in more than 20 countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Regions. Daniela’s current research aims to assess the capacities of rural communities in the Pacific to adapt to climate change, placing emphasis on smallholder food systems and the potential to implement strategies targeted at increasing food and nutrition security. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has experience designing and managing development projects with multiple partners, funding sources and stakeholders.
Yes, able to co-supervise up to 3 students.
Topics of interest:
Climate change adaptation
Food systems
Food and nutrition security
Community development
Sustainable livelihoods
Dietary change and food environments
Climate change planning and policy
Daniela’s current research aims to assess the capacities of rural communities in the Pacific to adapt to climate change, placing emphasis on smallholder food systems and the potential to implement strategies targeted at increasing food and nutrition security. She is fluent in English and Spanish and has experience designing and managing development projects with multiple partners, funding sources and stakeholders.

The Pacific Supervisor Register is an initiative of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). © University of the Sunshine Coast – 2023.

     

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