Dr Samir Alahmad is an early career plant breeder and geneticist. His main interest is dissecting the genetics of complex traits that contribute to enhanced yield under drought and disease stresses. His research is focused on better understanding the genetics of drought adaptive traits such as root system architecture and canopy development. He is currently working on two GRDC funded projects that aim to develop elite bread and durum wheat varieties with optimal root system architecture for yield improvement.
Publications
Book Chapter
Alahmad, Samir, Rambla, Charlotte, Voss-Fels, Kai P. and Hickey, Lee T. (2022). Accelerating breeding cycles. Wheat improvement. (pp. 557-571) Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-90673-3_30
Journal Articles
Pandit, Madhav, Dracatos, Peter, Periyannan, Sambasivam, Lam, Yasmine, Brunner, Stephanie M., Honse, Takaaki, Tong, Jingyang, Dinglasan, Eric, Ganesalingam, Dini, Moody, David, Baraibar, Silvina, Hickey, Lee, Alahmad, Samir and Robinson, Hannah (2026). Exploring standing genetic variation for barley leaf rust resistance in Australian breeding panel. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 139 (1) 31, 1-16. doi: 10.1007/s00122-025-05122-4
Le Gall, Samuel, van Dusschoten, Dagmar, Lattacher, Adrian, Giraud, Mona, Harings, Moritz, Diaz, Paulina Deseano, Pflugfelder, Daniel, Alahmad, Samir, Hickey, Lee, Sircan, Ahmet, Kandeler, Ellen, Lobet, Guillaume, Schnepf, Andrea, Pagel, Holger, Poll, Christian, Vereecken, Harry, Javaux, Mathieu and Rothfuss, Youri (2026). Combining spring wheat genotypes with contrasting root traits for a better use of water resources in soil? Evidence from column-scale water stable isotopic experiments. Plant and Soil, 521 (1), 1-23. doi: 10.1007/s11104-026-08386-x
Dudley, Caitlin, Van Haeften, Shanice, Alahmad, Samir, Dinglasan, Eric, Hickey, Lee T., Robinson, Hannah, Beveridge, Christine, Udvardi, Michael, Noble, Thomas, Massel, Karen, Dun, Elizabeth A. and Smith, Millicent R. (2025). Time to flowering and flowering duration in mungbean are unrelated physiological traits with independent genetic controls. Journal Of Experimental Botany, 76 (18) eraf222, 5528-5541. doi: 10.1093/jxb/eraf222
Alahmad, Samir, Smith, Daniel, Katsikis, Christina, Aldiss, Zachary, Brunner, Stephanie M., Meer, Sarah V., Meijer, Lotus, Heidariask, Bita, Chenu, Karine, Chapman, Scott, Potgieter, Andries B., Wasson, Anton, Baraibar, Silvina, Godoy, Jayfred, Moody, David, Robinson, Hannah and Hickey, Lee T. (2025). Phenotyping the hidden half: combining UAV phenotyping and machine learning to predict barley root traits in the field. Journal of Experimental Botany, 76 (17) eraf268, 5161-5178. doi: 10.1093/jxb/eraf268
Lattacher, Adrian, Le Gall, Samuel, Rothfuss, Youri, Harings, Moritz, Armbruster, Wolfgang, van Dusschoten, Dagmar, Pflugfelder, Daniel, Alahmad, Samir, Hickey, Lee T., Kandeler, Ellen and Poll, Christian (2025). Combining spring wheat genotypes with contrasting root architectures modifies plant–microbe interactions under different water regimes. Plant and Soil, 516 (1), 725-746. doi: 10.1007/s11104-025-07759-y
Lattacher, Adrian, Le Gall, Samuel, Rothfuss, Youri, Gao, Chao, Harings, Moritz, Pagel, Holger, Giraud, Mona, Alahmad, Samir, Hickey, Lee T., Kandeler, Ellen and Poll, Christian (2025). Rooting for microbes: impact of root architecture on the microbial community and function in top- and subsoil. Plant and Soil, 513 (1) 579904, 1-19. doi: 10.1007/s11104-024-07181-w
Tong, Jingyang, Tarekegn, Zerihun T., Jambuthenne, Dilani, Alahmad, Samir, Periyannan, Sambasivam, Hickey, Lee, Dinglasan, Eric and Hayes, Ben (2024). Stacking beneficial haplotypes from the Vavilov wheat collection to accelerate breeding for multiple disease resistance. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 137 (12) 274, 1-15. doi: 10.1007/s00122-024-04784-w
Kang, Yichen, Alahmad, Samir, Haeften, Shanice V., Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Tong, Jingyang, Dinglasan, Eric, Voss‐Fels, Kai P., Potgieter, Andries B., Borrell, Andrew K., Makhoul, Manar, Obermeier, Christian, Snowdon, Rod, Mace, Emma, Jordan, David R. and Hickey, Lee T. (2024). Mapping quantitative trait loci for seminal root angle in a selected durum wheat population. The Plant Genome, 18 (1) e20490, e20490. doi: 10.1002/tpg2.20490
Kang, Yichen, Rambla, Charlotte, Haeften, Shanice V., Fu, Brendan, Akinlade, Oluwaseun, Potgieter, Andries B., Borrell, Andrew K., Mace, Emma, Jordan, David R., Alahmad, Samir and Hickey, Lee T. (2024). Seminal root angle is associated with root system architecture in durum wheat. Food and Energy Security, 13 (4) e570. doi: 10.1002/fes3.570
van der Bom, Frederik J. T., Williams, Alwyn, Raymond, Nelly S., Alahmad, Samir, Hickey, Lee T., Singh, Vijaya and Bell, Michael J. (2024). Root angle, phosphorus, and water: interactions and effects on durum wheat genotype performance in drought-prone environments. Plant and Soil, 500 (1-2), 69-89. doi: 10.1007/s11104-023-05966-z
Brunner, Stephanie M., Dinglasan, Eric, Baraibar, Silvina, Alahmad, Samir, Katsikis, Christina, van der Meer, Sarah, Godoy, Jayfred, Moody, David, Smith, Millicent, Hickey, Lee and Robinson, Hannah (2024). Characterizing stay-green in barley across diverse environments: unveiling novel haplotypes. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 137 (6) 120, 120. doi: 10.1007/s00122-024-04612-1
Alahmad, Samir, Kang, Yichen, Dinglasan, Eric, Jambuthenne, Dilani, Robinson, Hannah, Tao, Yongfu, Able, Jason A., Christopher, Jack, Voss-Fels, Kai P., Bassi, Filippo M. and Hickey, Lee T. (2022). A multi-reference parent nested-association mapping population to dissect the genetics of quantitative traits in durum wheat. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 70 (5), 1471-1485. doi: 10.1007/s10722-022-01515-2
Cha, Jin-Kyung, O’Connor, Kathryn, Alahmad, Samir, Lee, Jong-Hee, Dinglasan, Eric, Park, Hyeonjin, Lee, So-Myeong, Hirsz, Dominique, Kwon, Soon-Wook, Kwon, Youngho, Kim, Kyeong-Min, Ko, Jong-Min, Hickey, Lee T., Shin, Dongjin and Dixon, Laura E. (2022). Speed vernalization to accelerate generation advance in winter cereal crops. Molecular Plant, 15 (8), 1300-1309. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2022.06.012
Jambuthenne, Dilani T., Riaz, Adnan, Athiyannan, Naveenkumar, Alahmad, Samir, Ng, Wei Ling, Ziems, Laura, Afanasenko, Olga, Periyannan, Sambasivam K., Aitken, Elizabeth, Platz, Greg, Godwin, Ian, Voss-Fels, Kai P., Dinglasan, Eric and Hickey, Lee T. (2022). Mining the Vavilov wheat diversity panel for new sources of adult plant resistance to stripe rust. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 135 (4), 1355-1373. doi: 10.1007/s00122-022-04037-8
Rambla, Charlotte, Van Der Meer, Sarah, Voss-Fels, Kai P., Makhoul, Manar, Obermeier, Christian, Snowdon, Rod, Ober, Eric S., Watt, Michelle, Alahmad, Samir and Hickey, Lee T. (2022). A toolkit to rapidly modify root systems through single plant selection. Plant Methods, 18 (1) 2, 2. doi: 10.1186/s13007-021-00834-2
Vukasovic, Stjepan, Alahmad, Samir, Christopher, Jack, Snowdon, Rod J., Stahl, Andreas and Hickey, Lee T. (2022). Dissecting the genetics of early vigour to design drought-adapted wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12 754439, 754439. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.754439
Ober, Eric S., Alahmad, Samir, Cockram, James, Forestan, Cristian, Hickey, Lee T., Kant, Josefine, Maccaferri, Marco, Marr, Emily, Milner, Matthew, Pinto, Francisco, Rambla, Charlotte, Reynolds, Matthew, Salvi, Silvio, Sciara, Giuseppe, Snowdon, Rod J., Thomelin, Pauline, Tuberosa, Roberto, Uauy, Cristobal, Voss-Fels, Kai P., Wallington, Emma and Watt, Michelle (2021). Wheat root systems as a breeding target for climate resilience. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 134 (6), 1645-1662. doi: 10.1007/s00122-021-03819-w
Alahmad, Samir, Kang, Yichen, Dinglasan, Eric, Mazzucotelli, Elisabetta, Voss-Fels, Kai P., Able, Jason A., Christopher, Jack, Bassi, Filippo M. and Hickey, Lee T. (2020). Adaptive traits to improve Durum wheat yield in drought and crown rot environments. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21 (15) 5260, 1-17. doi: 10.3390/ijms21155260
Alahmad, Samir, El Hassouni, Khaoula, Bassi, Filippo M., Dinglasan, Eric, Youssef, Chvan, Quarry, Georgia, Aksoy, Alpaslan, Mazzucotelli, Elisabetta, Juhasz, Angela, Able, Jason A., Christopher, Jack, Voss-Fels, Kai P. and Hickey, Lee T. (2019). A major root architecture QTL responding to water limitation in Durum Wheat. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10 436, 436. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00436
El Hassouni, K., Alahmad, S., Belkadi, B., Filali-Maltouf, A., Hickey, L. T. and Bassi, F. M. (2018). Root system architecture and its association with yield under different water regimes in Durum wheat. Crop Science, 58 (6), 2331-2346. doi: 10.2135/cropsci2018.01.0076
Alahmad, Samir, Dinglasan, Eric, Leung, Kung Ming, Riaz, Adnan, Derbal, Nora, Voss-Fels, Kai P., Able, Jason A., Bassi, Filippo M., Christopher, Jack and Hickey, Lee T. (2018). Speed breeding for multiple quantitative traits in durum wheat. Plant Methods, 14 (1) 36, 36. doi: 10.1186/s13007-018-0302-y
Alahmad, S., Simpfendorfer, S., Bentley, A. R. and Hickey, L. T. (2018). Crown rot of wheat in Australia: Fusarium pseudograminearum taxonomy, population biology and disease management. Australasian Plant Pathology, 47 (3), 285-299. doi: 10.1007/s13313-018-0554-z
Shehab, Adwan H., Al-Ahmad, Samir A. and Samara, Fauzy F. (2011). Morphology and distribution of the Indian Gerbil, Tatera indica (Hardwicke, 1807), in Syria : (Rodentia: Gerbillinae). Zoology in the Middle East, 52 (1), 3-10. doi: 10.1080/09397140.2011.10638473
Conference Papers
Dudley, Caitlin, Van Haeften, Shanice, Alahmad, Samir, Dinglasan, Eric, Hickey, Lee, Robinson, Hannah, Beveridge, Christine, Udvardi, Michael, Noble, Thomas, Massel, Karen, Dun, Elizabeth and Smith, Millicent (2026). Dissecting genetic and environmental regulation of flowering to enable climate-resilient mungbean breeding. 5th International Legume Society Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 8-12 June 2026.
Smith, Millicent, Van Haeften, Shanice, Brunner, Stephanie, Dinglasan, Eric, Fabreag, Edward, Eyre, Joe, Mens, Celine, Hayes, Ben, Udvardi, Michael, Alahmad, Samir, Eglinton, Mitchell, McQuinn, Ryan, Ryan, Merrill, van der Meer, Sarah and Hickey, Lee (2026). Breeding beyond the plot: leveraging rotational genetics to improve wheat performance and farming system sustainability. 4th International Wheat Congress, Bologna, Italy, 25-29 May 2026.
Heidariask, Bita, Alahmad, Samir, Hickey, Lee, Smith, Millicent, Severini, Alan, Baraibar, Silvina, Moody, David, Gansealingam, Dini and Chenu, Karine (2025). Envirotyping of drought and heat stress to support barley improvement. InterDrought VIII, La Serena, Chile, 17-21 November 2025.
Heidariask, Bita, Alahmad, Samir, Hickey, Lee, Smith, Millicent, Severini, Alan and Chenu, Karine (2025). Characterising abiotic stresses to enhance barley productivity across Australia. TropAg Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 11-13 November 2025.
Heidariask, B., Alahmad, S., Hickey, L. T., Smith, M., Severini, A., Baraibar, S., Moody, D., Ganesalingam, D. and Chenu, K. (2025). Envirotyping to assist crop improvement in barley. Breeding Horizons, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 21-25 July 2025.
Dudley, Caitlin, Van Haeften, Shanice, Dun, Elizabeth, Alahmad, Samir, Dinglasan, Eric, Massel, Karen, Udvardi, Michael, Beveridge, Christine, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent (2025). Genotype x environment interactions affecting flowering time and flowering duration in mungbean. Society of Experimental Biology Conference, Antwerp, Belgium, 8-11 July 2025.
Smith, Millicent, Dudley, Caitlin, Van Haeften, Shanice, Alahmad, Samir, Dinglasan, Eric, Hickey, Lee, Robinson, Hannah, Beveridge, Christine, Udvardi, Michael, Noble, Thomas, Massel, Karen and Dun, Elizabeth (2025). Harnessing genetic diversity to improve grain legume production in current and future climates. 17th Australasian Plant Breeding Conference, Perth, WA, Australia, 4-6 June 2025.
Dudley, Caitlin, Van Haeften, Shanice, Dun, Elizabeth, Alahmad, Samir, Dinglasan, Eric, Massel, Karen, Udvardi, Michael, Beveridge, Christine, Robinson, Hannah, Hickey, Lee and Smith, Millicent (2024). Genotype x environment interactions affecting flowering time and flowering duration in mungbean. 11th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 30 September-3 October 2024.
Smith, Millicent, Dudley, Caitlin, Van Haeften, Shanice, Alahmad, Samir, Dinglasan, Eric, Robinson, Hannah, Beveridge, Christine, Udvardi, Michael, Noble, Thomas, Massel, Karen, Dun, Elizabeth and Hickey, Lee (2024). Opportunities to improve grain legumes for future climates. 11th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 30 September-3 October 2024.
Heidariask, B., Alahmad, S., Hickey, L. T., Smith, M. and Chenu, K. (2024). An integrated modelling and physiological approach to assist breeding for improved yield stability in barley. Australian Barley Technical Symposium, Adelaide, SA Australia, 12-14 August 2024.
Katsikis, C., Robinson, H., Smith, M., Van Der Meer, A., Alahmad, S., Wu, A., Chenu, K., Moody, D. and Hickey, L. (2023). Exploring the ‘hidden half’ of barley: characterising Australian barley for root distribution under field conditions. Australian Society of Plant Scientists Conference, Hobart, TAS Australia, 28 November - 1 December 2023.
Katsikis, C., Robinson, H., Smith, M., Van Der Meer, S., Alahmad, S., Wu, A., Chenu, K., Moody, D. and Hickey, L. (2023). Exploring the ‘hidden half’ of barley: characterising Australian barley for root distribution in the field. NextGen Ag Symposium, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 29 September 2023.
Kang, Y., Alahmad, S., Aldiss, Zachary, Christopher, J., Chenu, K., Able, J.A., Voss-Fels, K.P., Jordan, D.R., Borrell, A.K., De Faveri, J., Wasson, A. and Hickey, L.T. (2023). Root angle and how much does it matter?. The Plant & Animal Genome Conference, San Diego, CA United States, 13-18 January 2023.
Kang, Y., Alahmad, S., Smith, D., van Haeften, S., Rambla, C., Meer, S.V., Smith, M., Christopher, J., Chenu K, Able, J.A., Voss-Fels, K.P., Jordan, D.R., Borrell, A.K., Chapman, S., Potgieter, A.B., Wasson, A. and Hickey, L.T. (2022). Exploring the potential of using UAV phenotyping platforms to support breeding for improved root systems. 7th International Plant Phenotyping Symposium, Wageningen, Netherlands, 27-30 November 2022.
Kang, Y., Alahmad, S., Aldiss, Z., Christopher, J., Chenu, K., Able, J.A., Voss-Fels, K.P., Potgieter, A.B., Jordan, D.R., Borrell, A.K., Wasson, A. and Hickey, L.T. (2022). From lab to field: a major QTL to modify root system architecture in elite durum wheat. International Wheat Congress, Beijing, China, 11-15 September 2022.
Kang, Y., Alahmad, S., Aldiss, Z., Christopher, J., Chenu, K., Able, J.A., Voss-Fels, K.P., Potgieter, A.B., Jordan, D.R., Borrell, A.K., Wasson, A. and Hickey, L.T. (2022). A major QTL to modify root system architecture in elite durum wheat. Wheat Breeding Assembly, Narrabri, NSW Australia, 28-31 August 2022.
Alahmad, S., Kang, Y., Rambla, C., Meer, S.V., Smith, M., Christopher, J., Chenu, K., Able, J.A., Voss-Fels, K.P., Jordan, D.R., Borrell, A.K., Smith, D., Chapman, S., Watt, M., Ober, E., Potgieter, A.B., Wasson, A. and Hickey, L.T. (2022). Exploring root-shoot dynamics to enhance yield potential and stability of future wheat cultivars. Wheat Breeding Assembly, Narrabri, NSW Australia, 28-31 August 2022.
Working Paper
Hickey, Lee , Wasson, Anton , Kang, Yichen and Alahmad, Samir (2022). Can we improve the roots of durum wheat to maximise yield? . Center for Crop Science - Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane.
Thesis
Alahmad, Samir (2019). Accelerating the development of durum wheat adapted to drought and crown rot conditions. PhD Thesis, Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2019.553
Department Technical Report
Alahmad, Samir , Hickey, Lee , Simpfendorfer, Steven and Bentley, Alison (2018). Taking stock of what we know about Crown rot. Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland.
Data Collections
Hickey, Lee, Kang, Yichen and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Whole-genome marker profiles for durum wheat intro-selection lines. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/8b3af41
Hickey, Lee and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Whole-genome marker profiles for bread wheat intro-selection lines. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/3c1bbae
Hickey, Lee and Alahmad, Samir (2023). UAV imagery for bread and durum wheat intro-selection lines selected for root traits. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/24ee7f8
Hickey, Lee, Kang, Yichen and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Field-based root phenotype data for durum wheat intro-selection lines - raw and pre-processed data. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/92c3c86
Hickey, Lee, Kang, Yichen and Alahmad, Samir (2023). Field-based root phenotype data for bread wheat intro-selection lines - raw and pre-processed data. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/9c3b35d
Seminar Papers
Alahmad, Samir, Kang, Yichen, Rambla, Charlotte, Van Der Meer, Sarah, Smith, Millicent, Christopher, Jack, Chenu, Karine, Able, Jason A., Voss-Fels, Kai, Jordan, David R., Borrell, Andrew K., Smith, Daniel, Chapman, Scott, Watt, Michelle, Ober, Eric, Potgieter, Andries B., Wasson, Anton, Hickey, Lee T. and Robinson, Hannah (2022). Exploring root-shoot dynamics to enhance yield potential and stability of future wheat cultivars. Australian Breeding Assembly, August 2022, Narrabri, NSW, Australia. Centre for Crop Science, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane.
Bassi, Filippo, El Hassouni, Khaoula, Alahmad, Samir, Kabbaj, Hafssa, Zaim, Meryem, Azouz, Mounira, Azouz, Mounira, Sall, Amadou T., Kehel, Zakaria, Al-Abdallat, Ayed, Alary, Veronique, Niane, Abdoul Aziz, Belkadi, Bouchra, Filali-Maltouf, Abdelkarim, Hickey, Lee, Ortiz, Rodomiro, Baum, Michael and Amri, Ahmed (2019). The magic of crop wild relatives in durum wheat breeding. Durum Breeding Program, International Center for Agriculture in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).