Jacqueline Barker

Jackie is the Phenotyping Manager for the ‘Accelerating Willow Breeding and Deployment’ project funded by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. Her role is to manage, assess, and collate data for biomass crop yield traits. The project will use genomic selection, by modelling the genotype and phenotype data from environmentally contrasting biomass willow (Salix spp.) short rotation coppice trials, to predict parental genotypes for a given environment. The outcome will fast track new varieties in the willow breeding programme and inform growers when optimising their genotype selection for Short Rotation Coppice (SRC).

She has more than 27 years of scientific experience within the Institute, previously having managed the OREGIN Diversity Demonstration Field Trials, investigated germination, early vigour, architecture, seed size and composition in oilseeds, studied heavy metal uptake in hyperaccumulating plants species, developed molecular markers for mapping, diversity and population genetic studies in a host of agriculturally-important organisms, including Salix spp. (willow), managed and measured biomass yield traits in a SRC variety trial, purified and characterised SNF1 protein kinase from developing barley endosperm and examined polyamine metabolism in fungi and higher plants.