Dr Lukasz Kotula is a plant scientist specialising in the physiological and anatomical traits associated with plant adaptation to abiotic stresses. He completed his MSc in Biology at the University of Silesia, Poland, and his PhD in Plant Physiology at the University of Bayreuth, Germany (2009), where he investigated adaptations of rice roots to waterlogging and developed novel technique to measure oxygen permeability across roots. From 2010 to 2012, he undertook postdoctoral research at the University of Tokyo and Nagoya University as a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Fellow, studying root anatomical responses to waterlogging.

He joined the University of Western Australia in 2012 as a Research Associate, taking a leading role in running ARC-funded projects on legumes, cereals, and Australian native plants. Between 2022 and 2024, he worked as a Research Scientist at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), where he led projects on saline irrigation of horticultural crops and engaged closely with growers. He returned to UWA in 2025 as a Research Fellow at the School of Biological Sciences, where he is the leading researcher running a GRDC-funded project on nitrogen use efficiency in canola.

Dr Kotula collaborates extensively with national and international research teams and has co-authored more than 40 peer-reviewed publications. He is also an experienced supervisor of postgraduate students.

Improving Canola Nitrogen Use Efficiency (GRDC, 2025-2027)

• Nitrogen use efficiency in canola and other crops under varying soil conditions

• Physiological, anatomical, and biochemical adaptations of plant roots to waterlogging and submergence

• Mechanisms of salinity tolerance: ion transport, root barrier formation, ion exclusion and compartmentation

• Interdisciplinary approaches integrating microscopy (optical, electron), plant physiology, and field studies to investigate plant function under stress