AFII Deputy Director Alison Bentley has always been fascinated by the natural world and how plants respond to their environment.

While studying agriculture at high school, she attended an outreach event at Sydney University where she got to extract plant DNA.

It was then she realised that science had many practical applications, including to improve crops and enhance food security.

It was this interest that led her to studying agriculture at university before working across the world in crop breeding and international development.

She now leads a lab in the ANU Research School of Biology with a focus on genetics and plant breeding.

Her research aims to understand the fundamental plant processes that can be used as an engine-room to drive agricultural productivity and build climate resilience for a more food-secure future.

In addition to her work to develop and deliver future-ready crops, Alison is designing and implementing new interdisciplinary approaches to train the next-generation and address complex agricultural challenges.

Understanding the value diversity brings to organisations and the individuals within them, Alison is passionate about supporting more women and girls to choose careers in science, and in agriculture specifically.

“There’s a strong narrative about empowering women in agriculture, but you can’t be what you can’t see, and in crop science women are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions,” Associate Professor Bentley says.

Even as more women are being employed in the sector, Alison says the practical reality for those women is that their workplaces are often not fit for purpose.

“While I was working in international development, I was surprised to find many field stations in different parts of the world had no female toilets,” she says.

“At one organisation, I initiated a review of toilet facilities at field stations in Mexico and parts of Africa.

“In most places there were no female toilets and the facilities that were there were not always clean or fit-for-purpose, and many did not accommodate for menstrual hygiene.

“As a result of that review there’s one more breeding station with safe, clean, accessible, fully functional and dedicated toilet facilities, and hopefully more to come.”

As a 2025 Superstar of STEM, Alison says she’s excited for the opportunity to show young women that studying STEM opens doors to many careers from biology to computing to agriculture.

“Agriculture, in particular, is a career path that integrates all the STEM disciplines, and by working in agriculture you have the opportunity for great social impact.”

To build a workforce capable of meeting future challenges, agriculture will need to attract the best and brightest students and researchers. AFII Deputy Director Alison Bentley’s participation in the Superstars of STEM program is just one way we are committed to nurturing a diverse cohort of future leaders.