Together with a team of PhD students and international collaborators, Dr Tan has started a program to develop Australian crops that can resist heat by using natural variations in crop genetic collections from around the world. “We work with countries where these crops originated, for example America for cotton, and institutions where varieties of genetic crop seeds are held,” said Dr Tan. The material is tested for heat tolerance in a range of locations. Wheat varieties are tested in Australia, Mexico and, because of the potential consumer market there, China.