September 30, 2025
Colorado State University PhD graduate, William Kramer, has accepted a research position in the GRDC Weed Management Initiative’s (WMI) Western node, based at the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI), School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia.
Professor Ken Flower, Director of AHRI, noted that William is an outstanding graduate student from Colorado State University’s weed lab, supervised by the highly regarded Professors Todd Gaines and Frank Dayan.
“William has excellent skills and experience from which Australian grain growers will benefit. His knowledge of herbicide modes of action, mechanisms of resistance and functional genomics will be valuable in our effort to combat weed resistance, and this is backed-up with some hands-on knowledge of cropping systems,” Dr Flower said.
William Kramer grew up on a fourth-generation family grain farm in Northern Alberta where he developed his commitment to agriculture and had first-hand experience with the complexities of farming.
Commencing his studies in 2018, he earned a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from the University of Saskatchewan and was further inspired to pursue a research career, focused on developing innovative solutions to address the issues he observed on the farm,
This passion led William to pursue a Master of Science in Weed Science at the University of Guelph. Working under the mentorship of Drs Clarence Swanton and François Tardif. His research focused on characterizing the physiological responses of nitrogen assimilation in corn exposed to resource-independent weed competition. This work deepened his understanding of plant-weed interactions and reinforced his commitment to tackling agricultural challenges through research.
Building on his Master’s experience, William embarked on a PhD in Agricultural Biology at Colorado State University. Under the guidance of Associate Professor Todd Gaines, he investigated the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of quizalofop metabolism in CoAXium wheat and non-target site imazamox resistance in feral rye. This work strengthened his skills in molecular biology and deepened his understanding of herbicide resistance and crop protection.
William is excited to bring both his molecular biology expertise and his perspective shaped by North American cropping systems to Australian agriculture. He looks forward to contributing to innovative solutions that address herbicide resistance to support the long-term sustainability of Australian grain production.
William will commence his post-doctoral appointment at UWA in March, 2026.
Posted in: AHRI News, Herbicide evolution and technology