Amanda Rollason is a dedicated Technical Officer working primarily at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan inside the Australian PlantBank as part of the Rainforest Conservation Project and the Myrtle Rust Project.
As a researcher, she is driven by the goal of discovering innovative solutions to preserve and protect rainforest species that are at risk of being lost forever. Her passion lies in finding alternative methods for storing species that are currently difficult to preserve, ensuring their long-term survival.
With a Certificate 4 in Horticulture – graduating top of her class – and over 17 years of experience working at Botanic Gardens of Sydney, Amanda's dedication to her field is evident. Her favourite plant family is Proteaceae, encompassing a wide range of fascinating species.
Utilising her skills in tissue culture and cryopreservation research, Amanda’s daily tasks can vary from subculturing plant species currently held in tissue culture (dissecting plantlet from depleted media and placing into fresh nutrient medium) to initiating new species that can’t be stored in the conventional seed banking method into tissue culture.
Her work is carried out in sterile conditions, and requires the meticulous preparation of agar-based media with nutrients and growth regulating hormones for the subculturing process. Additionally, Amanda's role involves setting up cryopreservation experiments.
Every successful experiment she has conducted represents a significant achievement to Amanda, who enjoys being part of a collaborative team that communicates effectively and supports each other's projects.
