Timothy Brodribb

Short CV

Tim Brodribb is a tenured professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Tasmania since 2017. Since completing his PhD at the University of Tasmania in 1997 he has been awarded a Putnam Fellowship (Harvard University), an Australian Research Fellowship (Australian Research Council) and a Future Fellowship (Australian Research Council). His research awards include a Grady Webster Structural Botany Prize (American Journal of Botany) and the WS Cooper Award (Ecological Society of America) and in 2023 he was elected into the Australian Academy of Sciences. He has published >235 papers and since 2016 he has been listed in the top 1% of authors globally for high citation. Prof. Brodribb is the node leader in the Centre of Excellence for Plant Success where he leads a team of researchers investigating topics centered in plant physiology, adaptation and evolution. His special interest is in plant water relations and his team has developed new tools and methodologies that provide insight into the dynamic behavior of plants as they respond to changing environmental conditions. This work has application in natural systems where it provides insight into plant stress under changing climate, but also in agricultural systems where his tools are being adapted for irrigation management.

Selected Awards

• 2023, Elected member Australian Academy of Sciences
• 2016-2023, Highly Cited Researcher (ISI/Clarivate)
• 2015, Thomson-Reuters Innovation Award
• 2014, Dean’s Award for Research Excellence (UTAS)
• 2014, Grady Webster Structural Botany Prize (American Journal of Botany)
• 2012, WS Cooper Award (Ecological Society of America)

Research Interests

Primary research interests involve the mechanisms whereby plants acquire water from the soil and regulate its use for maximum benefit. This includes the function of the vascular system responsible for water transport from the soil to the leaf, and the behaviour of stomatal valves on the leaf surface which regulate transpirational water loss and photosynthetic carbon assimilation. We have developed new tools that visualize and quantify dynamic stress and damage to the plant during water deficit, and these tools allow characterization and prediction of species responses to changing environmental conditions. Our in-plant sensors also have broad application for irrigation management. 

Selected Publications

• Bourbia, I., Yates, L.A. and Brodribb, T.J., 2025. Using long‐term field data to quantify water potential regulation in response to VPD and soil moisture in a conifer tree. New Phytologist, 246(3), pp.911-923.
• Bourbia, I., Pritzkow, C. and Brodribb, T.J., 2021. Herb and conifer roots show similar high sensitivity to water deficit. Plant Physiology, 186(4), pp.1908-1918.
• Brodribb, T.J., Powers, J., Cochard, H. and Choat, B., 2020. Hanging by a thread? Forests and drought. Science, 368(6488), pp.261-266.
• Powers, J.S., Vargas G, G., Brodribb, T.J., Schwartz, N.B., Pérez‐Aviles, D., Smith‐Martin, C.M., Becknell, J.M., Aureli, F., Blanco, R., Calderón‐Morales, E. and Calvo‐Alvarado, J.C., 2020. A catastrophic tropical drought kills hydraulically vulnerable tree species. Global Change Biology, 26(5), pp.3122-3133.
• Choat, B., Brodribb, T.J., Brodersen, C.R., Duursma, R.A., López, R. and Medlyn, B.E., 2018. Triggers of tree mortality under drought. Nature, 558(7711), pp.531-539.
• Brodribb, T.J., McAdam, S.A., Jordan, G.J. and Martins, S.C., 2014. Conifer species adapt to low-rainfall climates by following one of two divergent pathways. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(40), pp.14489-14493.
• Choat, B., Jansen, S., Brodribb, T.J., Cochard, H., Delzon, S., Bhaskar, R., Bucci, S.J., Feild, T.S., Gleason, S.M., Hacke, U.G. and Jacobsen, A.L., 2012. Global convergence in the vulnerability of forests to drought. Nature, 491(7426), pp.752-755.
• Brodribb, T.J. and McAdam, S.A., 2011. Passive origins of stomatal control in vascular plants. Science, 331(6017), pp.582-585.
• Brodribb, T.J. and Cochard, H., 2009. Hydraulic failure defines the recovery and point of death in water-stressed conifers. Plant physiology, 149(1), pp.575-584.
• Brodribb, T.J., Feild, T.S. and Jordan, G.J., 2007. Leaf maximum photosynthetic rate and venation are linked by hydraulics. Plant physiology, 144(4), pp.1890-1898