Alexander Cheesman

I am a senior Research Fellow at James Cook University here in Australia and with the University of Exeter in the UK. Specializing as a plant eco-physiologist and soil scientist interested in the dynamic interactions of tropical systems in a changing world. I am an active researcher on issues of climate change, nutrient management, and plant physiology.

I completed my B.A. in Plant Sciences from Cambridge University in 2004 before taking a job as a field assistant on Barro Colorado Island, a research site of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama. It was here that I developed an attachment to tropical systems which continues to today. In 2010 I completed a PhD in Soil and Water Science at the University of Florida, much of the field work for which was carried out in the remote wetlands of central America. This led to a 2 year post-doctoral research fellowship at STRI researching the effects of increasing temperature upon tree physiology. Since 2013 i have been based in Australia working on issues of plant adaptation and acclimation. Most recently in collaboration with researchers at University of Exeter to examine the impacts of air pollution upon tropical systems (www.tropoz.org).