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Robert J Henry

Southern Cross University

• Director, Centre for Plant Conservation Genetics
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Professor Robert J Henry BSc(Hons)(UQ) MSc(Hons) (Maquarie) Ph D(La Trobe) DSc (UQ) 

Prof Robert Henry studies plants using molecular tools. His interests include the
Australian flora and plants of economic or social importance. He is a graduate of the
University of Queensland (B Sc (Hons)), Macquarie University (M Sc (Hons)) and La Trobe
University (Ph D). He was awarded a higher doctorate (D Sc) by the University of
Queensland (UQ) for his work on analysis of variation in plants. 

He worked with CSIRO on fruit and vegetable biochemistry and the Queensland Department of
Primary Industries(QDPI) as a cereal chemist and became Senior Principal Scientist at the
Queensland Wheat Research Institute. His work with the QDPI included assessment of
quality in barley for use in malting and brewing and research on the impact of
pre-harvest sprouting on the end-use quality of wheat. Many internationally significant
methods for the analysis of plant carbohydrates (sugars, starch and cell-wall
polysaccharides) were developed at La Trobe University and QDPI. 

A Fellowship from the Science and Technology Agency of Japan took him to work on plant
molecular biology in the National Institute of Agrobiological Resources. He became
Research Program Leader (Plant Biotechnology) at the Queensland Agricultural
Biotechnology Centre at the UQ on the establishment of the centre and was appointed
Professor of Plant Conservation Molecular Genetics at Southern Cross University to
establish the Centre for Plant Conservation Genetics. He was a foundation member of the
Program Management Committee of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Tropical Plant
Pathology. Prof Henry has been a member of the Market Advisory Group of the Grains
Research and Development Corporation (GRDC). He is a past Chairman of the Royal
Australian Chemical Institute (RACI), Cereal Chemistry Division, member of the Northern
Panel of the GRDC, the GRDC board and the Sugar Research and Development Corporation,
Plant Improvement Working Party. Robert was a Deputy Director of the CRC for Sustainable
Production Forestry. He is also a researcher in the Molecular Plant Breeding CRC,
Sugarcane Biotechnology CRC and Forestry CRC. He is Research Director (Genome Technology)
in the Grain Foods CRC. 

He initiated a large international program of research on grape genomics in 1997. His
research interests include, plant molecular biology with a special interest in analysis
of plant genomes for plant identification and analysis of biodiversity. His work has
included the study of DNA-based methods for identification of plants and their pathogens,
the development of molecular markers for plant breeding and the genetic transformation of
plants. A common focus of much of this work has been the application of DNA technology to
the improvement of the quality of crops and agricultural and food products. Analysis of
wild plant populations especially in Australia has been used to support their
conservation and use in agriculture or forestry. 

Prof Henry is one of the leading plant scientists in Australia. He is widely recognised
internationally and has written and edited several books on plant molecular biology and
product quality and published more than 200 refereed scientific papers and more than 400
national and international conference papers. The ISI has identified him as one of the
100 most cited scientists in agriculture in the international scientific literature over
the last 20 years. He is a senior editor of the Plant Biotechnology Journal (Blackwell
Publishing Ltd), Associate Editor of Conservation Genetics (Springer Science), member of
the Editorial Board of Recent Patents on Biotechnology and Open Biotechnology (Bentham
Science Ltd). He was made a fellow of the RACI in 1993, received the Guthrie Award in
2000, is Managing Director of Puragrain Pty Ltd and Australian Plants Pty Ltd. Prof Henry
established the Australian Plant DNA Bank in 2001, and he is CEO of Australian Plant DNA
Bank Ltd.

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