Western Sydney University
Australia

Biography

Dr. Chris Cazzonelli is a senior lecturer in Plant Molecular Biology at Western Sydney University, Australia. He completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours Class I) at the University of Queensland, Australia, and won an Australian postgraduate award to study mechanical stress gene regulation receiving a Ph.D. in plant molecular biology and plant genetic engineering from the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2002. He subsequently won a prestigious United States Department of Agriculture Postdoctoral Fellowship to investigate the molecular nature of gene activation, gene silencing and remote sensing of plant stress events in plants. In 2006, Dr. Cazzonelli was recruited by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology at the Australian National University, Australia, to investigate what regulates the production of health promoting carotenoid metabolites in plants. He was awarded the prestigious Goldacre Medal by the Australian Society of Plant Biologists in 2010. He now leads the Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory to understand molecular mechanisms that program plant acclimation and facilitate metabolic homeostasis to changes in the environment (e.g. light quality, mechanical stress, acoustic vibrations and heat waves). We link epigenetic memory forming processes to carotenoid regulation and other nutritional plant metabolites; that will have follow-on benefits for human and animal health. We specialise in advancing protected cropping, tree genomics and horticulture crop nutrition to promote environmental sustainability.

Fields of Interest

• Carotenoids
• Plant Biotechnology
• Transcriptomics
• Epigenetic Biology
• Gene Regulation
• Genetic Engineering
• Stress Acclimation
• Mechanical Stress
• Phytohormone Signalling
• Tree Genomics
• Horticulture
• Protected Cropping