Spencer Whitney
Prof Whitney undertook his BSc (Botany, Biochemistry and Chemistry) honours and PhD at James Cook University of North Queensland studying photosynthesis in algae that are symbionts within corals and giant clams. In 1996 he moved to the ANU for a postdoc to expanded his interest in the biology of the photosynthetic CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco. This involved him successfully bringing the technology of plastome transformation to Australia. Being able to bioengineer Rubisco in plants meant he never ended up leaving ANU with his pivotal success in modifying plant photosynthesis via Rubisco engineering leading him to being awarded the Goldacre Award in 2002 from the Australian Society of Plant Scientists and the International Young Scientist Award in 2004. From 2004-09 he held an ARC Research Fellowship and in 2009 was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship. He was then a chief investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis from 2013 to 2021, and now is a CI in the ARC Future Crop Development Training Centre. In 2020 he was awarded the College of Science Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in Education and his passion for student research training has seen him hold the role of Associate Director for HDR at ANU for 12 years and convenor of the Plant Sciences PhD program for the last 18 years
Abstracts this author is presenting: