A Cardiff University Professor has been honoured with a prestigious fellowship. Professor John Harwood from the School of Biosciences was made a 2013 Fellow of the Institute of Biocatalysis and Biotechnology (ISBAB).
The award is only given once a year and recognises research efforts into the furtherance of biotechnology. In addition, Professor Harwood has become an Academian of the World Academy of Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology.
Professor Harwood said: ÔÇ£It is an honour to receive these prestigious awards in recognition of my continuing work in lipid biochemistry. Our studies demonstrate the importance of this type of research to the challenges of food security and nutritional health worldwide.ÔÇØ
Professor Harwood has been recognised for his work on the improvement of oil crops and the role dietary lipids play towards good health.
His group has studied how regulation of oil accumulation is controlled with novel quantitative methods, and their application of flux control analysis to important crop plants like oilseed rape, oil pam and soybean has been world-leading.
Major international commercial and governmental bodies have been adopting his methodology for enhancement of their oil crop strains. Oil crops are a hugely important agricultural commodity, with these three crops alone producing $135billion.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are one particularly important group which has been at the forefront of Professor HarwoodÔÇÖs research. They are sources of anti-inflammatory mediators which help prevent diseases like arthritis and dementia where chronic inflammations are the driver.
In conjunction with Professor Bruce Caterson, also of the School of Biosciences, Professor Harwood has provided a molecular mechanism for the beneficial effect of these fatty acids which has been implemented by global companies producing neutraceuticals and also in the animal foods industry.
The ISBAB is an international organisation that supports and highlights basic research into the advances and applications of biotechnology. It was properly established in late 2006, and elected its first Fellows in 2010.
James Griffiths
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