Ian Graham | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Graham in 2016 | |
| Born | 1963 (age 61–62)[1] Castlederg, Northern Ireland[1] |
| Education | Omagh Academy[1] |
| Alma mater | |
| Awards | EMBO Member(2016) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Structure and function of the cucumber malate synthase gene and expression during plant development (1989) |
| Doctoral advisor | |
| Website | york |
Ian Alexander GrahamFRS[2] (born 1963)[1] is a professor ofbiochemical genetics in the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products (CNAP) at theUniversity of York.[3][4][5]
Graham was educated at Castlederg Secondary School andOmagh Academy.[1] He studiedbotany andgenetics atQueen's University Belfast, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in 1986.[3] He was awarded a PhD from theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1989 for research investigating the structure and function of themalate synthase gene incucumber supervised bySteven M. Smith andChris J. Leaver.[6][7]
From 1990 to 1993he was apostdoctoral researcher in theDepartment of Plant Sciences at theUniversity of Oxford.[8] He was appointed a lecturer in the division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at University of Glasgow from 1994 to 1999. During 1994, he was aSERC/NATO funded research scientistin Department of Plant Biology atStanford University. He has been chair of biochemical genetics at York since 1999.
Graham's interests include how plants make and breakdown variousmetabolites, how these processes are controlled and how they impact onplant growth. He has usedbiochemicalgenetics to dissect the mainmetabolic pathways controlling oil mobilisation inArabidopsis[9][10] seed and provided new insight into how alipid based signal controls seedgermination.[11][12] He has used similar approaches to investigate the synthesis ofbioactive compounds in two of the world's majormedicinal plants. This has led to new understanding of howgenome rearrangement has shaped theevolution ofplant metabolism. The discovery of a 10 gene cluster responsible for the production of the anti-cancer compoundnoscapine in opium poppy provided the tools for molecular breeding of new commercial varieties. The discovery of a novelCytochrome P450 –oxidoreductase gene fusion described the last unknown step in synthesis ofmorphine andcodeine. Characterisation and genetic mapping of traits responsible for production ofartemisinin inArtemisia annua has enabled development ofF1 hybrid seed that can deliver a robust source of this vitalantimalarial medication for thedeveloping countries.[13]
Graham was elected aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2016.[2]Additionally, Graham was elected as a member of theEuropean Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2016,[citation needed] and was awarded theBiochemical Society's Heatley Medal and Prize in 2017.[citation needed]
"All text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available underCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." --"Royal Society Terms, conditions and policies". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved9 March 2016.
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