Christine Helen Foyer (born 3 October 1952) is

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of plant science at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, United Kingdom. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingha ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, UK. She is President Elect of the Association of Applied Biologists, the General Secretary of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biologists, an elected Board Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists and a Member of the French Academy of Agriculture. She has published and co-authored many papers on related subjects. Foyer's name is included in the " Foyer–Halliwell–Asada" pathway, a cellular process of

hydrogen peroxide Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscous than water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%� ...

metabolism in plants and animals and named for the three principal discoverers.

Education

Foyer attended Portsmouth Polytechnic (now the University of Portsmouth) from 1971–74, achieving a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

with Class II, Division I Honours in Biology (

CNAA The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993. Background The establishment followed the recommendation of the UK government Com ...

). From 1974–77 she attended the Department of Biochemistry, King's College London where she completed her PhD. During this time Foyer also attended a course on immunology at Chelsea College, London. In 1998 Foyer was elected a Fellow of the

Institute of Biology The Institute of Biology (IoB) was a professional body for biologists, primarily those working in the United Kingdom. The Institute was founded in 1950 by the Biological Council: the then umbrella body for Britain's many learned biological societie ...

Work

Foyer researches plant growth regulation and development under optimal circumstances and in conditions of stress (caused by, for example, lack of water, low temperatures, high light, infestation by

aphids Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

). Her work has a special focus on how cellular reduction/oxidation (

redox Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British also homoeostasis) (/hɒmɪə(ʊ)ˈsteɪsɪs/) is the state of steady internal, physical, and chemical conditions maintained by living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning for the organism and ...

and signalling interact with

phytohormone Plant hormone (or phytohormones) are signal molecules, produced within plants, that occur in extremely low concentrations. Plant hormones control all aspects of plant growth and development, from embryogenesis, the regulation of organ size, ...

–mediated pathways, particularly involving abscisic acid, auxin and

strigolactone Strigolactones are a group of chemical compounds produced by a plant's roots. Due to their mechanism of action, these molecules have been classified as plant hormones or phytohormones. So far, strigolactones have been identified to be responsible f ...

s. Her research is centered on ascorbate and

glutathione Glutathione (GSH, ) is an antioxidant in plants, animals, fungi, and some bacteria and archaea. Glutathione is capable of preventing damage to important cellular components caused by sources such as reactive oxygen species, free radicals, pe ...

as key regulators of plant responses to stress and on how redox processes associated with primary metabolism particularly

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

and respiration regulate gene expression. The department addresses research problems of intrinsic scientific interest but is always mindful of the needs of agriculture and food security. In addition to undertaking fundamental studies on model plant species such as '' Arabidopsis thaliana'', research in the Foyer lab includes work which relates the research findings, particularly in relation to enhancing stress tolerance, to crop species such as

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

and

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

Selected publications

;Books * ''Identification and Application of Phenotypic and Molecular Markers for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Soybean'', Berhanu Amsalu Fenta, Belen Marquez Garcia, Christine H. Foyer, Karl J. Kunert, Magdeleen DuPlessis, Urte Schluter: 2011. INTECH Open Access Publisher: * ''A New Era in Plant Metabolism Research Reveals a Bright Future for Bio-fortification and Human Nutrition'', Christine H Foyer, Dean Dellapenna, Dominique Van der Straeten: 2006 * ''Plant Carbon-nitrogen Interactions from Rhizophere to Plant'', Caroline Bowsher, Christine H Foyer, Society for Experimental Biology: Oxford University Press: 2004. * ''Molecular Physiology: Engineering Crops for Hostile Environments'', Martin A Parry, Christine H Foyer, Brian Forde: Oxford University Press: 2000. ISBN * ''Causes of Photooxidative Stress and Amelioration of Defense Systems in Plants'', Christine H Foyer, Philip M Mullineaux: CRC Press: 1994. * ''Photosynthesis'', Christine H Foyer, Kreiger Publishing Co.: 1991 ;Research articles *

References

External links

Video of Christine Foyer explaining her work.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foyer, Christine 1952 births Living people 20th-century British biologists 20th-century British women scientists 21st-century British biologists 21st-century British women scientists Alumni of the University of Portsmouth Alumni of King's College London British women biologists Academics of the University of Leeds Fellows of the Royal Society of Biology