Christine Helen Foyer (born 3 October 1952) is

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of plant science at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, 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 viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usua ...

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

Education

Foyer attended Portsmouth Polytechnic (now the

University of Portsmouth The University of Portsmouth (UoP) is a public university in Portsmouth, England. Comprising five Faculty (division), faculties, the university offers a wide range of academic disciplines. in 2022, with around 28,280 students enrolled in Unde ...

) from 1971–74, achieving a BSc 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 King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, where she completed her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. 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 in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

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

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

homeostasis In biology, homeostasis (British English, British also homoeostasis; ) is the state of steady internal physics, physical and chemistry, chemical conditions maintained by organism, living systems. This is the condition of optimal functioning fo ...

and signalling interact with

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

–mediated pathways, particularly involving

abscisic acid Abscisic acid (ABA or abscisin II) is a plant hormone. ABA functions in many plant developmental processes, including seed and bud dormancy, the control of organ size and stomatal closure. It is especially important for plants in the response to ...

auxin Auxins (plural of auxin ) are a class of plant hormones (or plant-growth regulators) with some morphogen-like characteristics. Auxins play a cardinal role in coordination of many growth and behavioral processes in plant life cycles and are essent ...

and

strigolactone Strigolactones are a group of chemical compounds produced by roots of plants. 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 Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription die ...

and

glutathione Glutathione (GSH, ) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It 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 ...

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

photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...

and respiration regulate

gene expression Gene expression is the process (including its Regulation of gene expression, regulation) by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product that enables it to produce end products, proteins or non-coding RNA, ...

. 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 ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...

'', 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. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

and

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

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 Rhizosphere 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