Colleen Michele Higgins is a New Zealand academic

plant pathologist Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...

, and is a full professor at the

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...

, specialising in

plant virus Plant viruses are viruses that have the potential to affect plants. Like all other viruses, plant viruses are obligate intracellular parasites that do not have the molecular machinery to replicate without a host. Plant viruses can be pathoge ...

es and

environmental microbiology ''Environmental Microbiology'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal focused on microbial interactions and microbial processes in the environment. It is published by Wiley-Blackwell. Until January 2024, it was an official journal of the S ...

. Higgins won an award for her teaching in 2013, for a course she developed on ethics and emerging health and biological technologies.

Academic career

Higgins completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours in plant

molecular pathology Molecular pathology is an emerging discipline within pathology which is focused in the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of molecules within organs, tissues or bodily fluids. Molecular pathology shares some aspects of practice ...

at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

and a

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 ...

titled '' HLA-B27 and related genes in the aetiopathogenesis of

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis from the disease spectrum of axial spondyloarthritis. It is characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine, typically where the spine joins the pelvis. With AS, eye and bow ...

'' at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. Higgins returned to studying plants, and undertook postdoctoral research on viral evolution and genetically modified crops at

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

, the University of Queensland and

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

. She was also a senior scientist working on ''

Botrytis cinerea ''Botrytis cinerea'' is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as "botrytis bunch rot"; in horticulture, it is usually called "grey mould" ...

'' at a New Zealand biotechnology company. Higgins then joined the faculty of the School of Applied Sciences at Auckland University of Technology in 2004, rising to full professor in 2024. Higgins developed a postgraduate paper on ethics and emerging health and biological technologies. In 2013, Higgins was awarded an Academic Excellence in Teaching Award by AUT. She has served as vice-president of the Australasian Plant Pathology Society. Higgins's research covers diagnosis of plant viruses, viral diversity and evolution, and interactions between viruses and host plants. She uses molecular biology techniques to study the susceptibility of plants to viruses in crop plants and native New Zealand plants. She also studies bacterial genomics and taxonomy.

Selected works

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References

External links

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Science of mussels
', featuring Colleen Higgins and others, 9 March 2011, via YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Colleen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people New Zealand academics New Zealand women academics Academic staff of the Auckland University of Technology University of Queensland alumni Alumni of University College London Phytopathologists New Zealand women scientists