Distinguished Professor James Dale is Director of the Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) which incorporates the Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuels Development, Sugar Research and Innovation (SRI) and Tropical Crops Biotechnology. The CTCB now consists of around 50 researchers as well as postgraduate students. It is a horizontally integrated, multidisciplinary centre focusing on tropical crops with expertise from gene discovery and genetic modification through to biomass fractionation, processing and value adding. Its facilities range from state–of–the–art molecular biology laboratories through small scale biomass processing labs to a major biomass pilot plant.
D/Prof Dale has been involved in biotechnology research for more than 25 years with specific interests in molecular farming for high value proteins in tobacco and bioethanol from sugarcane, the development of disease resistance in genetically modified bananas, papaya and sugarcane and the biofortification of bananas. His research team has developed a range of biotechnology methods and products for expressing transgenes in plants. He has also led research and development programs in the international arena most of which have been based in South East Asia and more recently in Africa.
D/Prof Dale is leading a major international $5 million Grand Challenges in Global Health Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop biofortified bananas for East Africa. The first GM banana field trials for this project and for disease resistance are to commence in the second half of 2008 in Australia.
In 2008, QUT and Syngenta AG formed a new collaborative centre, the Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuels Development, based within The Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities at QUT. This centre is staffed by both QUT and Syngenta scientists with the objective of developing economically competitive cellulosic ethanol using genetically modified sugarcane. Prof Dale is leading this initiative.
This information has been contributed by Distinguished Professor James Dale.
