Food & Nutrition Security – The Biosecurity, Health, Trade Nexus

13-14 December 2021, Canberra

Dr TJ Higgins AO FAA FTSE

Honorary Fellow, CSIRO Food and Agriculture and 2021 Crawford Fund Medal Winner

TJ Higgins is an Honorary Research Fellow at CSIRO Agriculture and Food and was awarded the 2021 Crawford Fund Medal for his national and international leadership of agricultural biotechnology research and its application to improved food security via the development of insect resistant cowpeas.  He has had an illustrious career as a scientist, leader and mentor. His major research focus is the application of gene technology for plant improvement. He is particularly interested in protecting food legumes from insect pests and enhancing the nutritional quality of plant products for feed and food uses. Most of his current work is aimed at increasing food security in Africa and South Asia.

Originally from Ireland, Higgins’ first degrees were in agricultural science from the National University of Ireland. He gained a PhD from the University of California, Davis and moved to Australia as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Australian National University. Shortly after, he joined CSIRO Plant Industry, from which he retired as a Chief Research Scientist and Deputy Chief. TJ has also, via the Crawford Fund, brought West African GM regulators to Australia for training by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and is a long-term member of the ACT Crawford Fund Committee.