Roger Hull
From BINAS
Prof. Dr. Roger Hull (UK)
Expertise:
- Plant molecular biology
- Plant virology
- Tropical crops
Current Affiliation:
- Emeritus Fellow, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney, Norwich, UK
Research Area:
Prof. Dr. Roger Hull graduated in Botany at Cambridge University in 1960 gained a PhD in Plant Pathology at the University of London in 1964 and was awarded a DSc in Plant Virology by the University of London in 1980. Other awards include Honorary Professorships at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK and at Peking University, China, an Honorary Doctorate at the University of Perpignan, France and Fellowship of the American Phytopathological Society. His career started as a Demonstrator/Assistant Lecturer in Plant Pathology and Agricultural Botany at Wye College, University of London. He then went as a Scientific Researcher to the Virus Research Unit at Cambridge and moved to the John Innes Institute until his retirement in 1997 when he was awarded an Emeritus Fellowship.
His initial training was as a plant pathologist studying the epidemiology and identification of plant viruses. On moving to Cambridge and then to John Innes his interests changed to the structure and composition of viruses. In 1974, he spent a sabbatical year in Davis, California and became involved in the very early development of molecular biology. On return to the UK he applied molecular biological techniques to the study of plant viruses, especially those of rice and banana. As well as a desire for basic knowledge, he is interested in the possibilities that such knowledge could be used in designing resistance in plants to virus infection. Coupled with investigating new approaches to making plants resistant to viruses he had projects on the assessment of possible risks accruing from the field release of plants transformed with viral nucleic acid sequences. One of his main thrusts is the application of the results and techniques from modern approaches to plant virology to the end user in developing countries. In his retirement at the statutory age he became involved in the full application of this technology to developing countries by being involved in studies as how the basic problems could be overcome. He has been involved with the UNIDO biosafety course since its inception.
He has more than 250 scientific publications and has written the standard plant virus text book.
Address:
John Innes Institute
Norwich
NR8 5DD
United Kingdom
Telephone: +44-0160-3450299
Email: roger.hull@bbsrc.ac.uk
