Dr Colin Barrow is Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair of Biotechnology at Deakin University. His research is focused on marine biotechnology and green chemistry in manufacturing. Professor Barrow has a Ph.D. in chemistry and an MBA, more than 350 peer-reviewed publications, several patents, and has presented at numerous conferences and workshops. He has served as a member of the Expert Advisory Committee for Canadian Natural Health Product Directorate (NHPD), the TGA Advisory Committee for Complementary Medicines and is a founding member of International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (ISNFF). Professor Barrow has two joint laboratories in China, one at Qingdao University and the other at Yunnan Minzu University, where he is a Guest Professor.

Senior Research Fellow, University of Waikato

Marie is a  biologist with a strong applied research focus and experience in the fields of applied algal biology and cultivation, biochemistry, and product development for food, feed, and human and animal health applications. As Program Leader for the Entrepreneurial Universities Macroalgal Biotechnology Programme, Marie leads a team focussing on the development of a sustainable seaweed aquaculture industry in NZ, the cultivation of freshwater and marine macroalgae for bioremediation of nutrient rich waste waters, and the development of novel bioproducts from the resulting biomass. Specific research interests are algal product development for food, feed, and human and animal health applications in circular bioeconomy models, and the use of seaweed for enteric methane mitigation in ruminants.

Associate Professor Griffith University & Manager of NatureBan

Rohan received a BSc (Hons) from the University of Melbourne (1992) and a PhD from Griffith University (2001); both degrees focused on marine chemistry. Rohan subsequently worked for 2 years at University of Utah on an anti-cancer drug discovery project before being recruited back to Griffith in 2003. His research involves all aspects of biodiscovery including the design and synthesis of unique screening libraries based on natural product scaffolds. Rohan has authored 157 publications, holds 2 patents, and for the past 5 years he has been part of the Aussie-Kiwi team that publishes the world-renowned and highly-cited annual marine natural products review in Natural Product Reports. He has led both industry and academic projects that have resulted in the identification of >1000 natural products from plant, marine invertebrate and microbial sources. A/Prof. Davis is the Manager of NatureBank, a unique Australian biodiscovery resource located at the Griffith.

2021 Recipient of the ANZMBS student marine biotechnology award (NZ Marine Science Society 2021 Conference)

Vanessa is a Waikato University PhD student funded by the 2018 Bruce Cronin Bay Trust Scholarship to study ways in which Māori moved marine shellfish from location to location. Vanessa was born in the Maungatapu area and attended Tauranga Girls College. She has completed a BSc in Marine Biology and an MSc in Research at Waikato University, and will use the scholarship to study for her PhD. Her research uses archaeological evidence to test hypotheses around the human-modified distribution of toheroa and to investigate the tools and methods used by Māori to translocate toheroa and other kaimoana. She aims to determine whether the Mātauranga of kaimoana translocation can inform contemporary restoration and management of depleted shellfish resources.

Professor & Head of the Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering Department, Massey University

Benoit holds a French Master in Chemical Engineering degree and a PhD in Engineering from Lund University, Sweden. He is currently the Head of the Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering Department of Massey University, New Zealand, where his research focuses on the development, modelling, and impact assessment of environmental biotechnologies with special emphasis on algae-based bioprocesses. He has contributed to the publication of more than 80 peer-reviewed articles that have been cited more than 8000 times. In his spare time, Prof. Guieysse founded NZ Algae Innovations Ltd, the only commercial spirulina farm in New Zealand (trading under Tahi Spirulina).

Professor in Bioprocessing & Marine Biotechnology, Director of the Flinders Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development (CMBD) & Director of the China-Australia Joint Laboratory for Native Bioresources Industry Innovation (CANBI2)

A Biochemical Engineer since 1989, he has a broad research interest in bioprocess engineering, marine bioproducts engineering, and industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnology. He obtained his PhD from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1994. In 2008 he won the “South Australia Young Tall Poppy Science Award”. He was the inaugural President of Australia-New Zealand Marine Biotechnology Society, and the Chair of Marine Biotechnology Subcommittee, Australian National Marine Science Committee.