Claudia Vickers

CSIRO

Claudia is Director of CSIRO’s Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform (SynBioFSP), a highly collaborative R&D program aimed at expanding Australia’s synthetic biology capability and developing national synthetic biology-based industry. The SynBioFSP works across disciplinary boundaries, exploring both synthetic biology innovation and the social, legal, ethical and institutional issues surrounding bringing this innovation to impact. Her personal research focuses on sustainable alternatives to petrochemicals and other industrial/agricultural products using bio-based solutions. She applies synthetic biology to engineer living cells, re-programming them for production of useful biochemicals or to act as sense/response systems for environmental monitoring and remediation. Her current work is primarily in microbes, but she has a background in plant molecular biology, abiotic stress, and applied plant engineering. She played a leading role in establishing synthetic biology as a field in Australia; she was founding President of Synthetic Biology Australia and co-authored Australia’s national synthetic biology roadmap (delivered by the Australian Council of Learned Academies). She is on the Executive of the International Society for Isoprenoids (TERPNET) and serves on editorial boards for eight international journals. She represents Australia at international strategy and policy fora (US, Asia-Pacific, OECD, World Economic Forum) and sits on the Scientific Advisory Boards for several international synthetic biology institutes and for Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). She co-chairs the World Economic Forum Synthetic Biology Future Council. She is experienced in working across disciplinary boundaries and with industry partners.

Professor Vickers holds a PhD from The University of Queensland and is an Adjunct Professor at Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University.

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