Researchers feature in top one percent in the world

Professor Andrew Allan holds dual roles, as a professor of plant science in the Faculty of Science and as a lead researcher at the Crown Research Institute Plant and Food Research. He and his team have worked on many high-value crops such as apples, berries and kiwifruit.

With the University, he and his then doctoral candidate Richard Espley conclusively determined the gene that decides the red colour in apples. He is working on a five-year Endeavour funded project: 'The flowering crisis: confronting a changing climate’s threat to New Zealand’s tree crops'.

Professor Brent Copp, Faculty of Science, studies small pharmaceutical-like molecules from New Zealand marine organisms as inspiration for the development of new treatments for cancer and multi-drug-resistant bacterial infections.

Adjunct Professor Ed Gane, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, has made an outstanding contribution in the fields of hepatology and transplant medicine. He led drug trials to develop an anti-viral that can cure 95 percent of patients with chronic Hepatitis C and is now working on developing a finite cure for patients with chronic Hepatitis B.

Dr Kevin Trenberth, CNZM, from the Faculty of Science, is an honorary academic in the Department of Physics and a Distinguished Scholar at the National Center of Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. He was lead author of the 1995, 2001 and 2007 Scientific Assessment of Climate Change reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Dr Ziyun Wang, from the Faculty of Science, is a computational chemist specialising in theoretical catalysis and machine learning. His research group is at the forefront of exploring surface reactions in electrocatalysis, with a particular focus on carbon dioxide conversion to fuels and green hydrogen production from water. This work not only advances the understanding of elementary steps and reaction mechanisms, but also pioneers new avenues in renewable energy storage.

Dr Fan Zhu is a senior lecturer in chemical sciences in the Faculty of Science. His research sits at the intersection of chemistry and food science, with a focus on the chemistry of starch and its role in food quality, grain science, functional foods and moisture management to enhance food safety and quality.