A CSIRO medal.
CSIRO 2010 Research Achievement Medal recipients
The CSIRO Medal for Research Achievement recognises exceptional research of CSIRO scientists or teams. Read about the accomplishments of our latest recipients.
- 12 October 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011
BARLEYmax™ Science Team
The BARLEYmax™ Science Team received this award for their interdisciplinary research effort across plant genetics and human nutrition to develop and commercialise BARLEYmax™, a novel grain developed with substantiated health benefits and high consumer acceptance.
The science underpinning BARLEYmax™ builds on CSIRO’s leadership in plant genetics and human nutrition to deliver a novel natural ingredient for the food industry to utilise in delivering consumer products with substantiated benefits for human health.
The science program originated from recognition of the important role played by dietary fibre, specifically a type of fibre known as resistant starch, in human health.
Consumption of resistant starch has been shown to improve biomarkers for bowel and metabolic health, but this food constituent is virtually absent in modern consumer foods.
The science team targeted barley as an underutilised food grain with great potential.
They identified a novel genetic mechanism for simultaneously increasing resistant starch and total dietary fibre levels in the grain, and then conducted an extensive series of nutrition substantiation trials in animals and humans, utilising cutting edge biomarkers, to demonstrate the health benefits of foods containing BARLEYmax.
Team members:
- Dr Matthew Morell
- Dr David Topping
- Dr Zhongyi Li
- Dr Tony Bird
- Mr Mark Cmiel
- Mr Russel Heywood
- Mr Roger King
- Dr Peter Chandler
- Dr Steven Jobling
- Dr Ian Batey
- Dr Manny Noakes
- Dr Behjat Kosar-Hashemi
- Dr Sadiq Rahman
- Ms Michelle Vuaran
- Ms Sylvia Usher
- Ms Hong Wang.
The Omega-3 Land Plants Team
The Omega-3 Land Plants Team received the award for research leading to the development of an alternative and sustainable source of essential long-chain omega-3 EPA and DHA oils in canola. These omega-3 oils are important in a range of human health conditions including cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disease and brain function.
The positive health effects of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, such as those found in fish oil, are widely known and have been linked with a range of serious health conditions including heart disease, inflammatory disease and brain function.
Most experts agree we need 500 milligrams of omega-3 per day, but current average Australian daily intakes fall well short at around 150 milligrams per day. Seafood is currently the main source of these oils, but the prospect of increasing global seafood harvests to meet growing demand is limited. Alternate sources are required and the most promising of these is the engineering of a land-based crop which is both sustainable and affordable.
The Food Futures Flagship Omega-3 Land Plants Team is developing an omega-3 DHA canola crop which will sustainably meet the growing demand for this important fatty acid.
Team members:
- Dr Surinder Singh
- Dr James Petrie
- Dr Peter Nichols
- Dr Stan Robert
- Dr Xue-Rong Zhou
- Dr Matthew Morell
- Dr Allan Green
- Dr Qing Liu
- Dr Pushkar Shrestha
- Dr Sue Blackburn
- Dr Peter Mansour
- Dr Craig Wood
- Dr Matthew Miller
- Mr Dion Frampton
- Dr Chakra Wijesundera
- Dr Soressa Kitessa
- Ms Anne Mackenzie
- Mr Adam White
- Mr Lijun Tian
- Dr Mahinda Abeywardena
- Dr Rob Defeyter
- Mr Lindsay Adler.
Read more about CSIRO CSIRO Awards.
