Visit Henderson group webpage

Professor Ian Henderson is the Executive Director of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at The University of Queensland. In this role, he is responsible for developing the research strategy of an established, world-leading research institute with over 500 staff and students, fostering collaboration and raising the profile of the Institute and University internationally. 

Prior to becoming Executive Director, he was Deputy Director (Research) at IMB. Professor Henderson was previously the Director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at University of Birmingham from 2015-2018. 

He is a Professor of Microbial Biology who completed his Bachelor of Science (Hons) at University College Dublin and his PhD at Trinity College Dublin. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from The University of Birmingham. Professor Henderson is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology.

Professor Henderson's research interests focus on the cell surface of bacteria. This focus is based on the philosophy that the bacterial cell surface offers a rich source of molecules, which can be utilised and adapted to diagnose, prevent or treat infections that can lead to life-threatening disease in humans and animals.

His research group has three major themes exploiting a range of experimental techniques to address fundamental questions in the biology of host-pathogen interactions:

(1) Using biochemical and biophysical methodologies to study protein secretion in Gram negative bacteria
(2) using molecular biology, cellular biology and immunological methodologies to study the roles outer membrane proteins play in the interaction of pathogens with their hosts
(3) using genetic, structural, biochemical and biophysical techniques to understand the molecular basis for the integrity of the Gram-negative outer membrane.

Professor Henderson has published over 150 research papers, reviews and book chapters. He has an H-index of 62, and his publications have been cited over 15,000 times, with an average of 100 citations per paper. 

• Spotlight on Professor Ian Henderson

Highlights

Professor Ben Hankamer trained in applied biochemistry in Liverpool before exploring his interest in the development of environmental solutions to re-green deserts at the Desert Research Centre in Israel.

He has a keen interest in environmental protection and climate change. He completed his Masters in plant biotechnology at Wye College, London University before completing his PhD in structural biology. He wanted to understand how plants catch the sunlight and CO₂ and use these to produce the food, fuel and atmospheric oxygen which supports life on Earth. He discovered his research passion listening to a talk at the Royal Society in London on using algae to make hydrogen fuel from light and water, and it has been a major research focus ever since.

The Centre for Solar Biotechnology that he now directs develops advanced algae technologies for the production fuels, foods as well as a range of high value products including peptide therapeutics.

He was a recipient of an Eisenhower Fellowship, which allowed him to travel to the United States for seven weeks and engage with 2-3 industry partners per day. He is now the Director of the Centre for Solar Biotechnology at UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience.

His research focus is solar biotechnology and structural biology. He is designing high-efficiency microalgae systems to capture solar energy and CO₂ to make a range of products including food and fuel. By expanding our photosynthetic capacity on non-arable land, he believes we can harness the Sun's energy to fuel the world ‘s future energy needs.

Video

Connect