Associate Professor Tim O’Hare
The University of Queensland, Australia
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
Centre for Nutrition and Food Sciences

My scientific research discipline is plant physiology, which overlaps considerably with plant biochemistry and molecular biology, and more lately with human nutrition. My particular interest in carotenoids started in 2007, when a plant-breeding colleague told me about high-lycopene tomatoes and the potential link with a lower incidence of prostate cancer. Since then, my interest expanded to the macular carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, and their relationship with eye and brain health. As a plant physiologist, the potential to increase nutrient density of carotenoids in several key crops seemed a beneficial outcome of plant science to human nutrition. I have subsequently conducted projects in developing a number of carotenoid-biofortified crops, including ‘deep-pink’ high-lycopene tomatoes, zeaxanthin-biofortified sweetcorn, and zeaxanthin-biofortified popcorn. The upside of working with carotenoids is the beautiful colours that they bring to our dinner plates and knowing that the compounds responsible for these intense colours are also good for our health. In 2015, my team and I were awarded a national science innovation prize for the development of zeaxanthin-biofortified sweetcorn for macular degeneration, which we named ‘SuperGold’, which is now undergoing commercialisation.     

My first involvement with the ICS was attending the Gordon Carotenoid Conference in Ventura (2009), where I was lucky enough to meet Prof. George Britton and a number of other well-known names in the carotenoid community. This exposure was convincing enough to apply for membership of the ICS, which harbours an impressive group of people, both young and old. My students and I have subsequently attended and presented at the International Carotenoid Symposia in Utah (2014), Lucerne (2017), and most recently at the Virtual online conference this year (2021). In addition, I have also been lucky enough to attend the Gordon Carotenoid Conference in Barga (2016) and the Macular Carotenoid Conferences (now BON Conference) in Cambridge in 2013, 2015, and 2018.      

As an ICS council member, I would like to encourage increased collaboration between carotenoid researchers in different parts of the world, and especially encourage inter-disciplinary cooperation across different carotenoid disciplines.  

I currently lead the ‘Naturally Nutritious’ program at the University of Queensland, which involves cross-disciplinary research across plant physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology, and human nutrition. One of key research areas is carotenoid research, including biofortification, understanding carotenoid accumulation in plants, as well as bioaccessibility/bioavailability of these carotenoids to human digestion. Apart from the Naturally Nutritious program, I am currently the Vice-Chair of the International Society of Horticultural Science division: Horticulture for Human Health. This is an international role which includes coordination and assisting the biennial International FAVHealth Symposium, on the effects of fruit and vegetable phytonutrients on human health.