Biography
Professor Harvey Millar did his BSc (Hons) and PhD (1997) in
plant biochemistry and molecular biology at the Australian
National University in Canberra. He has previously held
fellowships at The University of Oxford (HFSPO) and at UWA (ARC
APD, ARC QEII), and is currently a full-time researcher at UWA,
funded as an ARC Australian Professorial Fellow. Prof Millar
serves on the Editorial Board of The Journal of Biological
Chemistry, Journal of Proteomics, and BMC Plant Methods.
Research Interests:
Respiration is the process of oxygen consumption and carbon
dioxide evolution that yields energy for the growth, development
and reproduction of all eukaryotic cells and also many
prokaryotic organisms.
Prof Millar's research group is situated in the ARC Centre of Excellence in
Plant Energy Biology
Mitochondria are the intracellular organelle responsible for
the process of respiration in eukaryotes. Prof Millar's group
investigates a range of mitochondrial functions in higher plants
using a combination of biochemical and molecular approaches, how
these functions are modulated by developmental cues and how they
adapt to adverse environmental conditions. Studying mitochondrial
function in Arabidopsis, rice and wheat provides a foundation for
manipulating plant stress tolerance, plant performance in altered
environments and the use of mitochondria as biofactories in plant
cells for the synthesis of vitamins.
Key recent reviews:
Millar, A.H., Whelan, J., Small, I. Recent
surprises in protein targeting to mitochondria and plastids.
Current Opinion in Plant Biology 9: pp 610-615 (2006)
Millar, A.H., Heazlewood, J.L., Kristensen, B., Bruan, H.P.,
Moller, I.M. The Plant Mitochondrial Proteome.
Trends in Plant Science 10: pp 36-43 (2005)
Current Research
Techniques/expertise:
- Organelle isolation from plants
- Proteome analysis: 2D gel electrophoresis, image analysis,
protein identification by mass spectrometry
- Protein purification: gel filtration, ion exchange,
SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, BN-PAGE electrophoresis, native PAGE
electrophoresis, western blotting
- Enzymology of mitochondrial proteins and antioxidant
defence systems
- Respiration measurement: whole tissues, isolated
organelles, in liquid and gas phase, using voltammetric
electrodes and GC-MS
- Bioenergetics: O2 electrode, Q electrode analysis of
mitochondrial ETC function.
Current PhD Students
Jason Ito- protein phosphorylation in plant mitochondria
Adam Carroll- plant metabolomics and ribosome proteomics
Yew-Foon Tan- plant mitochondria metallomics
Alex Lee - heterogeneity of the plant mitochondrial proteome
Julian Tonti-Filippini - Genomic visualisation and proteogenomic
mapping
Tiago Tomaz - Plant mitochondrial oxidative stress tolerance
For PhD or Honours student project enquiries, please email Professor Millar
Post-doctoral and Independent Researchers
Dr Boris Baer (ARC QEII Fellow)
Dr Nicolas Taylor (ARC Australian Post-Doctoral Fellow)
Dr Holger Eubel (ARC Australian Post-Doctoral Fellow)
Dr Etienne Meyer (Research Associate)
Dr Shaobai Huang (Research Associate)
Funding
Prof Millar's research is funded by the Australian Research
Council through the Discovery, Linkage and Centre's
Programmes.
Awards
• Peter Goldacre Medal from the Australian Society for
Plant Scientists (ASPS 2003)
• Premier's Prize for Early Career Achievement in Science
for Western Australia (2003)
• Science Minister's Prize for Australian Life Scientist of
the Year (2005), one of the Prime Minister's Science Prizes.
Teaching
GENE3330 Molecular Genetics and Genomics
BIOC3351 Molecular and Structural Biochemistry
IMED1100 Normal Systems
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