Professor Claudia Vickers

Biography

Professor Vickers is a synthetic biologist with over 25 years’ experience in academia, government research, and industry. She has worked with Australian federal and state governments and NGOs to develop biotechnology policy and strategy, and often represents Australia in international fora. She was founding Chair of Synthetic Biology Australia, inaugural Director of CSIRO’s synthetic biology program, served on the Executive of the Global Biofoundaries Alliance, provided advice to the OECD, and co-chaired the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Synthetic Biology. She has worked in start-ups and provided consulting to established international companies. She holds advisory board positions for Food Standards Australia New Zealand and numerous international synthetic biology initiatives, as well as holding editorial positions for international peer-reviewed journals. She is currently Director at BioBuilt Solutions and has Adjunct Professor roles at Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University.

Professor Vickers' research program at Queensland University of Technology focuses on engineering yeast and other microorganisms to create sustainable replacements for food ingredients, industrial chemicals, and materials using precision fermentation. She is particularly focussed on the metabolic regulation and engineering of the isoprenoid (terpenoid) group of natural products and on development of synthetic biology tools to redirect carbon flux at different metabolic nodes.