Dr. Howard Griffiths
Current Position
Co-Chair, Cambridge Global Food Security Interdisciplinary Research Centre
Head, Physiological Ecology Group
Professor of Plant Ecology
University of Cambridge
Academic Advisory Board, Plaksha University
Education
University of Dundee (PhD Botany)
Bio
Dr Howard Griffiths is the Professor of Plant Ecology at Cambridge University and Fellow of Clare College. Dr Griffiths is passionate about communicating the importance of plants, with over 150 primary research papers exploring their physiological ecology and associated molecular processes.
His research integrates molecular methods, laboratory experimentation and fieldwork to define the distribution of natural vegetation, crop productivity and water use. His particular interest includes the enzyme Rubisco, fundamental for life on earth, and the requirement for carbon concentrating mechanisms such as the C4 and CAM pathways, and the algal CCM, to improve the efficiency of carbon assimilation.
His Physiological Ecology Research Group has been investigating the impact of climate change on past and present plant distribution, with an emphasis on polar bryophytes and tropical epiphytes in Trinidad. They are also working on research into the molecular basis of algal photosynthesis, and the potential to increase crop productivity.
He is the Co-Chair of Cambridge Global Food Security Interdisciplinary Research Centre and with the Strategic Advisory Group for the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), as well as the advisor to the Vice Chancellor on the University’s strategic relationship with India.
Awards
- Fellow, Royal Society of Biology, 2014
- Fellow, Linnaean Society, 2015
