Dr RICHARD HASLAM

BIOGRAPHY

Richard is a senior research scientist at Rothamsted Research. His main interest is in plant metabolism, specifically the modification of seed oils. Working in the emerging field of lipidomics, which studies the pathways and networks of cellular lipids in biological systems on a large scale, he investigates the dynamics of cellular lipids and the changes that occur in plants during development or perturbation. With the evolution of sophisticated mass spectrometers linked to highly efficient liquid chromatography systems, individual molecular species of lipids can now be isolated and identified, providing a new window onto this most diverse family of chemicals. Knowledge of how plants control lipid metabolism provides an opportunity to enhance human nutrition, as well as production of lubricants, detergents and chemical feedstocks in seeds.