Dr Owain Edwards

Dr Owain Edwards obtained a BSc in Zoology from the University of Guelph in 1986. He was awarded his MSc in Entomology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA, in 1989 and his PhD in Entomology from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 1994. Prior to joining CSIRO in 1998, Dr Edwards undertook postdoctoral studies at the University of Florida and the US Department of Agriculture to study ecological and genetic factors controlling the establishment of natural enemies in classical biological control programs.

As a Project Leader in CSIRO based in Perth, Western Australia, his research has focused primarily on the physiological and molecular bases of aphid-host plant interactions, leading to board membership in the International Aphid Genomics Consortium (IAGC) and strong collaborations with the Institute of Zoology (CAS Beijing), Kansas State University (USA), INRA Rennes (France) and BGI Shenzhen (China). His work on aphids has broadened to examine the molecular basis of all aphid interactions with their environment, including the genetic and epigenetic factors controlling aphid polyphenism and the molecular basis of insecticide resistance. He is now applying is expertise in insect genomics to lead CSIRO research programs in genetic pest control technologies and invertebrate ecotoxicology. Most recently, Dr Edwards has taken on the role of Domain Leader for "Environment and Biocontrol" in CSIRO's Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform.