Professor German Spangenberg received his PhD from the University of Heidelberg and Max-Planck-Institute of Cell Biology in Ladenburg b. Heidelberg, Germany. He carried out postdoctoral research studies (plant cell biology, plant molecular biology, plant biotechnology) at the Max-Planck-Institute of Cell Biology and the Institute of Plant Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland. After this, he became Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at the Institute of Plant Sciences, ETH-Zürich. In 1995 he moved to Australia and is currently Institute Director of the Plant Biotechnology Centre, Agriculture Victoria, Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Adjunct Professor with the School of Botany at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Professor Spangenberg's research has largely centered on plant somatic cell genetics and on the molecular genetic manipulation of plants. He is recognized as the world authority on the genetic manipulation of pasture grasses and legumes and pasture plant genomics. Professor Spangenberg is also Director of the Centre for Sustainable Plant Production, Chair of the Victorian Microarray Technology Consortium, Node Leader of the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium, Program Leader of the CRC for Molecular Plant Breeding, and Director and Chief Scientific Officer for Phytogene Pty. Ltd |