Howard Griffiths (scientist)

Howard Griffiths is a physiological ecologist.^[3] He is professor of plant ecology in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge,^[4] and a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge.^[3][5] He formerly worked for the University of Dundee in the Department of Biological Sciences.^[6] He applies molecular biology techniques and physiology to investigate the regulation of photosynthesis and plant water-use efficiency.

Howard Griffiths
Born	1953 (age 71–72)[1]
Scientific career
Fields	Plant Physiological Ecology
Institutions	University of Cambridge University of Dundee[2]
Website	www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/research/howardgriffiths

Research

Griffiths' specializations include:

• Responses to climate change, reflected by his membership of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Science (CCfCS).^[7]
• Global food security, a University of Cambridge Research Theme.^[8]
• Conservation and bioenergy crops,^[3] through his membership to the Cambridge Conservation Initiative.^[9]

Griffiths has a particular interest in introducing the dynamics of plant processes without the need for time-lapse photography. His lectures demonstrate how the spatial segregation of photosystem 1 and photosystem 2 creates a highly dynamic system with lateral mobility and migration of damaged photosynthetic reaction centers through thylakoid membranes.^{[citation needed]}

He studies the reaction mechanism of RuBisCO and how plants have evolved.^[3] His primary focus being the types of "carbon dioxide concentrating mechanisms" (CCMs) which enhance the operating efficiency of RuBisCO and thereby carbon dioxide fixation.^[3][5] CCMs of interest include crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), the biochemical C₄ pathway, and the biophysical CCM found within algae, cyanobacteria and hornworts.^[3][5]

He uses stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen to compare how different types of plants have evolved their own methods of photosynthesis.^[3][5] Study of these isotopes can also analyse the water use of plants and insects.^[3][5]

He collaborated on an international project investigating the possibility of introducing the algal CCM into terrestrial plants called the Combining Algal and Plant Photosynthesis project (CAPP).^{[10][11][12][13]} In 2016, they achieved successful results^[14] and they now hope to implement this technique to increase the rate of photosynthesis in plants and hence increase crop yields.^[14]

His goal in his work is not only to discover new molecular and ecological insights but then use those insights to sustain plant diversity and combat climate change.^[3]

As part of his work, Griffiths has been a visiting research fellow to the Australian National University in 2006 and 2008.^[5] He is part of peer review for the National Environmental Research Council.^[5][15] He has also conducted many field work expeditions to countries including Trinidad, Venezuela, and Panama, as part of his research.^[3][5]

As of 2021^[update], his projects^ focus on:

• "Food security: sustainability and equality in crop production systems" - in collaboration with the Global Food Security Interdisciplinary Research Centre^[4]
• "Defining the algal chloroplast pyrenoid" - a continuation of his RuBisCO work.^[4]
• "Carbon assimilation and hydraulic constraints in C3, C4 and CAM systems"^[4]
• "Epiphyte environmental interactions and climate change" - focussing on samples collected during field work^[4]

Publications

Griffiths has a blog documenting his and his students' research in physiological ecology.^[16]

He is the author, co-author or editor of several textbooks and monographs,^[1] including The Carbon Balance of Forest Biomes with Paul Gordon Jarvis.^[17]

According to Google Scholar^[18] and Scopus,^[19] his most highly cited peer-reviewed publications were in The Journal of Experimental Botany,^[20][21] Oecologia,^[22] New Phytologist,^[23] and Functional Plant Biology.^[24]