Dr. Manoj Kumar
Senior Research Fellow - Marine Vegetation Physiology and Ecology-703132School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences
0469784335 Mobile Phone
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Dr Manoj Kumar is a Senior Research Fellow in the Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre at CQUniversity with >15 years of experience in seaweed and seagrass aquaculture, ecophysiology, and molecular biology. Kumar’s research activities have been focused on a globally relevant topic – resilience of marine plants and algae including seaweeds, seagrasses and microalgae under global climate change using cutting-edge systems biology based ‘omics’ approaches. Kumar has significant experience in using these advance analytical tools including, 2D GCMS, HPLC, UHPLC- QqQ-MS and QToF-MS in biomarker discovery for seagrass health monitoring, algal stress physiology and algae biochemical profiling for health and nutrition research. Dr Kumar has been successful in attracting >A$ 2.5 million in research income as a chief investigator since 2015. Kumar’s research activities have been majorly supported and funded by Australian Research Council (ARC), Australian Academy of Sciences (AAS), Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), Marine Bioproducts Cooperative Research Centre (MBCRC), COAST4C, philanthropic (Julius Baer Foundation, Switzerland) and industry fundings. Kumar research activity has recently been broadened to develop green sustainable tools for seaweed biomass processing in spectrum of products including bioplastic, biofertilizers and biomaterials and their characterization using advance chemistry analytical tool.
Kumar is actively involved with several startups, entrepreneurs, and businesses to offer research support and direction on seaweed aquaculture, seagrass restoration and seaweed processing for product creations in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.
Kumar is the recipient of ARC- DECRA and Thomas Davies Research Award - Australian Academy of Sciences. He was honored twice with the Australia- China Young Scientists Exchange Award – Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE; 2018 and 2019) and has been the recipient of several prestigious postdoctoral fellowships. His research findings were highlighted on the cover of the journal New Phytologist. He has published (>50) high impact research articles and book chapters. He recently edited a book entitled “Systems Biology of Marine ecosystems” (Springer Publishers, 2018). He actively reviews research grants submitted to the Australian Research Council (ARC - Linkage, Discovery and Industry research). Kumar is the President of – Australasian Society for Phycology and Aquatic Botany (ASPAB), editorial board member for the journal Phycologia and the Guest Editor for the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, and Plants (MDPI).
Universities Worked At
University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Agriculture Research Organisation (ARO), Israel
Ben-Gurion University (BGU), Israel
Media Citations
2024 -Industry News -Food and Beverages Magazine - CQUni is researching warm water seaweed as sustainable solution
2023- MBCRC News Story, Overcoming propagule supply bottlenecks for seaweed production
2023- Interviewed by Dr. Zozan Balci (Social Justice Advocate): Making an impact through community-led research: the SEAweed-Tech project
2021- UTS Newsroom Story, New wave of funding for UTS seaweed bioplastics
2020- UTS Newsroom Story, SEAweed Tech Bio-plastic manufacture
2019 – Mentor for Deep Green Biotech Hub (DGBH) Green Light Accelerator Program
2018 - UTS Newsroom Story, Young scientist exchange program fosters AUS-China collaboration
Professional Experience
· President- Australasian Society of Phycology & Aquatic Botany (ASPAB)
· Advisory Expert, Mentor & Consultant- For seaweed cultivation and processing to SMEs including – COAST4C (Phillipines); BAHARI Agro (Indonesia), Sea Health Products; Clean Eyre Global (Australia)
· Editorial board member- Guest Editor, Journal MDPI and, Frontiers in Marine Science
· Invited Journal Reviewer- >15 scientific journals including New Phytologist, Scientific Reports, Algal Research, Marine Drugs, Frontiers in Plant Science, Applied Phycology
· Conference Organizer- International Plant Proteomics Organisation (INPPO-18); Australian Society of Phycology & Aquatic Botany (ASPAB)
· Grant Reviewer- Australian Research Council (ARC-DP, Linkage, DECRA),
· Executive Board Member - International Plant Proteomics Organisation (INPPO); Australian Society of Phycology & Aquatic Botany (ASPAB)
· Conference Session Chair- 24th International Seaweed Symposium (ISS-2023)
· Scientific Society Member- International Seaweed Association (ISA), Phycomorph, ASPAB, INPPO
· Subject Co-ordinator- Environmental Biotechnology (91818), University of Technology Sydney
Professional Memberships
· International Seaweed Association (ISA)
· Australian Society of Phycology & Aquatic Botany (ASPAB)
· Australian Sustainable Seaweed Alliance (ASSA)
· International Plant Proteomics Organisation (INPPO)
Responsibilities
• Industry engagement – Seaweed Aquaculture Research
• Lead Seagrass and Seaweed Research Projects - Ecophysiology, Aquaculture, Omics
• Strategy Development for National and International R&D collaboration
• HDR student supervision
• Engagements with Local Industry and Regional Councils for GBR restoration projects
• Publish research findings in high impact scholarly journals.
Professional Interests
Kumar is actively involved with several startups, entrepreneurs, and businesses to offer research support and direction on seaweed aquaculture and seaweed processing for product creations in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way.
Key Achievements
Kumar has been successful in attracting >AUD $2 million in research income, including 5 postdoctoral fellowships (one ARC DECRA); and competitive research grants. He awarded >80% of research grants as a sole CI.
Industry Reports
FRDC Final Report (Overcoming Propagule Supply Bottlenecks for Seaweed Production)
Editor
Guest Associate Editor - Frontiers in Marine Science
Associate Editor - Phycologia (Topic - Physiology, Ecophysiology and Cell Biology)
Scaling Seagrass Restoration on the Great Barrier Reef (CHR-AG-BC-002)
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Scheme: GO6437 - Reef Coastal Restoration Program THRU Great Barrier Reef Foundation
Total Funding: $1,227,426.00
Investigate the suitability of J-Power concrete substrates for maximising settlement, survival and RGR in the young gametophyte stages of an isolate of Asparagopsis taxiformis.
Grant: Contract Research (Category 3: Industry and Other)
Funding Scheme: Electric Power Development Co., Ltd (J-Power) - Contract Research
Total Funding: $50,035.00
Protoplast-Based Mariculture Solutions for scalable Asparagopsis farming (2023-166)
Grant: Competitive Grant (Category 2: Other Public Sector)
Funding Scheme: Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)
Total Funding: $50,000.00
Biochemistry and Cell Biology - Proteomics and Intermolecular Interactions (excl. Medical Proteomics)
Ecology - Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
Plant Biology - Phycology (incl. Marine Grasses)
Climate change impacts and adaptation - Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation