Richard Newcomb

Biography

Richard Newcomb – Plant & Food Research

Richard is responsible for science quality, science strategy, strategic collaborations and science capability development within Plant & Food Research. He also oversees the organisation’s fundamental research, which is focused on strategies toward feeding the future food demand from the growing megacities of the world. We call this area Ngā Pou Rangahau – Growing Futures.  

Richard completed his BSc and MSc in Zoology at the University of Auckland, followed by a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Australian National University based at the CSIRO in Canberra. He has broad research interests focused on the biology, genetics and evolution of odour sensing in animals, is a co-author on over 100 publications and an inventor on five patents. Richard is Associate Editor for the Journal of Chemical Ecology and on the editorial boards of the journals, Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Chemical Senses. He is currently a member of the Marsden Council at the Royal Society of New Zealand, Te Aparangi.