Cathie’s research interests lie in using plant science to improve human diet and health.

She is particularly interested in biofortification and using plant metabolic engineering to enhance foods nutritionally.

Much of Cathie’s work has been undertaken in tomatoes, enriching their nutrient content with, for example, resveratrol and anthocyanin.

Cathie collaborates to test these enhanced foods in intervention studies and also undertakes studies into how these modified fruits have improved shelf-life and reduced susceptibility to grey mould, Botrytis cinerea.

• Biofortification of fruit and vegetables for human health
• Metabolic engineering to enhance phytonutrients such as anthocyanins and resveratrol
• Improving the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables

Cathie and her group have recently been co-ordinating research into the relationship between diet and health, and how crops can be fortified to improve diets and address the global challenge of escalating chronic disease. This work has involved linking leading clinical and epidemiological researchers with plant breeders and metabolic engineers to develop scientific understanding of how diet can help to maintain health, lead to healthy ageing and reduce the risk of chronic disease.