Juan Ferré

I received my Ph.D. in Chemistry by the University of Valencia (UV), Spain, with the work “Study of the pteridines and quinolines from Drosophila melanogaster eyes”, which was carried out in both the Department of Genetics of the UV and the Biology Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge (Tennessee, USA). I did my postdoctoral studies in the Department of Reproductive Genetics of the Magee Womens Hospital (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA). I became Professor of Genetics in 2000, and served as Head of the Department of Genetics of the UV for 7 years. Since 1989, I had sabbatical leaves at the University of Hawaii and the Univ. of Tenessee (USA), and at Plant Genetic Systems (Belgium). I’m currently Director of the Research Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine of the UV (BIOTECMED). In 2016 I received, from the Consell Social of the Universitat de València, the “Award Research and Development” in the frame of the XXI Edition of Awards University-Society. I published more than 160 papers in peer reviewed scientific journals and have an h-index of 40. My current research interests are (i) to understand the biochemical and genetic bases of insect resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins, (ii) to study the mode of action of Bt toxins, and (iii) to find novel Bt strains and insecticidal protein genes for the development of Bt-based insecticides to control agricultural insect pests. In my free time, I am a dedicated birdwatcher and serve as President of the Societat Valenciana d’Ornitologia.