He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. (hons) in Botany, and his Ph.D. in Plant Biotechnology from The University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. His research interests include oxidative stress and redox biology, plant based foods and bioactive molecules, plant breeding and biotechnology, cryopreservation of germplasm, and the stress biology of plants, animals and algae. He has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has edited 2 books.