| Christine Helen Foyer | |
| Birth Date: | 1952 10, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England |
| Field: | Biochemistry |
| Work Institution: | University of Leeds |
| Alma Mater: | King's College London University of Portsmouth |
| Academic Advisors: | Barry Halliwell |
| Known For: | redox, glutathione, ascorbate, photosynthesis |
| Prizes: | Redox Pioneer |
Christine Helen Foyer (born 3 October 1952) is professor of plant science at the University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. She is President Elect of the Association of Applied Biologists, the General Secretary of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biologists, an elected Board Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists and a Member of the French Academy of Agriculture. She has published and co-authored many papers on related subjects.
Foyer's name is included in the "Foyer–Halliwell–Asada" pathway, a cellular process of hydrogen peroxide metabolism in plants and animals and named for the three principal discoverers.
Foyer attended Portsmouth Polytechnic (now the University of Portsmouth) from 1971–74, achieving a BSc with Class II, Division I Honours in Biology (CNAA).
From 1974–77 she attended the Department of Biochemistry, King's College London, where she completed her PhD. During this time Foyer also attended a course on immunology at Chelsea College, London.
In 1998 Foyer was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Biology.
Foyer researches plant growth regulation and development under optimal circumstances and in conditions of stress (caused by, for example, lack of water, low temperatures, high light, infestation by aphids). Her work has a special focus on how cellular reduction/oxidation (redox), homeostasis and signalling interact with phytohormone–mediated pathways, particularly involving abscisic acid, auxin and strigolactones. Her research is centered on ascorbate and glutathione as key regulators of plant responses to stress and on how redox processes associated with primary metabolism particularly photosynthesis and respiration regulate gene expression.
The department addresses research problems of intrinsic scientific interest but is always mindful of the needs of agriculture and food security. In addition to undertaking fundamental studies on model plant species such as Arabidopsis thaliana, research in the Foyer lab includes work which relates the research findings, particularly in relation to enhancing stress tolerance, to crop species such as soybean, maize and barley.