Barbara Ann Halkier

Barbara Ann Halkier is a Professor in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Life Sciences. She serves as Coordinator of the DynaMo Center and holds a Villum Investigator position since 2021. Her academic journey includes progression from Assistant Professor to full Professor at the University of Copenhagen, with significant leadership roles including Head of the DNRF Center of Excellence for Dynamic Molecular Interactions (2012-2022).

Her research focuses on glucosinolates as model specialized metabolites to study cellular and organismal biology. Glucosinolates are amino acid-derived plant compounds in Brassicales (including broccoli, oilseed rape, and Arabidopsis) with dual roles in plant defense and human health applications. Current research emphasizes bioengineering glucosinolates for improved nutrition and crop resistance, investigating glucosinolate metabolons, identifying transporters, and developing USER technology. Her work bridges fundamental plant biology with agricultural applications through pathway and transport engineering.

Halkier's research portfolio demonstrates consistent thematic focus with recent publications (2023-2025) centered on glucosinolate transport mechanisms, seed accumulation, and microbial interactions. Key trends include elucidating transporter cascades (UMAMIT-GTR), engineering bacterial systems for enzyme expression, and exploring plant-microbe symbiosis. Her work spans molecular characterization to agricultural applications, with significant contributions to understanding how plants dynamically regulate defensive metabolites.

• Elected to EMBO (2019)
• Plant Innovation Prize, Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society (2019)
• Member of The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters (2014-2018)
• University of Copenhagen Innovation Award (2013)
• Danish Research Result of the Year (2012)

Halkier has secured substantial research funding through multiple leadership roles, including coordination of the DNRF Center of Excellence, Danish Strategic Council projects, DANIDA grants with Peruvian partners, Nordic grants, and EU Marie Curie fellowships. Her research group actively engages in knowledge dissemination through public outreach activities including numerous high school visits and media contributions focused on GMOs, sustainable agriculture, and plant science. She leads the Molecular Plant Biology section which investigates cellular transport systems and metabolic networks in plants.