Dr James Cowley
ARC Grant-Funded Researcher (A)
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am an early career researcher with expertise in plant science and food science. I recently (Oct 2020) completed my PhD in the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine under the supervision of Prof. Rachel Burton and Dr Tina Bianco-Miotto where I explored natural variation in the seed composition of the Plantago genus as a source of novel food ingredients and nutritional supplements. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Researcher developing breeding and characterisation technologies for elite psyllium (P. ovata) varieties through an ARC Linkage Grant with Dr Schär, Europe's largest gluten-free food manufacturer.
More broadly my research interests are focussed on the valorisation of novel and
underutilised crops including Plantago, Salvia, industrial hemp and sorghum. We know our lab's favourite plants could never replace wheat or rice, but I am interested in how we could supplement traditionally nutrient-poor staples like bread or pasta with these incredibly nutrient-dense seeds that could be produced on marginal lands of Australia. I also have a keen interest in the relationship between dietary fibre structure and both in-food and in vivo functions.
I am very passionate about science education, science communication (follow me on twitter at @jamesmcowley!) and citizen science. In 2017, I was honoured to be recognised by the University of Adelaide for my work with Children's University's Regional Lecture Series program and awarded the Vice Chancellor's Student Volunteer of the Year Award. Watch the video below by Children's University Australia where I talk about study, making mistakes and following your passion.
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Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2018 Scholarship Farrer Memorial Travelling Scholarship Australia 2018 Scholarship Barr Smith Travelling Scholarship in Agriculture University of Adelaide Australia 2018 Award 2017 Student Volunteer of the Year Award The University of Adelaide Australia 2016 Scholarship School of Agriculture, Food and Wine Honours Scholarship The University of Adelaide 2015 Scholarship Crawford Fund Scholarship -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2017 - 2020 The University of Adelaide Australia PhD 2016 The University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Science with First-Class Honours in Plant Science 2015 The University of Adelaide Australia Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2022 Cowley, J. M., McNeil, D. L., Lui, K. Y., Barsby, J. P., Ciani, S., Cerne, V., & Burton, R. A. (2022). Rain events at maturity severely impact the seed quality of psyllium (Plantago ovata Forssk). Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 208(4), 567-581.
2022 Gill, A. R., Loveys, B. R., Cowley, J. M., Hall, T., Cavagnaro, T. R., & Burton, R. A. (2022). Physiological and morphological responses of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) to water deficit. Industrial Crops and Products, 187, 115331.
Scopus12022 Burton, R. A., Andres, M., Cole, M., Cowley, J. M., & Augustin, M. A. (2022). Industrial hemp seed: from the field to value-added food ingredients.. Journal of cannabis research, 4(1), 45.
2021 Cowley, J. M., & Burton, R. A. (2021). The goo-d stuff: plantago as a myxospermous model with modern utility. New Phytologist, 229(4), 1917-1923.
Scopus6 WoS6 Europe PMC22021 Cowley, J. M., O’Donovan, L. A., & Burton, R. A. (2021). The composition of Australian Plantago seeds highlights their potential as nutritionally-rich functional food ingredients. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 12692-1-12692-16.
Scopus7 WoS5 Europe PMC22021 Barsby, J. P., Cowley, J. M., Leemaqz, S. Y., Grieger, J. A., McKeating, D. R., Perkins, A. V., . . . Bianco-Miotto, T. (2021). Nutritional properties of selected superfood extracts and their potential health benefits. PeerJ, 9, e12525-1-e12525-20.
Scopus12020 Cowley, J. M., Herliana, L., Neumann, K., Silvano, C., Cerne, V., & Burton, R. (2020). A small-scale extraction pipeline for rapid analysis of seed mucilage characteristics. Plant Methods, 16(10), 1-12.
Scopus8 WoS9 Europe PMC32020 Phan, J., Cowley, J., Neumann, K., Herliana, L., O'Donovan, L., & Burton, R. (2020). The novel features of Plantago ovata seed mucilage accumulation, storage and release. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 11766-1-11766-14.
Scopus4 WoS5 Europe PMC32020 Cowley, J. M., Herliana, L., Betts, N. S., & Burton, R. A. (2020). Cellular debris, not mucilage polysaccharides, dominate extracts of Plantago ovata and Plantago lanceolata calli grown in vitro.
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2022 Co-Supervisor Biotransformation of Functional Polysaccharides Doctor of Philosophy under a Jointly-awarded Degree Agreement with Doctorate Full Time Ms Lucija Strkalj 2022 Co-Supervisor Determinants and analysis of seed size and quality of Cannabis sativa L. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Benjamin Lee McGorm 2022 Co-Supervisor Nutri-priming; A study on its effects on hemp physiology, epigenetic memory, and stress tolerance development. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Zane Marks -
Other Supervision Activities
Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name 2021 - ongoing Principal Supervisor Altering diet-related metabolic and gut health with Plantago whole seed flour supplementation The University of Adelaide Honours Part Time Jared Vandersluys 2021 - ongoing Principal Supervisor The role of oxidative stress in seed priming to improve germination and vigour The University of Adelaide Honours Full Time Zane Marks 2020 - ongoing Co-Supervisor From plant to plate: biotransformation of functional polysaccharides The University of Nottingham and The University of Adelaide Doctorate Full Time Lucija Štrkalj
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