Comparative Plant Virology

Roger Hull graduated in botany from Cambridge University and undertook his graduate studies in plant virus diagnostics and epidemiology at London University. He lectured on agricultural botany there and at Makerere University in Uganda. In 1965 he moved to fundamental studies of plant viruses, first at Cambridge in the United Kingdom and then at the John Innes Institute (now Centre) in Norwich. He spent a sabbatical year (1974) at University of California, Davis, where he learnt the fundamentals of the newly developing molecular biology technology. He applied to this to plant virus characterisation, diagnostics and virus control, especially in tropical crops such as rice and plantain bananas. He retired in 1997 but continued research, lecturing and book writing. Dr Hull was an honorary professor at University of East Anglia in the UK and Peking and Fudan Universities in China, a Doctoris Honoris Causa at the University of Perpignan in France, and a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed papers on plant virology and more than 40 reviews in scientific journals, and has authored five books. In retirement Roger Hull also became involved in promoting the uptake of transgenic technology by developing countries as one approach to alleviating food insecurity. He was on the International faculty of the e-learning diploma course training decision makers, mainly in developing countries, in plant biotechnology regulation.