Professor Maurice M. Moloney is a research biologist and biotechnology businessman. He is the former Executive Director and CEO of the Global Institute for Food Security at the University of Saskatchewan, which he left late in 2018. At the Global Institute for Food Security, Moloney more than doubled the funding for the Institute including the award of $37.2 million, the largest Federal research grant ever received by the University of Saskatchewan. Between December 2013 to October 2014 he was Group Executive, Food, Health and Life Science Industries, for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

). Prior to that he was Director and Chief Executive of

Rothamsted Research Rothamsted Research, previously known as the Rothamsted Experimental Station and then the Institute of Arable Crops Research, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843. It is located at Harp ...

, from April 2010 to 2013, where he revitalized the scientific and funding strategy, building new public-private partnerships. He founded SemBioSys and served as its President from 1994-1998 and then as Chief Scientific Officer from 1998-2010. He was also the co-founder of the SemBioSys spin-out, Botaneco. Moloney was also appointed as the

NSERC The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; french: Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada, CRSNG) is the major federal agency responsible for funding natural sciences and engineering rese ...

Dow AgroSciences Dow AgroSciences LLC was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company specializing in not only agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, but also seeds and biotechnology solutions. The company was based in Indianapolis, Indian ...

Industrial Research Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

. Prof. Moloney holds over 300 patents in plant biotechnology worldwide and led the Cell Biology group at

Calgene The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed in ...

to develop the world's first transgenic oilseeds, which resulted in

RoundUp Ready Roundup Ready is the Monsanto trademark for its patented line of genetically modified crop seeds that are resistant to its glyphosate-based herbicide, Roundup. History In 1996, genetically modified ''Roundup Ready'' soybeans resistant to Roundu ...

Canola and other novel crops.BBSRC press release 14 January 2010
/ref> Moloney, from Carrickmacross, Co. Monaghan, obtained a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in chemistry at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and he was awarded a PhD in Plant Physiology at

Leicester Polytechnic De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was ta ...

(now

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

), in 1979. He was awarded a Wain Fellowship by the former

Agricultural Research Council The Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) was a British Research Council responsible for funding and managing scientific and technological developments in farming and horticulture. History The AFRC was formed in 1983 from its predecessor, ...

which he used to do postgraduate research at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

, in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, joining Professor Robert Cleland. The results of his research were published in prestigious journals and provided a foundation for his subsequent career. From 1979 to 1983, Moloney was a

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

European

Postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

Fellow at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

. He was awarded a

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

in Biological Sciences by the

University of Lethbridge , mottoeng = '' Let there be light'' , type = Public , established = , academic_affiliations = Universities Canada , endowment = $73 million (2019) , chancellor = Charles Wease ...

. In 2012, he was awarded a D.Sc (''honoris causa'') by

, UK and in 2013 he was awarded D.Sc (''honoris causa'') by

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

, UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moloney, Maurice Irish scientists People from Carrickmacross Alumni of Imperial College London Alumni of Leicester Polytechnic University of Lausanne alumni University of Lethbridge alumni University of Calgary faculty Rothamsted Experimental Station people Living people Year of birth missing (living people)