Janine Cooney

Team Leader, Plant & Food Research
Leader - Proteomics, Nutrigenomics New Zealand

Research specialty: Chemistry, proteomics

Academic qualifications

1985- B.Sc., Chemistry
1987- M.Sc., (Hons 1), Chemistry
1994- D.Phil., Chemistry

Distinctions/Honours

FRST Postdoctoral Fellowship
William Georgetti Scholarship
New Zealand Universities’ Postgraduate Scholarship
New Zealand Federation of University Women’s Scholarship
Waikato representative in the 1988 NZIC/NZBC Conference Student Paper Competition

Employment Record

2009 –present Team Leader Nutrigenomics,Plant and Food Research  
1998 – 2009 Scientist, HortResearch
1995 – 1997 3 years FRST Postdoctoral Fellow, HortResearch
1994 1 year Senior Chemistry Tutor and part-time Lecturer, University of Waikato
1994 0.5 year Research Assistant, University of Waikato and HortResearch
1992 – 1994 2 years Chemistry Tutor for Continuing Education Chemistry Bridging Course, University of Waikato.
1991 – 1994 Tutor for 1st year Chemistry, University of Waikato

Key Publications

• Laing WA, Wright MA, Cooney J, Bulley SM 2007. The missing step of the L-galactose pathway of ascorbate biosynthesis in plants, an L-galactose guanyltransferase, increases leaf ascorbate content. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104(22): 9534-9539.
• Laing, W., Bulley, S., Wright, M., Cooney, J., Jensen, J., Barraclough, D. and MacRae, E. 2004: A highly specific L-Galactose-1-Phosphate phosphatase on the path to ascorbate biosynthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 101, 16976-16981.
• Blumenstein, M.; McMaster, M.T.; Black, M.A.; Wu, S.; Cooney, J,; McCowan, L.M.E.; Cooper, G.J.S.; North, R.A. 2009. A proteomic approach identifies early pregnancy biomarkers for preeclampsia: novel linkages between a predisposition to preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease. Proteomics  9, 1-17.
• Nieuwenhuizen, N.J.; Beuning, L.L.; Sutherland, P.W.; Sharma, N.N.; Cooney, J.M.; Bieleski, L.R.F.; Schröder, R.; MacRae, E.A. and Atkinson, R.G. 2007: Identification and characterisation of acidic and novel basic forms of actinidin, the highly abundant cysteine protease from kiwifruit. Functional Plant Biology 34, 946-961.
• Cooney, J.M., Jensen, D.J. and McGhie, T.K. 2004: LC-MS Identification of Anthocyanins in Boysenberry Extract and Anthocyanin Metabolites in Human Urine Following Dosing. J. Sci. Food Agric. 84, 237-245.
• Rowan,D.; Hunt, M.; Austin, A.; Norling, C.; Cooney, J.; Jensen, D.; Lin-Wang, K.; Hellens, R.; Schaffer, R.; Allan, A. 2009: Environmental regulation of leaf colour in red 35S:PAP1 Arabidopsis thaliana. New Phytologist, 182, 1, 102-115.